Sandy Hook Mom to Visit Tri-Valley

Many of us will never forget December 14, 2012 when we learned about the unimaginable violence that took place at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. You may recall exactly what you were doing when you found out. No parent should ever have to endure such an experience. And, Scarlett Lewis has.

She lost her youngest son Jesse in an act of unthinkable tragedy. Jesse was a brave boy, and by all accounts, saved many other children from being shot that day as he shouted for his classmates to run while the gunman paused to reload. He was shot moments later.

Her story is not one about a massacre. While some parents who lost a child during this massacre have become gun activists, and work with legislators for tighter gun control laws, Lewis has a different message for all of us here in Livermore. Despite losing her son and experiencing deep tragedy, Lewis’ mission brings greater awareness to choices we have when we’ve experienced suffering in some way.

According to Lewis, one can choose love over anger, gratitude over entitlement, and forgiveness and compassion over bitterness. She has learned that love is the essential element necessary to move forward. Taking this path of love is a choice.

“We can live in anger and resentment, or we can choose love and forgiveness”, Lewis explains. With her extraordinary efforts, she found some peace in her own life and believes that choosing love was the key to creating a healthy, safe, and happy world.

Since the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy, Lewis has consulted with industry leaders and educators in the field of compassion. She is focused on developing and bringing educational programs into the school system, to teach children how to handle their angry thoughts and be compassionate.

And, she’s coming to Livermore to share her message in greater detail. On Friday, November 14, 2014, Lewis is the spotlight speaker for “Healing through Compassion – A Conversation with Scarlett Lewis” at the First Presbyterian Church. Admission is $20 per person, includes a copy of Lewis’ book “Nurturing Healing Love” and proceeds benefit her nonprofit organization, Jesse Lewis Choose Love Foundation.

While visiting the Bay Area, Lewis is also part of the Compassion and Healthcare Conference in San Francisco, which is being held during Compassion Week 2014. The Charter for Compassion, The Center for Compassion and Altruism Research &
Education (CCARE) at Stanford University, and the Tensin Gyatso Institute are jointly hosting a whole week of compassion events in San Francisco, November 10th to 16th, 2014.

To help local juveniles find compassion and forgiveness in their lives, Lewis expands her community reach with a private presentation at Camp Wilmont Sweeney in San Leandro, which is a residential Juvenile Hall facility for adolescent males ranging in age from 15 through 19. Part of Camp Wilmont Sweeney’s program focuses on anger management, violence prevention and development of life skills.

For a deeper experience, residents can join Lewis at an all-day “Everything is Possible with Healing and Compassion” workshop with colleagues Dana Liesegang and local resident Kate Mackinnon. Liesegang also has a message of forgiveness after being violently attacked, raped, and thrust off the 75-foot cliffs. She awoke from an 18-hour coma, in a hospital paralyzed from the neck down, several internal injuries and a severe head injury. Over twenty years later, she is working on leaving her wheelchair behind, has the ability to walk with the aid of a walker and/or crutches and has discovered how to forgive her attacker.

Mackinnon is a Craniosacral Therapist who continues to help Lewis and Liesegang heal with Craniosacral Therapy.

For additional details or ticket purchases for “Healing through Compassion – A Conversation with Scarlett Lewis” please visit http://www.fpcl.us

—Information, photo submitted by the Jesse Lewis Choose Love Foundation.

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