"Jim Capoot was a United States Marine. He was a police officer. He was a coach. He was a loving and caring person. Above all, Jim Capoot was a beloved father, husband, son, uncle, brother and friend. He loved his family and they loved him. He loved the good people in the community that he protected and served, and the community clearly loved him. The outpouring of love and support from the entire community has been incredible and greatly appreciated."
The family added, "Please show your respect by saying 'thank you' to a police officer today."
I was just talking to a friend who lost her father last week... she is far away from her family and trying to make sense of a loss that is at the same time excruciating real and impossible to fathom. As she told me how she was reasoning through the pain and loss, I gained more and more respect for her compassionate heart.
Then I read this piece, and thought, what presence of mind these folks have ... to show their love without anger. It is a blessing for the world that there are people who can see through pain and anger to love. A true blessing.
And there I was reading about this blessing given to the world through this family's pain ... and I read this blog post. Andrea is one of my favorite people in the world. And I feel eternally blessed to have spent a few hours in her presence at a time in my life when I needed guidance, an ear, a shoulder and some constructive advice on where to go and how to proceed with life. If we could bottle a little of her perspective, honesty and vulnerability, I am sure we could share it with the world and make it a more compassionate place. I have been struggling with what to do with the "mean, nasty thoughts" that invade my space. Andrea's message about stealth blessings seems like just the right PRACTICE. These are issues that require practice and cannot be resolved with any antidote.
I was thinking about how little time I have had to write here ... and how easily I slip into the news round up ... and, frankly, feeling guilty about it. But, here I am, again, sharing articles. These are some that I cannot help but share ... some because they touch on the very vulnerability I seek to embody and understand, and some because they follow up on stories that I have posted here before.
This one, for instance, brings a bittersweet end to a judicial mess...the hell that our community (and the larger community) has been through with the first court case and the looming second one cannot be understated. I cannot say that I agree with the terms, but I can only hope that Brandon's lawyers did the best they could. May Larry now rest in peace... and may we all learn to do more about our adult responsibilities so that more children do not have to look for resolution in violence. May there be some healing ... and may Brandon not become the sociopath in prison that the prosecution would have liked the jury to believe he already was.
In the search for redemption, there is often a revelation of gratitude... for what we have, for what we have taken and for what we can do to atone. This piece is heartbreaking, but well worth the read. I feel the need to express my gratitude, once again, for the Los Angeles Times, they may not always get it right, but they have some tremendous folks on the look out for great stories to tell. This is one of those stores that might not have been told were it not for those watchful reporters.
I feel I need to prepare for Thanksgiving this year with more than the anticipation to hug the mijos and be in the blessed madness of my family unit. Sighing deeply here ... praying for compassion on all sides and feeling grateful for all the blessings, stealth and overt, we all experience daily.
I made a pledge to myself to figure out how to hold on to my own idealism... falling down the stairs Monday morning threatened to weaken my resolve. Now I am going to be grateful for the bruises - together with the wince of pain, I am going to celebrate life...and hope and vulnerability.
[photo credits: me, small digital camera, trying to catch the storm from the summit of the Sandias, 2009]
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