April 17, 2007

reflections

life gets so crazy sometimes, we barely have time to stop and think. sometimes, i forget to breathe...sometimes it's just too much. but then a day like yesterday comes along and puts a lot of things into perspective. 30+ people were shot and killed at virginia tech yesterday - what a terrible tragedy! how does life get so out of control that killing people becomes the answer? how does someone plan and plot out such an atrocity without anyone else noticing? without someone else questioning what's going on? how is it that not one friend or family member of the murderer noticed anything? no red flags were raised...no one went to the authorities? what is it that we are missing here?

how do you survive in a world where a 23 year old goes on a killing rampage?

i can't say that i live in fear that someone that i may have disgruntled in the past will come back to kill me...or that i'll be caught in the cross-fire of some explosive rage, but that's because i don't believe in living in fear. but it is highly disturbing to me that such events can errupt on society. it's beyond tragic, it's appaling. i don't know what the shooters "reason" was for his rampage, but we all face adversity, disappointment, heartbreak, and bad luck in life... we need to rise above it. we have to pick-up and move forward. because it's not what you are faced with in life – it's how you deal with life that makes you a success.

in sharp contrast to yesterday's mass killing, I was pleasently surprised by a stranger...I parked my car at Memorial Blood Centers yesterday after work...and as I locked my car, a nice man smiled at me and said "Thanks for donating today." I don't need thanks or aknowledgement for donating, but this man took the time and energy to appreciate my efforts...and it felt good. I don't know if he worked there, if he was a donor himself, or what have you...but it was a very kind gesture.

We are all very different, and we all experience and react to life differently - it's what makes the world go round...but, if I can be a person who makes someone smile (even for some menial reason), then that's who I want to be.

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