The Monday After The Friday Before

Greg Ortega

 GO. BE. LOVE. The world needs you.

 ♥ ♥ ♥

~ Susan Branch

It's Monday morning. Had some difficulty this past weekend wondering what to post. I had other plans and ideas, but somehow it all seemed too ordinary, almost trivial, in light of the horrifying events that took place in Paris just a few days ago.

We watched the news and kept an eye on our Facebook feeds as people around the world shared their responses in light of these tragic losses. So many thoughtful articles and posts.

When we aren't the ones actually involved in the tragedy in someway, we sometimes don't know how to respond to such news. We can feel the sadness and the grief, but our lives carry on. On Saturday morning, I got up and found refuge in my kitchen, pulling out ingredients to make homemade stock that would later become a comforting leek vegetable chicken soup. There's a kind of consolation in doing something ordinary and peaceful when one's mind swirls with images and emotions of such a horrible magnitude.

It was interesting to read one Facebook comment from a woman and her family living in France not so far away from Paris. Their plans had been to go to some of the local Christmas markets on the weekend. Should they still go ... or not? In the end they went. Quiet, subdued, reeling with the reality of the horror fresh in their minds, they went, keeping faith with those who were also there, carrying on with normal life in some small measure, taking comfort in the seasonal displays, buying an ornament or two, even enjoying the antics of some silly dog.

Louis Pellissier

Yesterday, Rick and I went to a lovely coffee spot in town. I caught sight of a local newspaper with photos of the Eiffel Tower. As I sat waiting for Rick to bring our coffee to the table, I looked around. People sitting in corners, some reading, some tapping away on their iPads, others sitting in little groups quietly enjoying each other's company. It seemed quieter and more subdued than sometimes.

And, the thought ran through my mind, we're sitting in this place inhaling the fragrance of fresh ground coffee, listening to the chatter and buzz of coffee grinders ... people had been doing this very thing in Paris just a few days earlier before their world exploded. And lives ended.

There are a thousand thoughts we can think at a time like this. I didn't feel fear in this, but I did note that our lives together with people we love should not be taken for granted. The chances of something like this happening to me personally may be slim, but living in a world fraught with hatred makes us all vulnerable.

So we sip our hot chocolate and nibble away on our cinnamon croissant. We think of these dear people.

We also remember well known words by Mother Teresa ... Every act of love is a work of peace no matter how small. We can't help the people in Paris personally. But, in response, we draw nearer those we do know and love; we hold hands, and we demonstrate little acts of kindness to people we know and folks we don't. Sending out love, not fear or hatred or despair. For where you tend a rose, a thistle cannot grow.

I share a bit of poetry I saw on Facebook ...

later that night

i held an atlas in my lap

ran my fingers across the

whole world

and whispered

where does it hurt?

it answered

everywhere

everywhere

everywhere

by Warsan Shire

Our hearts go out to those whose lives are forever changed, wherever they are in the world.

Wishing you peace...

Brenda

xox