I've been thinking a lot lately about the church shooting (and, by extension, Newtown, Columbine, and on and on).

A theme running through both Sisyphus and The Mountain Climber that has some bearing on these horrific events is the notion of paying attention. I don't know how or even if any of these could have been prevented, but I do know that paying attention to the children under our care makes a difference. Events such as these do not happen in isolation; looking back, in most cases there is a sequence leading to the final act that can't be seen until it is complete.

What can be done? It is a mistake, I believe, to label any child or adult who is angry, cruel, or intolerant as a monster ready to rain destruction on the innocent. It has been my experience that a small act of cruelty, intolerance, or expression of anger can be addressed with a gentle response, a little nudge. A small change in direction can make a big difference down the road.

This requires us to pay attention to what is going on around us, and weigh in gently while the incidents are small.

We may not prevent a major incident (and, by definition, we wouldn't know if we did), but helping to increase tolerance and decrease cruelty has value in and of itself.