Norway Tragedy Thoughts

(In light of the events in Norway, I am posting a guest posting from Geir Jordahl. Our prayers go out to all affected by this tragedy.)

Dear Friend:

There are no words yet I must speak.

First of all, I must express condolences to all who lost loved ones and friends directly in yesterday’s tragedy in Norway. Words help little but they can remind us that we are not alone.

Nietzsche said that a man can survive any how if he has a why to live for. The attack on a children’s camp in Norway truly challenges Nietzsche's assertion for me. Perhaps it is because Norway is my first home. Perhaps it is because there is no greater cowardice, no greater sin than killing children. Perhaps it is because…. I look for reasons, I look for ways to attempt to understand how such horror and tragedy can happen. How? Yet it happens everyday, in many places across our sacred precious earth.

Barely 24 hours before the attack in Norway, Kate and I were driving through Oklahoma City. The temperature was 107 degrees F and we were on our way home from the memorial celebrating the life of Marie Quinn O’Grady, Kate’s Mom who left this earth last month. The drive from Florida was long and hot and tiring. Yet we were compelled to exit the interstate and brave the 107-degree temperature to stop at the Oklahoma City National Memorial. We stopped to view that sacred space where men, women and children perished. I was not entirely enthusiastic about stopping (I am no lover of heat!) but the reason to be there came clear when I stood under the survivor tree. It reminded me of my “why;” to communicate through pictures the magic and beauty of the earth, to affirm life and transcend mere survival by recognizing the sanctity of all life.

Survivor Tree, Oklahoma City National Memorial





Tragedy and suffering compels us to reaffirm the why of our existence, for without it we have no reason to live. I still have no words, but the lack of words resides in the world do the “how.” It is in our “why” that we persevere.

It is my hope that my friends, family and colleagues will come together in the face of such horror and sadness and look to reaffirm their own personal ‘whys” in their lives. To quote from Victor Frankl from “Man’s Search for Meaning”

"We must never forget that we may also find meaning in life even when confronted with a hopeless situation, when facing a fate that cannot be changed. For what then matters is to bear witness to the uniquely human potential at its best, which is transform a personal tragedy into a triumph, to turn one’s predicament into a human achievement."

Geir Jordahl