For Clarence Center, New York

For the People of Clarence Center, New York~

You have been chosen. You have been assigned the task of ushering in a mighty force of love. A force not seen before in your part of the world. It stems from great tragedy, from nightmare imaginings, from bitter forces of gravity igniting the fires of hell. You have been chosen.

Oftentimes, the human heart does not burst open at the seams until we are dropped to a kneeling position. When we are shaken, stirred and poured out of our selves by sudden, violent trespasses, love is the energy that bends low to swaddle us in soft feathers. But it feels the opposite. It feels like agony, like unbearable vulnerability, down there on our knees. I tell you, stay there. Stay in your agony and your vulnerability. Feel the full effects. Let all your fears flow up to your conscious mind and spill out on the ground around you. Shed your tears. Feel the haunt. You are being cleansed of your worst fears and wild imaginings, your core issues of not feeling safe.

The mighty force will reveal itself when Clarence Center, collectively, has released its hidden fears to the wind. It will take an undesignated amount of time. But a time will come when you greet each other on your streets, in your cafes and parks and fire hall gatherings, and you will feel the effects of the cleansing. You will see the effects of wide open hearts. Hearts unafraid to laugh and embrace and live life to the fullest extent. Because tragedy is meant to unite and uplift once the sorrow has passed.

You have been chosen, good People of Clarence Center, to set the example for all Buffalonians who share your sorrows, as well as the world at large. Welcome the families of those who perished, should they need to come. Honor the portal on Long Street as sacred ground. Surround the women who lost their home and loved one with more support than they have ever known. And allow your personal cleansing.

The experience of vulnerability takes courage. Be brave. Let it wash through you. Let your heart open wider than you ever thought possible. When you know you are safe, even if the sky is falling, you will be filled with the mighty force of love. Use that force for all it's worth. Rise together out of ashes. Light up the world with your hearts.

{The photo of the sunlit dahlia was taken in a garden on Clarence Center Road, near what became the crash site.}