Take a moment to get in touch with your gut when you reflect on the tragedy that happened at the Boston marathon.
When I do, I feel a deep, terrifying void.
Oh, how I would rather think about the events, seek answers and try to make sense.
My gut is so uncomfortable about the horrors of the human condition. My gut is so uncomfortable about the senseless killing, the death of innocents, the disruption to peaceful gatherings.
Oh, please help me to stay in the feelings so that I can develop compassion and mercy. Let me feel my feelings so I can stay connected to my humanity and to those who are directly suffering. My thoughts won’t solve what happened. But our empathy and feelings can make us more connected to our fragile, connected human experience. We can be with the parents of that 8 year old who was killed, we can sit with the terror of those reverberating from the blasts, we can be with those who responded and are still responding. We can be human BEINGS together.
With love,
A Letter
May 4, 2026
Beloved, Let me tell you something I often say when counseling those mourning the loss of a loved one. “Unless you are a rabbi or minister, you shouldn’t be good at writing eulogies.” And then I add: “Let me give you a pro tip—think about writing a letter. Because you know how to write a letter and this way you
