Newtown, Watertown, Yourtown, Anytown…

Is it just ME, or are you, too feeling incredibly sorry for – well, the whole world?

The Boston Marathon Bombings (Boston, Massachusetts, USA) on Monday, April 15, 2013, did more than stun those who lined Boylston Street to watch the runners cross the finish line; they stunned a nation and the global community.

The irony, if you will, is that, somewhere in the world a similar atrocity is inflicted on the citizens of Anytown, Anywhere and on every given day.

Of all the surreal images of this anticipated Patriot’s Day, the one that struck me so deeply was one of a band of Syrian nationals holding up a handwritten banner expressing their condolences to the people of Boston.  The banner profoundly stated that this single event that will forever change the lives of so many represents a way of life for too many in towns around the world.  It chilled my blood.

Miraculously, more lives were not lost in Boston; three were killed, three too many. The carnage in the aftermath among the survivors was worse than attending military medics had ever seen in battle.

But this is a battle; this is a war.

This is a war that has been waged on peaceful surburbs, towering buildings, and on the hearts of those who seem to have no choice.

But, there is  always a choice; the choice is this…

Thomas Jefferson said that, ‘the price of freedom is eternal vigilance’.

Be ever vigilant, watchful, caring of your fellow man. Begin in your home; know what your children are, and what they aren’t doing.  Speak up.  Stand for something bigger than yourself.

I  have been humbled by woman after woman, members of TheIWLA who work tirelessly to do something to leave this world a better place for the very fact that they lived; each of us can have that impact, one woman at a time.

To the women, the mothers of Syria and all venues around the world where you wait for the next bombing, the next casualties, do not lose hope, do not lose faith.  Remain stalwart in your desire to leave the world a better place. 

That, like all dreams, begins with your strength to believe it is possible.  In that belief, it is.

So, IS it just me, or do you, too, realize that only where there is hope and unity in spirit can these battles be won; be eliminated.

Say it; believe it…

“Not in my town”