Where the day takes you... and me

Apr 19, 2013Stephen Charles Lincoln

I use my imagination all the time.

The bakery started there—my creative desire to solve a snack puzzle. It's on the loose wherever I am. Sitting in the theater, I can find myself redesigning the casts' costumes by intermission or I can walk into a museum and rethink what should be done with that extra room in my apartment. I absolutely love making my world more exciting. That's why my mind is running at such a quick clip.

But that's me.

And then there are the horrific events up in Boston, where I see that utter destruction is how someone else's mind works. And frankly, my mind can't put that puzzle together. The thought process that causes someone to orchestrate such an atrocity. I cannot "wrap my mind around it." Whatever the anger stems from, I refuse to accept random violence as its fix.

I was incredibly shook up as Monday unraveled before my eyes. When another harmless coming together of people is forever marred. When innocent lives are upended and destroyed. Running down a city street with fellow racing enthusiasts on a Spring day. Sharing a sporting moment and a long-standing tradition.

I am an incredibly social person. I love interacting and learning new things. The important people in my life are what make my life so exciting. So I'm always happy to make new friends and acquaintances. Each person could open my eyes to new ideas, music, art, love.

And then, in an instant the world spins off course. ...Who thinks like this?

The marathon doesn't make me want to close the walls around me. It doesn't make me distrust everything I believe in and hold dear. It does make me uneasy thinking about what each of us is capable of. The horror we can do. But then, no sooner do the bombs burst, that the humanity surfaces. Flourishes too. The first responders, the hospital staff, the brave, compassionate citizenry that can't help those in need fast enough.

We have to walk among each other. Literally and figuratively. 

That tragic day in Boston has made me, once again, appreciate all the love I have in my life. It only makes me want to seek out more. That's the reason I believe we're here. On this planet. Those seething with hatred are not going to stop me.

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