Like everyone else, these last couple of days have left me saddened, scared, depressed, and slightly numb, both from the level of violence and from people trying to politicize such senseless tragedies. In just 24 hours, we had terrorist attacks in Paris, an earthquake in Japan, a funeral bombed in Baghdad, a suicide bombing in Beirut, and an earthquake in Mexico. In 24 hours 115,200 hearts stopped beating. Their voices silenced, whatever gifts they could give to the world taken away. Friends and family left to pick up the pieces and to go on. That bullshit about time heals all wounds? It doesn't. What it does do is put some distance between you and that horrific event, so it's not fresh anymore. The wound isn't healed over, it's just got scar tissue now. Poke too hard, and you'll expose all that hurt and pain all over again.
Take a second to let that sink in. Yes, people die every day; it's a fact of life, that none of us are getting out of here alive. But, to have so many taken away at once, above and beyond the "normal" total that shuffle off this mortal coil daily? That's horrifying. And there's no rhyme or reason to it. These people simply happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. This could happen to ANYONE.
But, there is a fine line between justice and revenge. Bringing the people responsible for these crimes out into the world to answer for them is justice. Punishing millions of people for the color of their skin or because some extremists twist their religion to justify their hate is revenge. An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind. If you don't buy that the Ku Klux Klan or the Westboro Baptist Church speak for all Christianity, you can't believe that ISIS speaks for all Islams. And, if you haven't been hearing all the Muslim and Islamic leaders condemning this type of behavior in the name of their God, it's not because they aren't but because you haven't been paying attention.
The best way to not let the terrorists win? Go out and about and live your life the way you want to. Visit with friends and family, go catch a movie, splurge on something you normally wouldn't, kiss your SO, care for a stranger, feed the needy. Fuck, just go out there and LIVE. Because, if they try to make you fill your heart with fear and hate, show them that there's no room because of all the love you have inside yourself. Show them that they can't win through fear, because we as humans will win through hope. Living matters, since you only get to be YOU once. Don't let anyone stop you from doing that. Wishing everyone out there lots of love, and big hugs and kisses. Take care of yourselves, take care of each other. We're all we've got to make it through.