A National Moment of Silence

I, for one, am a true believer in the unmistakable power of a moment of silence. I'll never forget in DC, during the moment of silence for the victims of 9/11, when I stepped out of my art gallery onto 7th street NW with a lit candle, joining hundreds of others up and down the street doing the same thing in complete silence at the moment as bells all across the city rang for the victims.

The entire street, normally wildly busy, both traffic and pedestrians - came to a complete stop as we stood silently over our candles in a brief moment of shared humanity. It was one of the most moving moments of my life, and today, I can scarcely think of it without a wave of emotion drifting across my mind.



Today, at 9:30 AM, EST, there will be a nationwide moment of silence in memory of those killed at Sandy Hook. Out of the 28 states that have officially declared this moment of silence by the Governors, I am glad to say the the state in which I was born, the state in which I was raised and the state in which I now reside are all taking part.

I strongly urge you to do the same. Regardless of your stance on gun legislation, your religion or political mindset - or any of the other many differences that we are so quick to point out and wear on our sleeves in this day and age - come together for a moment at 9:30 AM EST in memory of these victims and in the celebration of your humanity - the one shared experience that we all do have.

Use the moment to reflect - yes, but also use it to release. Use it to release the sadness, the pain, the energy and - perhaps most importantly - the spirits of these victims back into the cosmos.
And do it with love.