GUILT
POLICE FACTOR
Prayer For Police Persons
PRAYER AND REFLECTIONS for police persons INVOCATION FOR SAFETY Calling in a wise embracing power May you feel the warmth of loving hands   Owlish protection in wild dreams Protective rings ‘round dark scenes Sweetness to you Compassion, compassion too Hearty rose, sky love blue Hallowed armor, holy waves Even ‘yond earthly  graves IN THE END To restore the peace we sometimes roam…. to the valley to the mount’s or sea to hills or streams But in the end we must come home to our truest self to storm-tossed dreams to endless quests for…    something more…
PSALM 23 The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing.  He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.  You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever.  Amen.
LORD’S PRAYER Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Guilt, Remorse and Grief When we are on duty and in the middle of a dangerous encounter, our main partner or someone else we work with regularly could be killed through gunshot wounds, knifing, beating, a vehicle hit and more. If this happens to someone we have developed some sort of relationship with, someone we have gotten to know better or perhaps even have became close to, it can make us feel guilty for being alive when they are not, or for not doing enough before or during the encounter.
Everywhere we go there we are
Taking Grief Down that Rocky Trail Sometimes the feelings of sadness can hit real levels of grief as a sort of ache that goes beyond sadness.  Sometimes we cannot stop crying. In other times, tears keep coming up here and there; in other cases, it can be like a crying that goes on inside one’s self without the visible signs of tears. What might help is to go inward with prayer and meditation to find the depths of your own soul first, as best as you can.  Find the inner turmoil, horror, sadness and pain.  Allow yourself to feel what you feel, whatever it is.  In addition, if you cannot seem to feel anything at all, even if it is a sense of numbness or apathy, allow this.  Don’t force anything.  Sometimes that hollow nothingness is a call of its own. After you make that real connection with yourself, then reach out and try to make that connection to the soul or deepest part of the person or persons who have departed through the violence you were witness to.  Try to talk to them in your heart and spirit as best you can, to express what you feel.  Try to make that final goodbye in a way that is honoring to both of you. Send them your best wishes, if you are up to that, but otherwise remain true to yourself and say and be what you really feel in this matter.  Then try to let it go while retaining the most significant parts of the memory of it all.  You can retain what was best in your connection with this person.  In addition, it is wise to learn from our experiences to add to our knowledge, experience and wisdom.  We can learn from even the most tragic encounters and can apply this knowledge to future endeavors to help ourselves and others.  If we allow, nothing is truly wasted or gone forever.
Brotherhood of Man The universality of sincerity can make all strangers brothers and sisters.  When we find and operate from the core of who we really are, we are the same.  Despite differences, something is deeply resonant in all of us if we allow it.