Incomprehensible

I heard the news this evening. I cannot believe that two of my former students are dead, ages 27 and 30. I can comprehend neither the pain that these deaths must cause nor the pain that caused these deaths.

We all feel pain. Sometimes we are so consumed by our own pain that it blinds us to the pain that others feel. It can blind us to pain that we ourselves are causing. It can prevent us from caring about the pain we inflict on others.

This event carries so much pain. The pain of these two young people. The pain of their families, of children. The pain of their friends. The pain of their coworkers, former classmates and teachers, acquaintances. That pain reverberates through relationships, through families, through communities. It goes on and on.

How does one hold so much pain inside the vault of a human heart? Sometimes the vault cracks open. Sometimes it is held so tightly that, eventually, it explodes. Sometimes we can no longer hold the pain inside.

My heart goes out to all who love these two young people and who are feeling so much pain. These two brilliant, beautiful lights, extinguished too soon. There’s no way to comprehend it.