On Monday, participants in my Project Light Year class received a long email from me about the tragic mass shooting in Orlando. In that ecourse, we’re exploring sacred signs and divine intervention all year together. I know it may seem like neither were present in the middle of the night at Pulse nightclub on Sunday. If there are angels, you might ask, where are they when tragedy strikes?
After reading that class email, a bunch of students said it was so helpful, they wished I’d share some of it with a larger audience. So I gave that some thought and decided to share some of it here, in hopes it provides some healing perspective for you, as well.
I suspect some of you are feeling this event deep in your bones, walking around with an aching heart because you feel so helpless or empathically feeling the dark energy associated with a tragedy such as this. But when this kind of thing happens, we have a choice to curl up and give in or to be a light in the dark. To do this, to choose the light, there are some things we must understand.
As hard as it is to comprehend, it’s important to remember that death is not an ending but a moving on to MORE life, to amplified joy, to clear purpose. While we often struggle to hear the calls of our soul here on Earth, all confusion and distraction evaporates when we transition back into the non-physical. We remember why we agreed to our earthly journey in the first place and we understand the timing and circumstances of our departure.
The angels remind me that no one transitions “too soon,” even in the case of an unexpected, hate-filled crime like the one that occurred this past weekend. Though none of us know the specifics of how we’ll be eventually called back into the light of the Great Beyond – be it disease or old age or accidents or violence – our souls agree, before entering the earth plane, to use our lives for the highest good. We know this will likely involve challenges and that there may be suffering, but we agree to go anyway because we also know that our journey will end with a glorious transition back to Self – on a timetable lovingly and purposefully orchestrated by the universe. Even if that is sooner than the “life expectancy” determined by the culture we’re born into.
For those of us left behind, watching the news and shaking our heads, this is hard to accept. Why can’t we all just live to be old and die peacefully in our sleep? As horrifying as it is to see young, innocent people die at the hands of another, the angels ask us to remember that those souls are being supremely cared for and that no life ends in vain. When a group or community of people transition together, the angels say they often have previously made some kind of soul pact around the implications of their deaths. That is to say that although they don’t know how they’ll transition, the impact of their deaths and the circumstances surrounding it will be highly visible, deeply felt and powerfully transformative for many left behind.
No one in their right mind would agree to “going out” in this fashion, we may argue. And that’s true; this is not a choice made by the mind, but by the soul that is unwavering in its mission to add more light and love to the world, even if that requires an abrupt ending.
So many intuitives, including myself, have heard the same thing from the souls of 9/11 victims: while we were mourning here in the weeks and months after that tragedy, there was a hopeful and celebratory atmosphere on the Other Side as souls transitioned, ready to further their missions together by inspiring healing, change, innovation and compassion from Beyond. I have no doubt the same thing is happening now, as 49 brave souls unite with great hope and big plans for inspiring goodness to come from their deaths. They will do their part to influence and inspire from the Great Beyond – and we are called to do the same, with angels all around.
This latest tragedy is awful on so many levels, but that also means it holds opportunities for growth and change on so many levels, too. Rather than spiral down, we are asked to show up and use our lives to create more light. The key is to act where you feel most moved. What about this tragedy hits you hardest? Where do you feel particularly sensitive? What do you see must change to prevent such hatred in the future?
Rather than feel paralyzed by the many layers of change required, notice what your heart feels pulled to do in the name of LOVE, from praying for victims’ families to compassionately supporting the LGBT community to influencing political leaders to helping a friend get the mental health intervention he or she needs. Some will be inspired to create ripples in their own circle of friends and families, others will be moved to create tidal waves we all hear about. Know this: it all matters. Hate holds no power over love and we are here to prove it.
