no one would blame you

What happened last night in Manchester was terrible.

When things like this happen, there are people who have to deal with them and cannot take breaks. Those people are the immediately affected, their families and friends, the emergency services, and --behind the scenes --the investigators. Those are the people in the immediate area who can render appropriate assistance. Shortly afterwards, that  group will include everyone who helps with the grief and related stresses, rehabilitative services, and those involved in rebuilding in every sense of what that means.

There is a danger in concentrating too much on the details of horrific events as they unfold. The people who are actively dealing with it now need people around them who can share a bit of strength with them because events like this are hard to deal with emotionally, physically, and spiritually, and because there is no sense in this. They have to deal with it --they have no choice, and they will have no rest right now.

It is your responsibility as a bystander (talking to myself here, but if you can take something away from it, please do) to choose respite because you can. The worst thing you can do in a situation like this is take it on because it will make you feel powerless. It is your responsibility to preserve your strength because the people who have to deal with it now, who can't take breaks, will need it in the weeks, months, and years to come. It is your responsibility not to forget and to be there for those people, but to take breaks so you can do that more effectively.

Today, I will go work with children. I will appreciate their laughter even more than usual, and I will approach them with an extra dose of patience. I'm sure no one would blame me.