As I’m sure you’ve heard, two bombs detonated today near the finish line of the Boston Marathon. Like you, I am saddened to see the heartbreak and devastation caused by such a heinous act. Having grown up in Oklahoma City during the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, I can’t help but feel some connection with Boston.
Over time, I discovered one important personal takeaway from that tragedy: We should not waste our limited time on Earth trying to extract sense from the senseless, we should not let fear overwhelm our inherent sense of courage, and we should not let hate and revenge extinguish the love we feel in our heart. Instead, we must embrace the things that do make sense, we must live boldly as if today is our last, and we must fiercely love our friends and family as if today is the last time that we will see them.
As time passes, I am hopeful that the words I shared about the Oklahoma City Bombing will equally be true for Boston:
I assure you that no amount of time will remove the indelible mark left by that bomb. It is my hope instead that the shared empathy and sense of community that people exhibited that day are never forgotten - never lost.