Thank You Newtown, CT

A little more than a month ago, the deaths of 20 children and 6 school teachers/administrators at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT shook our nation to its core. We collectively grieve for the families directly impacted and for the community of Newtown.

Now one month is not a long time when dealing with such major loss. However, Newtown is modeling for all of us, in a very public way, the path to healing. You see when the reality sets in and we are faced with a loss we have a choice: a choice either to surrender to the pain, allowing others to comfort us as we slowly put one foot in front of the other OR a choice to be consumed and paralyzed by the pain, shutting down and isolating ourselves.

In a very short period of time, Newtown is acknowledging and expressing their intense grief while also moving forward by visibly promising to honor those who have died and to do whatever they can to not let this event just be another school tragedy.

While we cannot always control situations that happen, we can control how we respond to them. Thank you Sandy Hook Elementary and Newtown, CT for showing us how to move through the pain of grief and loss to find your strength as you heal your heart with hope for a better tomorrow.