Quiet

A girl Rosie's age, a friend of many of Rosie's friends, was killed this morning crossing a street half a mile from her school skipping class. My heart wants to scream out of my chest in anguish. She was only fifteen.

Thunder and Lightning continues to reach into my soul in classic Natalie Goldberg style.

"I came back to something simple--I became quiet inside. Who was I looking for? Who could I find? I was writing for everyone and everyone was me. But still I turn to my readers: I want to take us beyond where we have been. To my students: rest in the structure that holds us up, and keep one foot in each world. Stay close to your own reality and stand also on the bridge that takes you out into something larger--our understanding that we are all finally in this together. Then, who's our audience? Who are we talking to? Open your heart and let it bleed."

Quite often I stop after reading such a passage and just sit, just become quiet. Sometimes it's good to just be.