Tuesday, April 17, 2007 at 1:01am
In the midst of tragedy - honor
Column: All Paths
This past weekend I attended a conference in New York City sponsored by the Omega Institute. The theme for the conference was "Being Fearless." I have to say, living with fear has been a recurring theme in my life for the last year. So I felt compelled to attend this conference.
I tried to prepare myself for an intense weekend of four workshops and three general sessions that included stalwart keynote speakers ranging from Al Gore and Jane Goodall on Friday to Arianna Huffington and Carolyn Myss on Saturday with Samdhong Rinpoche on Sunday. Yes, I wanted to take it all in and get my money's worth. Well, I did.
Speaker after speaker in session after session offered their thoughts on fear. Al Gore was extremely brilliant in offering insights about how fear is the basis for determining how we live our lives and define the world around us and that it has been this way for thousands of years and even more so in the post-9/11 world. Arianna Huffington was equally brilliant, and agreed with Gore that our leaders and the media keep the ingredients for fear on high flames on the front burners of our minds to manipulate public opinion.
After returning home late Sunday, not having fully processed all of the information about being fearless, I awoke yesterday to the news about the Virginia Tech shootings, where the last count had 32 innocent people dead and 26 injured. This is a monumental tragedy.
After the initial shock over hearing the news, I thought about the anxiety and fear the parents of the students and the entire Virginia Tech campus must be feeling at this point. As a parent of a daughter attending a university in Virginia, I called her just to hear her voice. And. I am sure that parents with children attending colleges all over this nation did the same.
It occurred to me after spending about three hours flipping from channel to channel to keep up with the latest developments about the story, that all the media had to offer was a body count, comparisons to similar events, attempts to focus on campus security issues, and of course the question of the shooter's identity. This is important stuff, and we need to know it and understand what happened.
However, it occurred to me that here is an entire campus community in a state of pain and tragedy, and all I was doing is flipping from channel to channel to see and hear more. So I decided I had had enough and would turn the TV off, because I was becoming more and more upset and overwhelmed with sorrow and fear as I watched each report. I thought that perhaps I would pray for the victims and their families. At least that would be better than just sitting there and watching this sad story unfold.
Just as I was turning the TV off, the NBC evening news aired some interviews with students who were in some of the classrooms where the shootings occurred, and they talked about how they helped those who were injured. There were also reports that many students were saying how much they loved their campus and how they would continue their education there. All of a sudden upon hearing these reports, I reflected back to the "Being Fearless" conference that I had just returned from, and how these students, who had just witnessed the massacre of their friends and schoolmates, are the ultimate example of being fearless.
In face of a tragedy that dwarfs just about anything in the recent news in terms of the scope and size of the carnage, hurt and pain involved, these young folks are already on the road to healing and showing us how to manage fear and adversity. I hope the media continue to show this side of the story, because it is important for us to hear.
Finally, let us pray for the Virginia Tech community and reflect on what happened there. But also let's focus on the courage and heart that this young, vibrant and resilient community is showing by not giving into fear. Go, Virginia Tech.
— — —
Rev. Jay Speights has an MA in public policy and is an interfaith minister and the main U.N. representative for The New Seminary in New York. You can learn more about his work at the United Nations at The New Seminary website or at harmoniousday.webexone.com. His email address is {email jayspeights@newseminary.org}jayspeights@newseminary.org{/email}. © copyright 2007 by Jay Speights
I tried to prepare myself for an intense weekend of four workshops and three general sessions that included stalwart keynote speakers ranging from Al Gore and Jane Goodall on Friday to Arianna Huffington and Carolyn Myss on Saturday with Samdhong Rinpoche on Sunday. Yes, I wanted to take it all in and get my money's worth. Well, I did.
Speaker after speaker in session after session offered their thoughts on fear. Al Gore was extremely brilliant in offering insights about how fear is the basis for determining how we live our lives and define the world around us and that it has been this way for thousands of years and even more so in the post-9/11 world. Arianna Huffington was equally brilliant, and agreed with Gore that our leaders and the media keep the ingredients for fear on high flames on the front burners of our minds to manipulate public opinion.
After returning home late Sunday, not having fully processed all of the information about being fearless, I awoke yesterday to the news about the Virginia Tech shootings, where the last count had 32 innocent people dead and 26 injured. This is a monumental tragedy.
After the initial shock over hearing the news, I thought about the anxiety and fear the parents of the students and the entire Virginia Tech campus must be feeling at this point. As a parent of a daughter attending a university in Virginia, I called her just to hear her voice. And. I am sure that parents with children attending colleges all over this nation did the same.
It occurred to me after spending about three hours flipping from channel to channel to keep up with the latest developments about the story, that all the media had to offer was a body count, comparisons to similar events, attempts to focus on campus security issues, and of course the question of the shooter's identity. This is important stuff, and we need to know it and understand what happened.
However, it occurred to me that here is an entire campus community in a state of pain and tragedy, and all I was doing is flipping from channel to channel to see and hear more. So I decided I had had enough and would turn the TV off, because I was becoming more and more upset and overwhelmed with sorrow and fear as I watched each report. I thought that perhaps I would pray for the victims and their families. At least that would be better than just sitting there and watching this sad story unfold.
Just as I was turning the TV off, the NBC evening news aired some interviews with students who were in some of the classrooms where the shootings occurred, and they talked about how they helped those who were injured. There were also reports that many students were saying how much they loved their campus and how they would continue their education there. All of a sudden upon hearing these reports, I reflected back to the "Being Fearless" conference that I had just returned from, and how these students, who had just witnessed the massacre of their friends and schoolmates, are the ultimate example of being fearless.
In face of a tragedy that dwarfs just about anything in the recent news in terms of the scope and size of the carnage, hurt and pain involved, these young folks are already on the road to healing and showing us how to manage fear and adversity. I hope the media continue to show this side of the story, because it is important for us to hear.
Finally, let us pray for the Virginia Tech community and reflect on what happened there. But also let's focus on the courage and heart that this young, vibrant and resilient community is showing by not giving into fear. Go, Virginia Tech.
— — —
Rev. Jay Speights has an MA in public policy and is an interfaith minister and the main U.N. representative for The New Seminary in New York. You can learn more about his work at the United Nations at The New Seminary website or at harmoniousday.webexone.com. His email address is {email jayspeights@newseminary.org}jayspeights@newseminary.org{/email}. © copyright 2007 by Jay Speights