Beyond cancer

This is not a day to write about cancer. Neither was yesterday. There is too much pain in Boston. There is too much pain in my heart.

But for today, we will weep and we will mourn.

People ran yesterday. They ran to celebrate. They ran for pride. They ran for hope. They ran for love. Some ran to raise money for cancer research, for domestic violence programs, for local hospitals–for dozens of other worthy causes.

And suddenly people were running for their lives–and running to save the lives of others.

Into darkness

Dreams died yesterday. Nightmares began.

One young woman was a dancer. She lost her leg.

…a city of ideals that tries to live up to the image of the “city on a hill…”

An eight-year-old died–and all he might have been and done died with him. His mother and sister are seriously injured. His father had just crossed the finish line in triumph that changed instantly to tragedy.

Out of the darkness

The temptation is to focus entirely on the negative things–to wonder at our collective inhumanity.

 …our love and compassion will overwhelm those who would do evil.

But do not lose faith in humanity from this. Rather, let the actions of the people at the finish line rushing to help the injured underline the greatness of human kind. Think about the race officials using their lanyards as tourniquets, the runners running through the finish line and to the hospital to give blood, the doctors and nurses in the first aid tents rushing to the injured. That is humanity. The bombers are evil incarnate. But their evil is as nothing compared to the goodness of the vast majority.

The choice

We can let these events destroy us. We can barricade ourselves in our homes and decide no one is to be trusted. We can choose to focus  on our immediate friends and family–excluding all others from our lives–impoverishing ourselves as a result.

…do not lose faith in humanity from this.

Or we can continue to move forward with open hearts and open minds. We can choose to emulate the people who ran to the aid of others. If we do so, our love and compassion will overwhelm those who would do evil. They may have their small victories, but the final victory will be ours.

The wrong place, the wrong time

This morning, one of the doctors interviewed put it very well:

Dreams died yesterday. Nightmares began.

Boston is where the American Revolution began. It is where the idea of America–and what it means to be an American–was born. It is a city of learning, a city of compassion, a city of love. It is a city of imperfection–but it is also a city of ideals that tries to live up to the image of the “city on a hill” it aspires to.

We shall overcome

We will get through this. We will continue to strive for learning and patience and wisdom. No terrorist will change that. We simply will not allow it.

There is too much pain in Boston.

But for today, we will weep and we will mourn. And in September, we will walk.