this is so amazingly painful

[Monica]

I'm pretty sure he killed his mother in the attack, Monica...

I haven't been keeping up with all the details. As a mother, I tend to be protective of anything that seems to blame the parents...most parents try so hard to raise their kids right. But I know nothing about this particular mother and her son. I just meant that the drugs seem much more likely to have contributed to this than being taught how to use a gun.

I love what Pickle has been saying because I think we all know from a Law of One philosophy that this was event was a sacrifice for a hopefully much bigger gain on behalf of experience. What events like this do more than anything else is galvanize action and force people on the fence to get off one way or another.

Agreed!

Access to assault weaponry and tools of war should be regulated to high heaven for multiple obvious reasons.

I used to think that too, until someone pointed out that criminals don't obey laws.

If we see a friend who seems down, try to help them rather than 'giving them their space'. That's double talk for 'i'm scared of them getting mad at me for caring about them'. Even if it goes over poorly and they are not comfortable, they're not going to blame you if you show them respect and do it from a place of love. This is the inherent challenge - how do we respond to this with love?

Well said! I agree 100%! It is very trendy in New Age circle, even here at B4, to say "tsk tsk that is YOUR issue...must be karmic" and not ever bother to ask the person what is bothering them, allow them to share their story or even vent their feelings if necessary, and offer a shoulder to cry on. Especially if the person has anger, hurt or resentment directed at the 'New Age' person, the 'New Age' person will often flippantly say "you are projecting onto me...I release you" and be on their way. That approach is very self-oriented, not love/compassion oriented. They might have good intentions but not realize that they are actually in denial about their own feelings or involvement in the situation, and not realize that they are unable to express themselves due to blue ray blockage. So they tell themselves "I cannot help that person...I can only 'release' them' and miss an opportunity for true compassion and service.

In the event of hearing about tragedies on the news, those same 'New Age' types often just blow it off, saying "that is their karma...all is perfect" without recognizing the opportunity for allowing the catalyst to generate compassion or even action on their part.