Dear World

October 5, 2017

Well world, we did it.We have arrived to the largest mass shooting in U.S. history.

I stood on the train platform in South Station Monday morning, aimlessly walking my usual route, hustling past other commuters scurrying like ants towards cookie crumbs, in usual work cadence. But today is different. Today the deafening silence of the weight of another incident hangs in the air, thick like a heaping blanket of emotions.

Through my headphones blasts the latest breaking news alert, and my phone lights up every few minutes with further updates. A world in which starving children killed by mass explosions, fathers enduring torture while trying to protect their families, and mere babies drowning in the middle of the ocean while fleeing persecution, has become the absolute norm. A world where a man in his 60's can check into a suite for a weekend of seeming leisure and luxury, and unpack suitcases not of dapper suits and well-shined shoes, but of guns. 20 guns. Guns which he then used to open fire and brutally take down an entire crowd of fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, wives, husbands, girlfriends, daughters. Human beings. Watching their favorite country star perform on stage. A mass slaughter for no reason. Like so many around the world.

Why? I want to scream as the silence of this norm becomes louder. As CNN news alerts become more frequent. As life gets faster, and the world's climate spins further out of control. I am drowning and choking in a sea of words unsaid, of fear, inexplicable horror, sadness, and anger. How did we get here, world? Why is this something we have come to briefly mourn, then move on from, while sipping our Starbucks coffees followed by our typical 8 hours at the office? How have we arrived to such heinous acts of racism, bullying, mass torture, destruction, terrorism, and slaughter? From the smallest countries to the largest, hatred and lack of understanding, empathy, greed, and panic have shattered our globe's heart in a million pieces. We can't see clearly through the broken shards and I fear we won't be able to recover. Why?

I am seeking answers and all I find is silence. The deafening silence of broken shards.

As I'm scribbling on my commute home, I briefly scan the faces around me, illumined by the yellow light of the 5:26 train. An article pops up on my phone citing the heroes prevailing in moment of true hell, and find another glimmer of hope. Something we always desperately seek after these events rattle us to our core. A man holding the hand of a stranger for hours after she had passed. A woman waiting 8 hours to donate blood. Maybe with these small pieces of good, we can glue together all the larger, shattered ones.

Love is all we have. Love is the only thing that can save us.

[Photo by Cooper Smith on Unsplash]

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