Moments Count

A child is born a soft, beautiful innocent.

Leaving forever their sleep of silence in the sensuous rhythms of the Sea of Nine, they will propel themselves ever forward. They look to us for safety.

A child is born a moving, energetic force.

Touching the air for the first time, their tender bodies shudder with bursting newness. They reach for us, knowing only that they need our comfort.

A child is born a clear, open visionary.

Hearing and seeing with a perception unique from our own, they attend to our actions and reactions to learn their own way.

A child is born a creative, expressive imagination.

Designing a puzzle of complexity to later become the labyrinth of their own being, they look to us for guidance, trusting we will offer them love and peace.

A child is born a pure, expansive mind.

Inventing and changing as each day passes, trying on the ideas and images we model for them. But always, a child looks in our eyes seeking our approval and our nurturance.

A child is born a soft, beautiful innocent.
What a child becomes depends on us all.

Innocence Lost:

Today I read the tragically painful, yet hopeful story of the 52 children rescued as part of the FBI's Innocence Lost National Initiative. In 2003 this program was created, with the goal of stopping the sex trafficking of children in the United States.

We all realize the United States is only one of the countries attempting to deal with these insidious crimes against children. The Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking www.CASTLA.org explains in depth the horror of this story as it reaches around the world touching every crevice of the globe.

However, it is imperative to recognize that a child does not have to be kidnapped in the night, snatched at a playground, or sold into slavery to become the victim of this chilling degradation. The harrowing truth is a child is the victim of a sexual assault from a stranger in only about 10% of all cases.

This, in turn, reflects a catastrophic realization. 90% of the time a child is a victim of sexual abuse, it is caused by someone they know. Additionally, estimates indicate that 30-70% of perpetrators of child sexual abuse are the child's direct relative.

These facts are terrifying.
Yes.

If they are terrifying to us to read I ask us all to think of the incredible terror and overwhelming pain each of these children suffers with daily. These children will grow into adults. All of us do. This pain is not easily left behind.

No child should live this way. No child.

No one.

Anywhere.

Please, reach out.