The dust is settled. Its finally over (at least for the time being).
How do I feel?
Honestly, little more than incredibly, profoundly SAD.
Yes, tearfully sad.
While I, along with millions of others, am merely a long-distance observer, I still feel a powerful sense of loss.
No rational, well-adjusted person can take pleasure in the dire misfortunes and destruction of human life, lost human potential, dashed dreams, crushed futures - no matter the cause or circumstances. The human heart naturally gravitates toward hope, love, the individual and common good. Its the only way we survive and thrive. I may be passionate, often opinionated, sometimes very angry when discussing this case, but I take no delight in human misery. The destruction of one of us makes us all LESS.
I grieve the loss, the potential, the glittering future of the warm, generous, intelligent, loving Reeva Steenkamp, her familys shattered lives and lost happiness. A million stories are her story. It breaks my heart on a personal level, as I could have easily been one of those stories.
But if Im honest, I also grieve the loss of what was once the best of Oscar Pistorius, what he once was, his lost innocence, the best of what he represented, the lives he touched, the hope he did indeed inspire, the great causes he might have championed after his athletic career. No one can ever take away his dedication, his hard work, his successes, his medals, his good deeds. Now just memories.
A rising star, snuffed out.
A blazing star, burnt out.
Two lost lives.
What could have been.
Yes, Oscar will pay dearly for his crime.
But I sincerely take no joy.
