Larissa appreciating the loving people in the world

Larissa contemplating the world in which we live

I’ve officially lost my wallet.  Not gotten it stolen, but lost it.  And after spending some time crying over how I’m going to buy presents for people at home, or how I’m going to go out this weekend, I’m oddly at peace with the situation right now.  I find myself thinking (and hoping) that the money in that wallet is helping to feed someone’s family right now.  I’m not saying that I would support someone taking a lost wallet (regardless of its intended use), but I am saying that I have to make the best of this situation, and I like to think that everything happens for a reason.  I realize this may be wishful thinking, but perhaps the person who found that money today needs it more than I do and is putting it towards something good.  There are good people in this world and I like to think that whoever found that wallet is a genuinely good person.  I’d like to think that they wanted to get it back to the rightful owner, but simply couldn’t do so.  I truly hope that the person who has my wallet is putting it’s money to good use.  

Before getting to finish that post, I heard about the explosions at the end of the Boston Marathon.  I spoke to my best friends and heard their story of being in between the two explosions, chasing them out of the city, as they ran by children being carried away, and hearing screams that will never be erased from their minds.  I found myself furious with the world.  It didn’t help to know that families from the Newtown tragedies were being honored at the finish line, right by the explosions.  How much sickness is in this world?  How cowardly can one be to do such horrible things?  I stopped myself from continuing my earlier writing, in fear of forming angry sentences that would lead to nothing but confusion and encouragement of hatred in our world. 

It is the day after the gut wrenching stories first began about Boston, and I’ve been able to find a new perspective.  Instead of asking how much sickness is in this world, why not ask how much good is in this world?  Picture after picture in the media shows bloodied bodies and missing limbs, but take a closer look and you’ll see people running towards the injured ones, you’ll see people taking care of strangers lying on the sidewalk.  There are stories of runners pushing through the finish line and continuing the way to Mass General Hospital to donate blood.  There are stories of people opening up their homes to anyone who needed shelter immediately after the explosions.  There are stories of people sitting on benches simply offering a shoulder to cry on and an open heart ready to listen.  These are the stories I want to talk about.  There are horrible things going on in this world, and it is important to know the facts and to work towards solutions, but I believe that part of that solution is to focus on good things as well.  For every horrendous tragedy this world has endured, there are thousands of people who jump to their feet to offer support in the aftermath. 

At the end of the day I find myself reflecting and wanting to say, appreciate your loved ones, appreciate the loving people in this world, and live your life to be one of those loving people worthy of appreciation throughout your lifetime.