I say all the time that every moment we have to live our life is a blessing. So often I have found myself taking it for granted. Every hug from a family member. Every laugh we share with friends. Even the times of solitude are all blessings. Every second of every day is a gift. After Saturday evening, I know I truly understand how blessed I am for each second I am given.

Late Night Thoughts on the Eaton Center Shooting, Jessica Redfield

I genuinely hope these words turned out to be more than hollow platitudes for this woman. Writing this piece after narrowly avoiding a shooting on vacation in Toronto, she describes a strange feeling, during a moment in a food court. She was killed in the Aurora Theatre massacre last week.

I found this piece after reading Roger Ebert’s magnificent take on the shootings. When I told my family about her story, it was met by pure disbelief, but news articles confirmed it. I’m not a spiritual or religious person, but incidents like this certainly make you wonder about predetermined outcomes in life.

So what we are left with is a haunting message from beyond the grave. The Internet has given all manner of articulate (and inarticulate) people a place to publish their thoughts to millions of people, and in situations like this, that function shows its ability to transcend the simple retransmission of the trivial.

Well-meaning politicians will do their best to argue the case for changing rules related to these poorly interpreted, archaic sections of the US constitution, but I suspect the vested interests will come out on top yet again.

My thoughts are with the family of Jessica Redfield and the rest of the families of the victims.