" "How safe Do we really feel these days ..." 'Judith Whitehead' (Inspiration Sunday)

"Guest-blogger Judith Whitehead lives in Amherst N.Y. and has worked in the

 ophthalmology field of medicine for over 30 years..." Today she talks about  the recent massacre 
at Sandy Hook elementary school in Connecticut  and what is happening? ;D(.

How safe Do we really feel these days

      Why is our country going through such turmoil these days; isn't it enough that so many have to deal with loss from the War we have been embroiled in over the last several years.  In view of all the recent killings in public places it makes you take pause if we are really safe anywhere these days.  Never before did I have second thoughts while going to the movies on a weekend to relax.  I ask myself,  will this be one of those times when a troubled individual will lash out into the crowd and attack innocent bystanders?  Over the recent years movie theaters  began safeguards  by the police but is that enough to make us  feel safe and secure.  Do we 
need to carry protection with us to stop such an incident if it should occur   

When my children were growing up I never gave it a second thought to ask myself if I was sending them to a safe 
place; what has happened to our society, our children, and our troubled adults that they feel they have to lash out and hurt themselves and many others at the same time.  

It’s almost like an epidemic happening, similar to the way life was in the wild west when  people ran wild  in the streets;  they were not safe to travel on.  Many , many years ago anyone could 
buy a gun or weapon for their self defense; is it too easy to get a hold of   a weapon  these days?

We all have the right to protect ourselves but do we need to install a more thorough way to profile the purchaser.  I don’t have the answers but in light of all these recent occurrences’, it 
surely gives us a reason to think about how we can live a more secure and safe life. 

What makes it even scarier is that the shooters of today walk among us; they are people like you and me ,  they are neighbors and classmates, they are co workers and friends and are unpredictable. 

Our  hearts go out to all those that have  experienced such violence  or lost their lives to such a violent act; the bystanders will never be the same. Their lives will be changed forever and the parents of those children that have lost so much will forever grieve.  Having to 
deal with a child’s death is  traumatic enough but having to lose a child to a violent act is unfathomable.   

How do we deal with our lives on a daily basis knowing that there may be a shooting somewhere in the country again; will it be in our town?  One can only carry on with the premise that we need to continue to believe that there will always be good vs evil and we must continue to look for the good in people and believe that goodness must prevail.   

If we look at people we come across every day and wonder if they are going through  the  mental turmoil that could 
cause them to perform a terrible act, then they will surely win and render us feeling powerless.  We can only go along and view each day as a gift of life; be cautious but not paralyzed and 
enjoy our lives. 

We need to pray for those that are so troubled and teach our children even more so than ever what to do in urgent situations.  We all need to be aware of our surroundings and  take measures to be safe; do not think that if you live in a “safe” area that you can let your guard down.  As we have seen most recently, violence and crime can happen in any neighborhood and because of our financial and current environment, people are reaching a threshold that they never before have had to endure. 

We must stay safe and hope for the best for hope is sometimes all we have to hold on to. 


Hana Hou, (Encore) Shared from Facebook... 

 A Mitzvah is an act of Kindness. It is customary for Jews to perform a Mitzvah when disasters happen... it triggers a chain reaction of making the world a better place. Call it a Mitzvah, call it Kindness or even Paying it forward, it works!