On the anniversary of the murder of her husband, John Lennon, Yoko Ono asks us to honor his memory by taking a message of hope and forgiveness out of the tragedy of his death. Yoko wrote:
"To the people who have also lost loved ones without cause:
forgive us for having been unable to stop the tragedy. We pray for the wounds to heal.
To the soldiers of all countries and of all centuries, who were maimed for life, or who lost their lives:
forgive us for our misjudgments and what happened as a result of them.
To the civilians who were maimed, or killed, or who lost their family members: forgive us for having been unable to prevent it.
To the people who have been abused and tortured: forgive us for having allowed it to happen.Know that your loss is our loss.Know that the physical and mental abuse you have endured will have a lingering effect on our society, and the world.Know that the burden is ours.
As the widow of one who was killed by an act of violence, I don't know if I am ready yet to forgive the one who pulled the trigger. I am sure all victims of violent crimes feel as I do. But healing is what is urgently needed now in the world.Let's heal the wounds together.
Every year, let's make December 8th the day to ask for forgiveness from those who suffered the insufferable."
We could all hope to rise to this challenge.
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