May you be filled with ....

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Eyes. Windows to the soul. Revealing as no other part of the human make-up. Eyes of the world have been, and still are, riveted on the tragic story that has gripped the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.

How ironic. First a horrible east-coast storm, Sandy, caused unspeakable devastation and wreckage through a twist of nature. And now another storm, a man-made disaster, another Sandy, one involving innocent children. The one, over which mankind had little or no control; the other which displays the inconsistency of out-of-control humankind.

Our eyes focused on the wreckage caused by a hurricane. Today they are focused on the eyes of devastated, innocent parents, eyes filled with horror, disbelief, anger, fear and loss. And yet, breaking through the heartbreak, we can detect that untouchable emotion, the basis of humanity’s existence: love.

It is also a time when we as a people turn our eyes inward, on ourselves, as we are filled with compassion and sympathy and, yes, that other feeling: love. Love that in spite of the unthinkable rises above and beyond all of those other emotions and which, in finality, triumphs. As well it should.

Through the centuries it has been that emotion that has enabled the world to continue in spite of the tragedies, whether dealt by an unpredictable universe or through mankind’s own follies.

Why is that so? To me it is simple truth. Love is an emotion. But it is more than that. It is a feeling.An integral part created within the spirit of mankind. It has come from something, somewhere, someone which we, as a people cannot completely comprehend, no matter how hard we postulate and analyze and how we argue about and express in our simple, individual terms. And yes, there is always that other human question: Why?

Eyes may reveal the soul, but it is love that compensates for or overcomes all of those other emotions eyes may reveal. It is love that allows mankind to work simple miracles, a love that worked the miracle of the season we will celebrate in just a few days.

And so, as we are filled with compassion and sympathy for and with those who suffer, and in spite of the whys that fill our minds, my wish for you is that your home, your hearts may be filled with that special, undefinable love.

Dodie Evans is the editor emeritus of the Westside Eagle Observer and may be contacted by email at [email protected].

Opinion, Pages 6 on 12/19/2012