i’m under my covers, sipping on coffee, safe in sweden, while chaos is unfolding across the atlantic in boston, massachusettes. i’ve got a local boston tv station streaming live and i’m checking twitter every few minutes and the news is unfolding in real time before my eyes & ears.
i tend to do this when big things happen. and it doesn’t have to only be in the states. i was glued to my computer when revolutions occurred in egypt and violence broke out in benghazi, syria, palestine, etc. the question is, do i get too stuck in these things?
24 hour news is an amazing and scary thing. twitter and reddit have changed how news is reported. but, i think i do know when i need to shut it all off and move on. still, i find that it is important, as a citizen of the world, to know what my brothers and sisters all over the world are facing and experiencing. i’m not into sensationalism and speculation, but rather, i feel that in order to be a better person where i am, in order to live a life of peace and spread that peace onward, it is good for me to be aware and updated on current events. and to not only know tidbits, but to try to get a better understanding of what is happening.
for now, my thoughts are with the people of boston. it must be scary and unsettling, knowing that there is so much violence popping up across the area. the current news is not only about what happened at the boston marathon on monday, but what is, at this moment, going on with chases, gunfires, and searches for suspects. people are being asked to stay inside their homes and lock their doors. really scary stuff.
but, i also can’t help but think about people who live in the midst of this kind of violence and fear every day of their lives. there are innocent people in many other countries all across the world who face random acts of violence daily.
all violence is horrible. enough is enough.
it seems too overwhelming, i know, to try to make a change or a difference. but, the only thing we can do, is choose how we will live our own lives, in our own towns, in our own countries. how do we rid this world of so much violence? i have no answers. i only know that we can choose what we prioritize in life…
are we going to be individualists, thinking of only what makes us the most powerful, successful, rich people we can personally be?
or are we going to live as a community, thinking about the greater good for everyone?
peace is not an easy path. in fact, it’s the harder road, which requires more self-discipline. but, i am determined to continue to believe that this world can be a place of peace. i will not give up hope.
hugs and comfort for all of you today. peace.
I hope everything is fine there with your friends and family! (;
<3
we are fine. thank you for your thoughts! 🙂
Good and healing thoughts to you. Good and healing thoughts to us all.
Kate
absolutely. peace, my friend.
Good post.
What can we do? Talk to our enemies. History shows, there is no other way to stop terrorists. Let’s do it sooner, rather than later, and stop the bloodshed.
you are so correct, rob. we must talk talk talk talk. i’m with you all the way.
Sending thoughts of peace out, along with so many people around the world… (for myself, I know that I cannot expose myself to the images and constant media accounts of violence – I feel as if I’ve become a personal victim of that violence and then I feel disempowered to offer any kind of support, however ephemeral it might be.)
it’s really good that you know your boundaries and limits. your peace and love are felt i am certain. xo