What Can We Do After Tragedy
We can atone.
This tragedy coming so close after the Jewish High Holy day of Yom Kippur inspires me to personally practice atonement.
Expressing atonement is to ask for forgiveness, to make amends for errors and deficiencies - not just mine but for those in the world at large.
Atonement is solemn. Has gravitas. Brings me inward. Gives me depth. Opens my heart. Holds me accountable for how I think, feel and act.
Today I atone for the evil that manifested in Las Vegas. Today I atone for polices that declare unity but incite division. Today I atone for dishonesty, for cruelty, for the hardening of heart, for intolerance, for lack of trust, for unwillingness to listen, for bias.
I atone for my part in supporting hate, if it is only my emotional reactions of anger adding to the unrest in the world.
On Yom Kippur, Facebook's, Mark Zuckerberg publicly asked for forgiveness for his work's role in spreading disinformation. He understands the practice of atonement.
If the practice of evil can trigger practice of atonement, perhaps the our collective atonement can trigger peace.
Here are a 6 things you can do to reflect a practice of atonement;
- Affirm the sacredness of life upon learning of hatred.
- Cleanse your mind & heart before responding to what you can't understand.
- Practice stillness. Act in and through harmony to resolve anxiety.
- Raise your consciousness before responding.
- Be guided by the active force of silence not the deadly force of hatred.
- Find practical ways to repay to life by replacing positive action for negative ones.
Years ago their was a popular call to practice random acts of kindness.
Today, I invite you to practice conscious acts of atonement.