There are no words that can express all the emotions of this week in my city. My heart is so heavy. I am thinking of all those who were at the finish line on Monday, and their friends and family. So many people's lives have been forever changed and my heart aches for them.
My instinct in these situations is to stay home and give into fear. This week has brought up memories of other bombs in another city and another time that I was lucky. At that time and place I felt so alone and so incredibly vulnerable.
Tuesday morning I didn't want to leave my apartment, but I forced myself out the door. I left my building and walked all around this city: Dewey Square, downtown, the Common, The Public Garden, and the streets of Back Bay. And this is what I saw: people on park benches, children playing, kind eyes, flowers and signs of support for the victims. There seemed to be an extra gentleness in each interaction. Walking the streets on my own, I felt so connected to the people I passed - there was such a sense of community, and the feeling of safety that that brings.
Thank you to the many heroes whose quick thinking and selfless actions helped so many people on Monday, to those with extra space who took in stranded visitors, and to those who have walked our streets these past few days with kindness - you have shown me what grace and goodness and strength there is here, and how the light will always find a way.
I love you, Boston.
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.” - Martin Luther King Jr.
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