A powerful moment in time like those that happened in Manchester are extremely painful. 22 innocent lives, many young ones that will never experience many of the joys we take for granted as adults, have been taken, 120 people injured and thousands will carry emotional scars.
Another powerful moment I find is working within the trauma sector is seeing the way communities pull together and support each other in times of need. It is a reminder to us every day that when tragedy occurs, people come together in incredible ways. The people of Manchester demonstrated a great strength by opening their doors to strangers, leading people to safety and showing great kindness and care for those in desperate need.
This was also my experience after the earthquake in Haiti in 2010 where I worked on behalf of the British Red Cross. Despite the overwhelming tragedy that hit them they pulled together and showed incredible resilience and support for each other, it was humbling and life changing for me to see and be part of.
A Powerful Moment
The emotional and physical pain for many will be life changing from the events in Manchester, all because they executed their right to personal freedom to make choices to live the life they wanted. We may never know the exact reason that person chose to take those lives on that day, but more than ever we need to be united in our belief that good will always outshine the bad and we should not judge a whole group of people based on the actions of those that would seek to destroy our unity.
Life can change in an instant and we can never be sure of who to and when these things can occur, however, if we stop living our lives as we want to then we allow those that would take away our freedom to win, something I know I am not willing to let happen.
I often hear people say, I’ll do that tomorrow, I’ll do it when I’m fitter, happier, richer etc. etc., but what if there is no tomorrow…
Today I ask YOU to hug your loved ones a little tighter and tell them you care, pick up the phone to someone you have meant to call, and show kindness to a stranger.
Take a leap of faith and work towards the life you really want, don’t settle, go do!
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
– Martin Luther King, Jr.