oh, boston {still + life}
Tuesday, April 16, 2013 at 05:01AM 
“There is only one way in which one can endure man's inhumanity to man and that is to try, in one's own life, to exemplify man's humanity to man.” ~ Alan Paton
On days like this, small things on the scale of life become writ large.
A nice afternoon for a run.
First responders rushing in to help.
Marathoners stopped, quite literally, in their tracks. Thrown off their stride. And then striding to hospitals, offering to give blood.
Hours and miles of training, stopped short.
Runners racing for charity, for friends, for loved ones. A day of jubilation. It should have been.
I'm struck, as always, as I scrolled through some images of the day, the horrible day, at the sight of all the people helping each other, touching each other, holding on to each other. Man's humanity to man. Nothing can take that away.
Reader Comments (12)
Thanks for the reminder, Sweetie. I read the Paton quote to a patient this morning and it was very helpful for her.
Even with all the craziness going in the world today, I cling determinedly to the innate goodness of Man.
It's so sad that people feel the need to vent in such senseless and violent ways.
You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty. ~Ghandi
Beautiful post - ugly times.
So heartbreaking. Try though they might, they can't take the simple acts of kindness away from people. That was the most uplifting part of the whole devastating day. xoxo
the speech obama gave about "acts of kindness" made me cry and feel so very proud. and unlike my earlier angry feelings about the act itself, after i heard that i decided that truly is what we/i should be focusing on. so powerful.
Such a sad day, and such remarkable bravery from those who helped others, not knowing if there were more blasts to come.
Beautiful quote! Such a sad and tragic day. However, along side the sadness was an amazing outpouring of selflessness and courage - the bright light in all of this. May all those affected find some peace. xo
I can't even read the news about this, it's just so horrid.
quote worthy of a frame. thanks.
Hooray for the majority, hooray for humanity.
I just don't get why someone would want to do such a thing.
Watched a documentary on the civil war in Syria and Assads troops vs. the refugees opposed to the regime. Tragic, so tragic that these battles go on across the world, it all feels so impossible to resolve. Innocent people wiped out and battle in these circumstances is that of survival.
Great quote x
It is such a tragedy what happened in Boston. I still can't fathom why somebody would do something like this. Thanks for sharing this beautiful quote with us!
PS. A friend from Boston just texted me and all transit has been shut down as the the police is on a hunt for one of the suspects in the shooting. I need to keep following the news what is going to happen...
such destruction. such tragedy.... no words xxx