Last night millions stood in lines for hours to see the new film “Dark Knight Rises” my own husband and son being among those millions who went out for the midnight showing. However in Aurora, CO, 12 people walked in with nothing more than the desire to be among the first to see the highly anticipated film and sadly not only did they not see the film but they lost their lives and another 59 were injured. As I write this, the details are still unfolding but it seems a lone gunman who has been identified as a 24 year old former medical student with no criminal history other than a traffic summons dressed in body armor and armed with handguns and an assault fire just opened fire in the theater.
Among the casualties is a woman, Jessica Redfield who just last month came within seconds of being a victim at the mall shooting in Toronto where a gunman opened fire in a food court. All the deaths and injuries are a tragedy but in Jessica’s case to have come so close to death only a month before to have death meet her in a movie theater is beyond words.
Violence is a part of our world and while we can blame the guns, the media, mental illness, or whatever the truth is none of us truly knows why evil thrives and violence is a given. The fact is evil and violence is a part of this world we all live in and as tragic as this all is this violence should serve as a reminder of how fragile life is and that ultimately not only is our time limited on this rock, but that none of us knows when death will knock at our door.
To honor the dead, we should make it our mission to live and to live life fully because the breath we take at this moment may be our last. I thought of this today as I opened an email from a dear friend that I have had tensions with lately. Life is too short for anything other than to embrace it in the midst of whatever tensions and dramas we face.
May comfort come to the survivors of this tragedy.
