How to move forward after the horrific tragedy at Virginia Tech? President Bush was deeply moving in his comments at the Convocation at Cassell Coliseum this afternoon. But inspiring words from Poet Nikki Giovanni who also spoke, brought a deafening grace, divinity, and a powerful tone of resilience to the proceedings in her closing remarks. Chanting, "We’ll get through this – we are Hokies," making a reference to the school’s athletic reputation, Giovanni inspired where there was pain, without minimizing the magnitude of the horror.
Giovanni, a famous poet who is on the faculty at Virginia Tech, brought the crowd to its feet and just for a moment, there was a release and a deep feeling that life will go on, even in the shadow of this nation’s worst shooting massacre. In her deepest of pain, she rallied and called upon others to do so as well – not alone – but together.
You may not know anyone who died, you may not have children, you may not have watched the incident unfold on television. Still,this traumatic event effects us all, at home and certainly at work. "Did we deserve this", Giovanni posits – no we did not.
Often in the face of such national tragedies there is a feeling of personal loss. The world feels the loss in Virginia, and that means we will all be a bit raw over the next week, or month.It means an extra, "how are you feeling today?" Perhaps a moment of awareness, a simple smile of confidence or support if a co-worker is experiencing their own personal pain.
One of my favorite sayings that my mom has always shared with me is this, "As we elevate others, so do we elevate ourselves." But even more crucial, in this time of pain, is to offer a special kind gesture to your "self." Times like this are difficult to digest. If you keep asking "why?" most likely the answer will never really come.
We will read about Virginia Tech for some time to come, we will hear about it on the radio, we will run across it on the web and TV. How will you cope? The method you personally choose is not important, but taking action in the direction of reflection, contemplation, or prayer, is.
I leave you with just a taste of the amazing poetic and inspiring words of Nikki Giovanni. You can see her closing remarks in their entirety on the front page of the FOX News Channel Website. It is worth watching. Have a hanky handy – you’ll need it.
We are Virginia Tech, we are sad today, and we will be sad for quite a while.
We are not moving on, we are embracing our mourning, we are Virginia Tech.
We are strong enough to stand tall tearlessly, we are brave enough to bend to cry, and sad enough to know we must laugh again, we are Virginia Tech.
We do not understand this tragedy, we know we did nothing to deserve it.
