As someone who has undergone many traumas during my life, I’ve come to understand my own process fairly well. Tonight, almost exactly 24 hours since President Trump was shot at, I suddenly felt a sadness in my heart, when I saw yet another clip online. The point is, it takes a couple of clips, a couple of readings, a couple of storytelling shares, to fully grasp (if ever) the extent of something. A national (and international in part, since we’re all interconnected) trauma, is an excellent example to use in order to understand and alleviate our collective reactions.

First, we must take in the information. Disbelief might occur, or a rational instinct to simply ensure safety. Then, comes the shock, which can last anything from a couple of hours to a couple of days. Third, the news lands in our hearts, which can provoke grief, anger or depression. In this example, Donald Trump, isn’t just a man, husband and a father like so many others, but also a symbol for the United States, and for Freedom of speech in action. That too became hit at. As well as bystanders.

Personally, since Donald Trump is from Eugene, Oregon; I can’t help but be extra sympathetic and curious. This is where my mother Rose-Marie was an exchange student in the mid-60’s, loved, and returned to visit, and she was born the same year as President Trump. Have they met? Is she cheering on him from Heaven? Maybe.

A couple of months from now, we’ll all have moved on, some with a more defined direction and aim forward, making this another reason to always fight violence. This then, is to remember, we all need time to process.

Can you recognize your own reaction, in comparison to other things you’ve encountered in life? Is there a pattern, timeframe, and process you can trust? Becoming aware of this, help you heal.

Daring to become moved, is the greatest gift of all. Only by letting horrors land in our heart, can we develop and show compassion.