With the hurricanes, how to help is obvious to me, you donate to an organization that can provide supplies. When a mass shooting occurs, I just never know how to help. A wise friend pointed me to blood donation, but then I found out because of the medication I take, that I can't really give blood. However, I came across this great website, and it made me feel a little bit less helpless: https://nationalcompassionfund.org/.
I still felt like my small donation wasn't enough. Reading about one more mass shooting in the US, it's the 1,500+ something mass shooting since Sandy Hook (check this yourself), well it was my breaking point. I'm tired of seeing Americans die in this way. And I don't care if this post is about to get too political for you, I just can't see the freedom of guns out weigh the freedom to live. Enough is enough. I don't know how any of us can watch one more mass shooting happen without taking some kind of political action. I firmly believe it's time as Americans that we implement some regulations on guns.
I'm not saying ban all guns, or that no Americans should get any; I'm saying we should implement specific regulations that the majority of us agree on, like no one with a mental illness can purchase a gun. Or no one on the no-fly list can purchase a gun. Or require background checks on private and gun show sales. Those are specific regulations that most Americans agree on, and it's time for our State and Federal lawmakers and politicians to take action to implement such regulations.
So for the first time of my voting life, I actually contacted my Senator, asking them to implement these regulations. This is the first time that I've ever felt so strongly about something that I've contacted my Senators. And I urge you, if you're so tired to the point of exhausted tears, not sure that crack in your heart will heal at the thought of hearing of one more mass shooting, then please reach out to your elected officials (find them and their contact info here) and let them know it's time for a change. The Land of the Free should mean first and foremost, the right to live and not get sharking shot up while watching a concert.
And if that feels too drastic of an action for you to take, well, I think I understand. But there's other actions we can take to bring light into the a dark world. So I asked myself, "What more can I do when events like this happen?" And my was conclusion was simple yet profound: kindness. Spreading kindness can be pretty easy to do. Try paying-it-forward to the person behind you at Starbucks - everyone loves a free coffee. Or you can share with the exhausted mother/father at the grocery store how great their kids are (even if they are acting up just a bit). Or even try sending a friend a card on a non-holiday/non-birthday just to say how grateful you are for their friendship. I remembered reading on a craft blog/Pinterest/Facebook post that a parent was going to do "Kindness Rocks" with their child.
The idea is simple. You paint a rock, write something kind/nice on it (like a thank you, a peace sign, the actual word kind, hehe) and then leave it in a friend/neighbor/stranger's yard, hopefully brightening the person's day by the thoughtful message. My kiddo really enjoyed painting the rocks, so it is a great activity to do with kids and a good way to talk about kindness. It's also a great activity to just do as an adult. Either way.
So in summary, let's do something and kindness rocks! Yes that was a terrible pun, but it is a good message after days like last Sunday. I hope to live more by that message. Kindness rocks! 💓
You are a kind family.
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