The senseless losses in Connecticut and globally are indeed worthy of our great lament–and action. May we always allow our grief to inform a deeper, ever more cherished understanding of this human experience–and of the power of our own active compassion in the face of an evil that emerges in the forms of mental and physical unhealth. A laser-sharp focus is required in the search for solutions while a concentrated indwelling in the present makes appropriate space for the healthy, humane responses we call sorrow and pain.

In the past, I have liked the phrase, “Let the change begin with me.” Tonight it seems too passive. I am now actively looking for strategies to make this more than a pleasant-sounding wish. That said, I have a great worry as I see people rushing to a legislative response to an emergence of evil. (Selah.)

A colleague recently discovered that he has high cholesterol when he was told that he had been prescribed medication for the same. I shared with him that–when I learned I had high cholesterol–my physician prescribed changes in my diet and lifestyle. Now 80 lbs lighter, I wonder, is our rush to law the same as a rush to the pharmacy?

Can we really legislate and prescribe wellness, or is it corporately developed through an ethic of nurturing and care?