Tuesday, November 17, 2015

A Sad Weekend




It's been a dark weekend as the news of the terrorist attacks in Paris is on everyone's minds. Last week I also found out that a friend of mine who has been sick for awhile has been told by the doctors that he has max one more year to live. It's easy to end up feeling hopeless and angry in times like this.

We live in a world that is broken but although we are aware of this we don't think of it on a regular day. We know the facts; about 29 000 children under the age of five die every day around the world from preventable diseases, 27 million people are in modern-day slavery across the world. Yes, this world is broken. This world is not currently operating the way it's supposed to work. We know the facts but us who live in the safer parts of the world can easily forget about the reality, things like a terror attack is a painful reminder of the state of the world we live in.

When disaster strikes it's natural to become very angry and want revenge, but we have to remind ourselves that hating evil people will only give birth to more evil. It's given me a lot of hope to see many people take a stand for love, unity, openness and tolerance on social media after the Paris attacks. A world that stands united in love and refuses to fight hate with more hate is the only way to end the evil cycle. I love the quote by Martin Luther King Jr. that still rings true today:

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."
Martin Luther King, Jr.

Antoine Leiris in an incredible man, he lost his wife in the Paris attacks and has written an emotional text on facebook called: "You won't get my hate." Antoine refuses to hate although he is burdened with deep grief right now. Read about his story here:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/paris-terror-husband-pays-touching-tribute-to-love-of-his-life-in-defiant-message-to-attackers-a6737231.html

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