Thoughts

My heart breaks for the lives lost in the tragedies that have occurred this week in Boston and West. My heart breaks for the lives lost in all the shootings that happened earlier this year.

It breaks for the people who decided to it was necessary for them to create and plant bombs, to shoot and kill civilians, children and police officers, to light structures on fire.

It breaks for the friends and families who have lost someone or sustained life altering injuries, both physical and emotional.

But at a certain point, it stops being news and it becomes sensationalism. We stop watching for information and start watching for the "drama" of it all.

It is hard not to be sucked into the terror, panic, worry and grief. We feel for these people, yes, but in all honesty, we like the excitement the same way we like a scary movie. And THAT is sensationalism.

I know myself. And I know I have fallen victim to sensationalism. I have sat in front of the TV for hours, watching the same footage over and over (because at some point, the newscasters have absolutely nothing new to say). But all that does is unsettle me and ruin my day. It does nothing to help the investigative efforts, it does nothing to help the injured, it does nothing to ease the grief of those left behind.

So today, I will be praying. Whenever someone pops into my head, I will say a quick prayer for them. When my mind wanders to what's happening in Boston and West, I will pray for them. But I will be turning off the TV. If I need information I can check an online source (let's be honest, I can check Facebook and become informed about a myriad of things).

I hope this doesn't offend anyone or make me sound insensitive or like I'm downplaying what happened (actually, I don't care if you're offended... Free speech, blah blah blah). People die every day. There are injustices happening EVERYWHERE and they are happening ALL THE TIME. We just don't hear about them because they don't make the news.

In all this tragedy, in all the hate we see, there is always good. There are people who run towards the chaos, there are people who open their homes, there are people who give and give and give. They are the good in this world.