Monday, April 15, 2013

Facing Tragedy Together


Tonight’s blog is dedicated to all those who were affected by the tragedy today that occurred in Boston and for all those souls who live in fear on a daily basis.  May you find hope through the kindness of humans.

Every generation has had to deal with heartache and terror, but it doesn’t get any easier to understand.  When I was little, I selfishly felt insulated and safe because for a time all the bad things were happening half a world away.  And then, bad things happened here, in this country.  The president, my president (at six years old, I understood) was assassinated, then Martin Luthur King Jr. and then another Kennedy brother.  I sat on the couch watching the replay of Bobby Kennedy’s attack on TV over and over.  I rocked back and forth. I didn’t know what else to do with my nervous energy.  I could not move.  Truly, I lived in fear; waiting for the next bad thing to happen. Reassuringly, my mother would say, “That happened far away from here.  It is OK,”  but I knew it wasn’t.

Today, the world is a small place.  Boston is the wonderful city, my family would day trip to and immerse ourselves in history.  In 2013, I can experience Boston from my computer.  It is nearly impossible to isolate our children from the harsh, horrible realities that are part of our present life.  Our children will be part of the solution for a better future.  For now, we can all partake wisdom from the late Fred Rogers,

“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers.  You will always find people who are helping.”

Let’s hang onto the essence of human goodness through all our helpers.  The brave souls in Boston who risk their lives to help another are heroes.  It prompts me to pay close attention to how I conduct myself in this world of helpers.  Truly, we are in this human existence together.  We can all help. 

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