All of us at The Gentle Barn are mourning the tragedy in Orlando this week. We are carrying all the victims, the survivors, their families, and the community in our hearts. I don't know what's more horrifying: the fear, pain, and loss of the victims or the hatred and viciousness of the perpetrator. That kind of bigotry needs immediate healing and we at The Gentle Barn will work hard to plant love, compassion, and gentleness in the hearts of our future generations.

There is very little we can do in the face of terrorist attacks like these, other than send out love and pray, but I believe we are all perpetrators of some kind of small-mindedness or resistance in much smaller degrees. The key to peace is to use this as an opportunity to find the blocks, walls, and resistance inside of ourselves and open our own hearts more to love. Where do we judge others? To whom can we be more loving? Are we against some religions? Are we against certain people getting married? Do we love people but not animals? So we love animals more than people? Do we love some animals and eat others? Where can we bring more compassion? Peace must start with ourselves!

At The Gentle Barn we work tirelessly every day to create more love for animals, for people, and for Mother Earth. Even in the face of this tragedy and all the troubles of our times, I still remain hopeful that we can have a gentle world. People are opening their hearts everyday. Hunters are relinquishing their weapons, we now have marriage equality in this country, and thousands of people are adopting a plant based diet everyday. I believe we can do this, when we stop pointing the finger and we figure out how we can be more positive, more kind, and more thoughtful where we are, in our homes and communities, in our own lives. It starts with us!

Maybe each of us can use this terrible tragedy to examine how we can love more, give more, how we can be more thoughtful, and then put it into practice, now!

Ellie Laks-Weiner
Founder
The Gentle Barn