A Massacre In New Zealand – My Home Country

I dedicate Prue’s Place Daily today to my fellow Kiwis and our dear friend Munshi who works part-time for Prue’s Place. Munshi’s Muslim family lives in New Zealand. Many healing blessings to you all.

Kia Ora lovely you,

A few hours ago I woke up and saw a text from a friend who said, “My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family in your homeland today.” I didn’t know what she was talking about because I don’t watch the news! The first thing I thought of was that New Zealand has had another terrible earthquake. I grabbed my phone and there it was all over the news. “49 people killed in a terrorist attack.” A Massacre In New Zealand. My heart sank. Who would want to kill peaceful loving “Kiwis” (New Zealanders are affectionately known as Kiwis.) Not the fruit the cute flightless bird!

My family is safe, thank goodness but I’m still checking on friends from Christchurch and hoping everyone is Okay.

Please join me in a moment of prayer for all who are affected by the darkest day ever for the New Zealand people.

I’m searching for answers. 

The monster behind this attack moved to New Zealand from Australia temporarily with a mission to kill as many Muslims as he could while they were praying. He had a large following on Facebook and attached a camera to his head streaming this violent attack live to his fans on Facebook. Why Facebook let this video go live for so long is incomprehensible. Shame on you Mark Zuckerberg.

The evil master mind behind this attack wanted to show the world that terrorism can happen anywhere even in the safest kindest country in the world. Sadly, his mission was accomplished.

My heart is broken. I’m so sad because New Zealand will never be the same free-loving country I know. We’d offer you the shirt off our back and bring you home for a meal and a bed for the night just because we care about you.

New Zealand has opened its gates to people from all cultures and religions who meet our merit point immigration process. We are a group of small islands in the South Pacific with a multi-cultural melting pot of 4 million people. A deadly assault like this has never happened in New Zealand’s modern history.

I’m still in shock as I write to you all today and finding ways to cope with this tragic moment.

Now, there was a time in my life where a situation like this would have sent me straight into panic and anxiety mode. And what would this accomplish? It will not change this tragic moment. Panic and anxiety will send my heart racing and my blood pressure soaring. I won’t let myself go there anymore. I have used some techniques today that are helping me cope with this tragic dark day.

Here are 4 Ways I Manage Stress and Tragic Moments: 

1. Breathe: I have been telling people to breathe for years, but few have really listened to me. I get it, that word is thrown around when people are freaking out, and it has lost its real context. The thing is, taking slow, deep breaths actually have a physical effect on your body. Your body immediately calms down and believes the threat or danger is gone. Try it the next time you start to feel stressed. Just take 3 slooooow, deep breaths and see if you don’t instantly feel disarmed.

2. Meditate: Mindful meditation has been PROVEN to combat the effects of stress. Meditation is what helped me to finally get quiet and in-tune with myself. Through meditation, I not only reduced the impact of stress in my life but also became aware of my own power. If you’ve never meditated before, start with just five minutes a day and slowly try to work your way up to 20 minutes. There are many different ways to try mindful meditation, so experiment to see what works best for you. Mindfulness helped me save my life from stage 4 cancer so I know it works for all stressful situations.

3. Exercise: Stress primes your muscles for action and all of those fight or flight chemicals have to be burned off. Exercise is the best way to actually get rid of the hormones that are causing you harm. As a bonus, exercise releases feel-good hormones that make you feel calm and happy. If your doctor has said it’s okay to exercise, I encourage you to get some each day. Even just walking around your neighborhood will help immensely.

4. Count Your Blessings: An excellent remedy for stress is to think of all of the beautiful people and things in your life that give you joy. Much like you can’t juggle and do a handstand at the same time, you can’t feel stress and joy at the same time. So, when you are feeling sad and stressed out, and you can feel your blood pressure begin to rise, stop, take 3 slow, deep breaths and think about something positive.

Try the 4 tips I suggested. They are working for me today and if they are working for me during this stressful sad time, they can work for everyone!

Sending healing prayers to beautiful New Zealand – Aotearoa (The Land of the Long White Cloud).

Kiwi Strong.​

Aroha Koe, (Love you)