This is one of the toughest blogs I've ever had to write.

Written By Mastin Kipp
This is one of the toughest blogs I've ever had to write.

To find the words was difficult. I hope that I will serve you with what I am sharing today. It was written from the heart.

Because of my maximized schedule these days, I write my blogs a few days ahead of time. And over the weekend, so my team can take the weekends off, I pre-write Saturday/Sunday and Monday ahead of time so that they aren't working on the weekend. It's a beautiful thing to be able to manage, but then life happens.

I have not been able to write a blog yet about what happened in Connecticut - and I really thought about whether I should or not. And the more I thought about it - the more that I felt like I should.

But before I do, I want to start with a prayer:

Dear God/Father/Mother/Source/Spirit/Uni-verse, please help us to mend our hearts from the tragedy in Connecticut.

Please help to comfort the pain of the parents who lost their children too soon. Please surround all of those whose lives have been forever changed because of the actions taken by fear and ignorance. There can be no deeper pain than losing a child. Please help our nation to wake up and take action so that this never happens again. Please help us to heal our breaking hearts and please help us, even in this dark hour - to find Love in our hearts for the darkness of the world - for we know that Love is the only power that can heal our world.

Amen

It's unimaginable that something like this could happen in modern times and in America. But it did. And not only our country, but our world has been and will be affected by this for years and decades to come. Because I am writing this blog a few days after there has been SO much covered on the news - I am not going to focus on the tragedy, the details of the crime or any of that.

I feel that the best way for me to honor the children and you, my dear Reader, is to do what I do best - which is be vulnerable, real and share my heart with you.

This moment in time will spark much debate about what is to come. New gun laws. A discussion about mental health.

Should we arm our teachers? And finger pointing will happen.

Which special interest group is responsible for this? What does the Constitution say and is it up to date with modern times? This is a debate that should be had and that will be had. If you feel called to join that conversation, do it. We need leaders to pioneer the way. Action must be taken. But, today, the conversation I want to have is a spiritual conversation. Of course a spiritual conversation includes action and policy, but that is not what I want to talk about today. It's not my place because I don't have the answers. But what I do have is a feeling in my heart that I need to express. And I hope that in doing so, I have served you.

As much as we would like to, we must not hate the darkness. We must not lash back with the same level of evil that visited us.

Spiritual practice counts when the pressure is on. It matters most when we are tested the most. And what happened on Friday is perhaps one of the greatest tests that we as a nation have faced since 9/11.

The question we must ask ourselves - which is the single most important question we can ever ask ourselves is this - what are we going to make this MEAN?

The answer to that question will determine the outcome.

Well, I can't answer this question for the nation, for the world or for you. But I can answer it for me.

When I look at the actions from last week, what it means for me - is that many people on the planet have forgotten who they really are. Their connection to The Divine, their connection to their community, their connection to themselves is fragmented. And the painful, debilitating grip of separation has its grasp on many people in the planet.

And so, while more laws and more action must be taken - ultimately what will change our planet, not just from events like what happened last week in America, but the events that happen like that all over the world every week - is a shift in consciousness.

Einstein said that problems cannot be solved with the same level of thinking that created it. And it's time to admit that we as a culture, as a species, are addicted. We are addicted to violence. We are addicted to a fuel supply that is killing the Earth. We are addicted to the illusion of separation. We are addicted to our righteousness. We are addicted to profit. We are addicted to consumerism.

This is not just about gun laws and mental health. This is a wakeup call - a call to see our commonalities and Love each other for them, rather than to hate our differences. This is a call to wake up and see that the world is in pain and that we have the solution through working together, rather than tearing each other apart. This is a call to deepen compassion for a world that is fragmented and has placed personal achievement at the expense of others ahead of the common good. It's a call to make humanitarian values the bottom line and economic values a secondary motivation.

To me, the action of last week makes me have even more resolve to do my work. And I believe that now, more than ever - with such a display of darkness - that the world needs more Light. More Light from me, more Light from you and more Light from anyone that you know.

We cannot solve this problem and many others from a place of more rules. We need more Love. And that starts with you and me. Imagine what would have happened if poor Adam would have had more Love. If he had been able to feel the joy of serving others; if he had felt special and unique because he was being praised for his talents. Imagine if just one person could have touched him and given him hope instead of despair. Imagine if he had had the tools that we do to change his life.

Imagine how different the world would be. And to make sure that this kind of thing never happens again, we need more Love, more compassion, more giving, more serving - we need to wake up and remember to connect within and to remember that we are all connected. And that the actions of one affect us all, and that actions of all affect the one.

There is no escaping this reality. We shall either prosper together or not. This moment in time is a wakeup call.

What will you make it mean for you?

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