Dear Universe…

If thoughts and words lead to actions, this is my contribution.

Dear Universe,

Please take care of my best friend. His skin is darker than mine; therefore he is seen as a threat. He has been stopped by the police for walking home at night. He has been questioned for long, tense minutes when his only fault was being on the street after sundown. My friend does not drive, and he works long hours. He would prefer to save Uber for date nights, conventions, and those special trips with his sweetie. He walks, and I am afraid for him.

Please take care of my brother. He is a veteran. He has seen enough death in his life. He isn’t trying to hurt anyone. He doesn’t carry a gun. He will rescue anyone in danger and put himself in harm’s way. Please, don’t let him find harm tonight.

Please take care of my sister. She lives  near the Pacific Coast highway, and crosses it each night to go for bike rides along the shore. She lives in paradise, but even there she’s not safe. Keep her safe today.

Please take care of my parents on their farm in the middle of nowhere. Nowhere can be a dangerous place in the middle of the night, miles from law enforcement. I grew up with a huge respect for the police and the realization that, wonderful as they are, they still might not arrive in time.

Please take care of my local friends, my work friends, my gamer friends, and my Pokemon Go buddies. They are all watching their cell phones and may not see that car/bike/pedestrian coming.

Please take care of all the people I don’t know. Even if I were the most popular girl in the blogiverse, that would still be most of you, dear readers, and most of the people in the world. I’ve met/touched maybe 50,000 people in my life, and even then, the law of averages says that at least 15,000 of those I’ve touched have passed onto another existence by now. 

Please cradle the weak in your arms and shelter the broken ones from their shattered selves. Healing comes with one act of random kindness at a time. 

Please protect the strong, the protectors, the ones who chose the path of most resistance in order to make the world feel a little bit safer at night. With the world the way it is, safe is just an illusion, and each night is a question of magic or smoke in mirrors. Send them the magic they need to stay safe.

Send your magic for everyone else in between.This is your call to action, universe. This is your call to action. YOU. You there, sitting at your computer or staring at your phone (why are you not playing Pokemon Go?! It’s a sign, that’s why.)

Send your thoughts and words of protection into the universe. Change your actions to kindness instead of fear. Expect goodness in everyone, and they will show it.

Protect those you can, and send your own thoughts, words, and actions into the universe. Form your own magic into a circle of protection for all you meet. If you are not brave enough to protect, have no fear. All it takes is for you to determine, mindfully, that you will do no harm this day. If we as a society decided to “do no harm,” as the Hippocratic oath decrees, we wouldn’t see a new shooting in the news each day.

Send your magic into the universe, and see it returned to you.