There is no good time to deal with situations like this. There’s no ideal way to cope. Horrific things happen, sometimes they find a media outlet and sometimes they don’t. Sometimes it’s strangers in far-away Connecticut. In farther away China. Sometimes it’s your neighbor, or your friend. Or you.

There’s so much noise and hatred and vitriol on the internet today—all directed at the perpetrators of today’s shooting, at the politicians who “let it happen”, at the at the people shouting for gun-control, at the people defending gun rights, at people who aren’t talking, at people who are talking.

Everyone needs to process however they need to process. It’s simply the way it is. The death of 20-some-odd people in a school—mostly children—has carved a wound in all of us. It gushes for some, and festers for others. Whether we’re bleeding out or packing it in, we are processing.

But while you’re processing, don’t forget to breathe. You’re needed today.

You Heard Me: You’re Needed

Your family needs you today, sweetie. Your spouse. Your parents. Your kids. Your friends need you. Your pets need you. 

They need you to remember that they’re not going anywhere. They need you to know that they’re ready for a hug, anytime you are. They need you to know they love you, and they need you to remind them, too. 

They need you to come up for air, to surface from this tragedy with a clear head and firm resolve. Come up with a plan, if you need to. With a purpose. But do come up.

And what about you, then? The other you. Maybe you’re separated from your family. Maybe you’re unmarried, have no pets, no kids. Maybe you have no friends.

Maybe you don’t feel like dealing with them, anyway.

Honey, you’re still needed. You need you. You need you to remember how to breathe. How to take this horrible event and shape it into something that won’t overwhelm you, that won’t eat you up and leave you broken. 

You’re needed to be patient with your fellow men and women. To be tolerant of their differences and supportive of their needs. Your friends and relatives and neighbors need you to encourage them to get help when they need it, and to remember that you aren’t alone in this tragedy. In any tragedy.

We’re all mad here, and we’re all in the same boat together. 

Take a Break

Back away from social media for a while. Everyone means well—except when they don’t—but this kind of angry feedback can pull someone into this negative spiral of despair and fury. Say what you have to say, then walk away.

Go do something to balance yourself. Hug a child. Garden. Go for a walk. See a movie. Make some tea. Read a book. 

Something that replenishes the reserves in your heart and soul. Something that reminds you that you are more than the sum of this. Something that gives you something to work with, energy to process, and the courage and strength to place this event in your life—to balance it with everything else that you are and not let it consume you.

Do something for you. Because you can. Because you should.

Here’s a Helpful Hand

There’s no brilliant time for this sort of promo, so frankly, I’ll just put it here because this Free Sale is over tomorrow and I want you all to at least get the opportunity to get this free. It’d be remiss of me to withhold a freebie from you, especially when we all can use some relaxation.

Just know that the first book in the Dark Mission series, Blood of the Wicked, is completely free today. You can download it, read it, kick back for a few hours with a glass of wine or a cup of tea and lose yourself in a fictional world where they always catch the bad guy.

It’s the least I can do. 

Because I need you, too.