A tragic affair. A letter to a distraught couple.

Senseless Violence!

Senseless violence.

It makes no sense.

We are left with the question,

Why did this happen to me?

There are no easy answers.
There is no quick remedy for the pain.

Viktor Frankl said in his book, Man's Search for Meaning that suffering is a part of life.*

Suffering and pain allows us to enjoy pleasure and joy. They are the opposite sides of the coin in a Universe of dualities. We cannot have pain without pleasure. We cannot have joy without suffering. This is how life is.

Acceptance of the Truth is the challenge before us. Instead of avoiding the pain we should face it. And when we do, we are transformed. We move into a new sense of awareness. We become loving spirits in a physical world.

God bless us all as we travel our paths.
And remember, sometimes life seems to make no sense.

Richard C. James
May 25, 1995

*Dr. Frankl wrote about his experiences as a prisoner in a Nazi concentration camp during World War Two.

This letter was written several years ago in response to the terrible news that a tragic accident had befallen some dear friends. I am a little fuzzy on the details but the horrific story goes like this:

The mother and father of a bright energetic five year boy were divorced. Arrangements for joint custody had been made. The mother had just return home from a religious retreat and was waiting for her son to be returned to her. The father, a police officer, had gotten off from work and was bringing the child home to his ex-wife. He was still in uniform. He placed his .38 revolver under the drivers' seat of his car. His son was in the back seat, securely restrained by the seatbelt.

The boy removed the harness and found the loaded gun.

It had a hair trigger.

As the father waited at an intersection, the shot rang out.

The bullet tore through the back of the front seat and killed the boy's father instantly. The boy was not hurt physically, but that terrible moment will last with him forever.

My friends, the mother and prospective step-father were devastated. This letter was a meager attempt to console and comfort.