Another long drive today listening to the radio. It left my heart splintered with news of violence. And it is our violence. Violence we still seem able to justify as just. Should any cause have the right to claim cruelty as a tool? Should any tool be weaponised against children?

I love knowing children are amongst us. They are the energy of our lives, encouraging us all onwards. And they are the roots of our future, holding us all in place. Yet still we inflict terrible damage on them and their communities. Why? Because we are tangled in bitter spirals, and the struggle to free ourselves only digs the thorns deeper.

What can we do about it? Surely the answer is that we must do what we can with what is within our reach. Learning to be calm. Loving the children around us. Giving them time. Giving them hope. And listening.

May the violence stop.

Copyright Georgie Knaggs & The Phraser 2023