This week tho

For many of us this week was a doozy.

Politics.

Another mass shooting.

More unrelenting fires in California.

I notice we react to all of it differently.

Some of us cry. Journal. Drink a bottle of wine. Talk about it. Ignore it. Binge watch the news. Donate money. Send thoughts and prayers. Donate blood. Post on social media.

Then I notice some of us judge others for HOW they are reacting or responding.

As if there is a right way to respond.

And so some of us judge others. And then we compound the problem. More hate. More divisiveness. More thoughts of there is a right way and a wrong way.

I know I have been guilty of this myself.

So here I am practicing.

Just holding space.

Letting all the people react and respond in all the ways. Because they are going to any way. And I let myself respond in the ways that are authentic to me.

And so, if we allow and hold space -- this simple act in it of itself is us being a part of the solution not the problem.

Here are even more ways to help:

To help the victims and their families involved in the Thousand Oaks Mass Shooting:

https://vccf.org/donate/make-a-donation/

To help the victims and the relief effort for the Woolsey Fire:

Text “REDCROSS” to “909-99” to donate $10 to the Red Cross

To donate essentials like diapers, wipes, blankets to @baby2baby go to their registry, they are on the ground giving direct relief to high-need families.

https://www.target.com/gift-registry/giftgiver?registryId=7f168757caeb4b889d68f19a2680c3c7&lnk=registry_custom_url