Wednesday, 3 July 2013

Turning shock and grief into compassion and understanding


The immediate response to a child’s small child alone in a vehicle on an afternoon in record-setting temperatures is profound grief. How could this happen in north Edmonton in temperatures soaring to 40 degrees?  We may feel an incredible sense of helplessness. And, given the past heat wave, emotions can take shapes and sizes we may not even know exist. That’s understandable. But is there any possible way we can transform those emotions into compassion and understanding for a local family going through hell right now?

There are countless questions we can ask about the situation. We will never know the answers. Such a story reaches our emotions on very personal levels. We think of the little people in our own lives and how we would feel if something happened in our own worlds.

The family and friends of the small child needs to be surrounded by the community right now. Some of those people are close family members, others are friends and others will be strangers touched by the story. These are challenging times for our city as it weeps together in this unimaginable situation. But beyond our grief we should challenges ourselves to reach out and try to help. Perhaps doing so defines being a caring citizen.


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