Waking up this morning, October 2, 2017 I was floored by the
reports of the mass shooting last night in Las Vegas. “Mass shooting”, “lone gunman,” fifty dead,”
automatic weapon,” “innocent concert goers,” high capacity clips,” senseless
violence,” and may other headlines filled the news this morning. Filled with shock, anger and deep sadness I
began my Monday with a week of work and travel ahead. Telling Jennie, Marie, and Bryson (via text,
he a sophomore at UCLA), that I loved them, I packed my bags and headed to the
airport for a flight to Miami.
Once again I looked for a moment of solace at the Atlanta
airport and headed straight to Concourse E and the MLK exhibit that includes a
replica of the Nobel Peace Prize that Dr. King was awarded in 1963. I often find my way to this specific spot and
you can see my writings on it in previous blog essays. This morning, after taking a moment at in
front of the Nobel medal, I went into the little “interfaith chapel” behind the
display. Sitting quietly in a plastic
folding chair, I said a few prayers for the victims of Las Vegas, prayers for
their families and friends who are living a nightmare of tragedy today and more
broadly prayers for our country.
Senseless death, violence against innocent strangers and escalating
hatred and violence CANNOT be the legacy that we leave to our next generation
nor a vision of a civilized society that we share with the world.
Sitting in that little while plastic folding chair I pulled
up three passages/quotes that gave me strength this morning, each of which I
want to share:
The first being a major passage from Dr. King’s
Nobel Prize acceptance speech:
o
“I accept this award today with an abiding faith
in America and an audacious faith in the future of mankind. I refuse to accept despair as the final
response to history. I refuse to accept
the idea that the “isness” of man’s present nature makes him morally incapable
of reaching up for the eternal “oughtness” that forever confronts him. I refuse to accept the idea that man is the
mere flotsom and jetsom in the river of life, unable to influence the unfolding
events which surround him. I refuse to
accept that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism
and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a
reality.”
The second quote is from Gandhi:
o
“When I despair, I remember that all through
history the way of truth and love always won.
There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they can seem
invincible, but in the end, they always fall.
Think of it – always.”
The final inspiration is a passage from the old
testament, Micah 6:8,
o
“ He has told you O Mortal, what is good and
what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and
to walk humbly with your god.”
Leaving the little chapel on
Concourse E, I decided to walk back to my gate on Concourse A (always good to
get some steps in!!) and started thinking about my trip ahead. In the walkway between Concourse B & A,
there is an art installation that mimics a Georgian forest scene, with
sculptured leaves, birds chirping, etc.
Not paying much attention this morning, I walked upon a young family who
had stopped and the kids had begun “jumping in the raindrops” projected on the
floor. At first I was annoyed that my
way forward was blocked but before I knew it two or three other kids, from another
family “joined in” and all five or six of them played together in the “virtual
rain.” That moment of the kids playing
together floored me and quire literally “stopped me in my tracks.” Surrounded by the despair and senseless
violence and hatred of the shooting in Las Vegas, maybe there was a sliver of
hope and inspiration for humanity, exemplified in the children dancing in the
“rain” between concourses at the Atlanta airport!
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