This post has been percolating in my consciousness since
August 3 when the El Paso shooting occurred. As a spiritual woman I see my role
as one who promotes, holds space for and encourages change through non-violence
and Love.
In the days after the shooting I wrote this:
I vowed I would no longer post political things on Facebook.
I vowed I would try to minimize my exposure to the hate and vitriol that is
spewing in this country. I vowed I would hold space in my heart and in my mind
to anchor in more Love and to create a space for change. And yet here I am. I
must give voice to this tragedy that has befallen our community. While I do not
live in El Paso it is 30 minutes down the road. I have sisters, nieces,
nephews, cousins and friends that live in El Paso.
On Saturday, August 3, 2019, there were frantic text
messages as roll call occurred to make sure our loved ones were safe. Some were
in lockdown in other stores or restaurants nearby. One was in the bathroom of
Walmart grateful she didn’t have her children with her yet I know traumatized
forever.
My husband, a retired Navy captain, came to me with tears in
his eyes after watching our niece Stephanie Valencia on CNN speak in the
aftermath of the tragedy. He said the pain in her eyes haunted him and then he
said “I am a retired Navy Captain. I served my country for 26 years. I was the
Captain of a warship in the Persian Gulf and I no longer feel ‘at ease’ in my
community. I feel as though I have a target on my back. It feels unsafe to be brown in this country.”
I am here not to spew and add more hate to the dialogue but
to speak to a higher purpose. I believe at this point this goes beyond
political affiliation or ethnicity or religious affiliation but speaks to the
very core of who we are and who we choose to be as humans, as souls having a
human experience. It is a time for searching our souls. And no one can do that
for us. It is a soul-searching that each one of us must undertake. No
government entity, no group can do this for us. It is a personal process
between you and your Creator.
We must search our conscience and then act from that place
of alignment with the Divine that resides within each and every one of us. It
is only in this way of individual responsibility that we become united in the
wholeness of what is possible.
