Dear LilyOnTheLam.Com Readers:
The last couple days I have been viewing Tweets and Facebook status updates from friends gearing up for the Boston Marathon. I would read them with both awe and a little dash of envy. While I have walked several half-marathons and on one particularly ambitious day (emphasis on only ONE time) I walked 27 miles; but the thought of running 26.2 miles ... well I think it would be easier for me to sneak aboard a rocket to the moon than to run 26.2 miles. It seems outside the realm of possibility for me and my fitness level.
But I have friends who are made of steel and powered by positivity and jet fuel. They are runners and they had been training for this very day. To these friends flying from Tampa Bay to Boston to take part in the Boston Marathon was going to be a highlight of their running lives. I envied their enthusiasm, their motivation and their fitness. They were like warriors gearing up for battle. They had trained and were ready to show the world the fruits of their determined labor.
This afternoon I turned on the television between conference calls and saw scenes of chaos and a thick creeping mass of white smoke pouring out across the Boston Marathon finish line. I felt the same gut punch of disbelief and shock as I watched the towers fall on TV on 9/11. Surely this is a mistake, right? Did I accidentally click on a Lifetime movie instead of the news? This can't be happening - it's the Boston Marathon for heaven's sake.
It was still early in the reporting and so I tried not to place any stock in the early reports. The news reporters from the early moments of the Newtown shootings were so anxious to bring a story that many of the initial reports were incorrect. Instead I went on Facebook and checked to see status posts from my friends. Miraculously they were all safe and sound, but shaken and as in much disbelief as us here watching the events on television. I know that other people did not receive the same good news when inquiring about friends, family and loved ones.
As I now think of the Boston Marathon, my thoughts are still of awe ... in awe of first responders who put their lives on the line - not knowing how many more detonations would take place - to help the injured. I am in awe of the medical teams working valiantly to pull ball bearing shrapnel out of the victims. I am in awe of the outpouring of all who choose love over hate in a time when fear could bring out our worst prejudices. I am in awe of the wonderful Brooklyn Academy of Music projecting a lit up message on their wall "Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. NY (heart) B." And I am in awe of those who have been personally touched by this tragedy who find the strength to keep going with positivity, love, faith and hope.
Before today, the Boston Marathon to me meant a group of determined individuals who were going to push themselves - their bodies, their hearts, their minds- to the limit. They were an inspiration both in terms of their own personal fitness, endurance and motivation to succeed. The events of today only solidify this view - but now it's not just the runners who I am in awe of but the first responders and the people of Boston.
In face of tragedy, choose hope over hate ... and help where you can.
For ways to help, check out the Red Cross page on the Boston Marathon bombings.
The last couple days I have been viewing Tweets and Facebook status updates from friends gearing up for the Boston Marathon. I would read them with both awe and a little dash of envy. While I have walked several half-marathons and on one particularly ambitious day (emphasis on only ONE time) I walked 27 miles; but the thought of running 26.2 miles ... well I think it would be easier for me to sneak aboard a rocket to the moon than to run 26.2 miles. It seems outside the realm of possibility for me and my fitness level.
But I have friends who are made of steel and powered by positivity and jet fuel. They are runners and they had been training for this very day. To these friends flying from Tampa Bay to Boston to take part in the Boston Marathon was going to be a highlight of their running lives. I envied their enthusiasm, their motivation and their fitness. They were like warriors gearing up for battle. They had trained and were ready to show the world the fruits of their determined labor.
This afternoon I turned on the television between conference calls and saw scenes of chaos and a thick creeping mass of white smoke pouring out across the Boston Marathon finish line. I felt the same gut punch of disbelief and shock as I watched the towers fall on TV on 9/11. Surely this is a mistake, right? Did I accidentally click on a Lifetime movie instead of the news? This can't be happening - it's the Boston Marathon for heaven's sake.
It was still early in the reporting and so I tried not to place any stock in the early reports. The news reporters from the early moments of the Newtown shootings were so anxious to bring a story that many of the initial reports were incorrect. Instead I went on Facebook and checked to see status posts from my friends. Miraculously they were all safe and sound, but shaken and as in much disbelief as us here watching the events on television. I know that other people did not receive the same good news when inquiring about friends, family and loved ones.
As I now think of the Boston Marathon, my thoughts are still of awe ... in awe of first responders who put their lives on the line - not knowing how many more detonations would take place - to help the injured. I am in awe of the medical teams working valiantly to pull ball bearing shrapnel out of the victims. I am in awe of the outpouring of all who choose love over hate in a time when fear could bring out our worst prejudices. I am in awe of the wonderful Brooklyn Academy of Music projecting a lit up message on their wall "Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. NY (heart) B." And I am in awe of those who have been personally touched by this tragedy who find the strength to keep going with positivity, love, faith and hope.
Before today, the Boston Marathon to me meant a group of determined individuals who were going to push themselves - their bodies, their hearts, their minds- to the limit. They were an inspiration both in terms of their own personal fitness, endurance and motivation to succeed. The events of today only solidify this view - but now it's not just the runners who I am in awe of but the first responders and the people of Boston.
In face of tragedy, choose hope over hate ... and help where you can.
For ways to help, check out the Red Cross page on the Boston Marathon bombings.
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