How to come to terms with wanton cruelty

A friend whose mother was murdered in Kabul, Afghanistan last month teaches us a lesson in how to come to terms with wanton cruelty.   If you feel inclined to support her family's non-profit organization in support of education and service opportunities for Afghan boys and girls, click here.

A small thank you to everyone who has made this month one surrounded with beauty and love. It is a quiet time, but there are miracles at every glance. I am ever more convinced that we need to embrace opportunities to be humbled – humbled by nature, by love, by those around us who understand the world differently. Perhaps in that humility we can find a way to all get along. Though I have refrained, for the most part, from reading the news reports, I do know that the attack in Kabul last month was carried out by boys who were not yet men. Had they met my mother in any other circumstance, they would have been met with kindness, and perhaps seen another way through this world. In light of this, and in gratitude to my loved ones who continue to share the beauty of this world with me, I make my peace today:

Oh, boys. You can’t have known
The silent mystery of the wind,
Tousling the hair of the childish grass
As if it had just made
A cheeky joke.
Or the laughter of the birds
Who were eavesdropping
The. Whole. Time.
But I will continue watching.

You can’t have heard
The endless waves of secrets
Held in every shell
Or the delighted squeals
Of a child bearing
Witness
To it all.
But I will continue to press my ear close
So I don’t miss a single heartbeat
This world has to offer.

You probably never knew
The grace of the sun
Caressing the caterpillar
Assuring it that
There will be light
When it is reborn.

You can’t have known
The giddy feeling of a first picnic
Or the electricity of holding hands
For the very first time
With one who will see you
Through everything.

You can’t have known
The hilarious struggle
Of a very pregnant woman
Trying to put on
Socks.

Oh boys.
You can’t have felt
The undeniable mercy
Of kneeling,
Touching your forehead
To Earth’s Lips
That the universe may tell you
Over and over and over again that
It loves you.
Yes, I am completely enthralled by
The Irresistible Beauty
Of this world.

And I will stay forever in that embrace
And love it back with all I have
And quietly pray that
Though you never knew it here
The peace is with you now.