#PRAYFORPARIS
Captured this image while on a midnight boat ride in Paris, June 2014.
I had the pleasure of visiting Paris, not once, but twice, last year. Words cannot describe the overwhelming feeling of stepping foot in one of the most beautiful and historical countries on Earth. It was surreal, to say the least. I vowed to take every opportunity I can to explore the world, experience different ways of life and take a moment to appreciate humanity for all it has to offer.
My Paris visit in January 2014
This morning, I woke up to the heartbreaking reality that hate still plagues our world. Just like September 11, 2001 haunts the United States, November 14, 2015 will associate both fear and sadness for Europeans worldwide. France declared a state of emergency after 100+ people were killed in gun and bomb attacks. Many of the victims were young people attending a concert and innocent people casually enjoying a Friday night out. I think my generation is so desensitized to horrific violence that we often forget about these tragedies the next day. I'm not one to throw labels, or to feed into the "terrorism" propaganda, as a North American who is continuously fed the bullshit stereotypical definition of a "terrorist", which is misconceived to be one of Arab or Muslim descent. COME ON..we know terrorists walk freely in corporate settings and take the form of world "leaders". But that is a discussion for another blog....
Point is, do not focus on the "terrorist" headline of the media covering the Paris attacks. That is what they want us to do. We need to focus not on WHO did it, or what groups of people did it.. because that does nothing more than foster hate for an already repressed and marginalized group. We need to not buy into the internationalization of Islamic terrorism and the played out Western narrative of foreign policy. We need to BELIEVE in the hope for humanity and remember that we are all people, we are all of value and want to one day unite as brothers and sisters on a global scale.
SO, with that being said, count your blessings, continue to be positive in your everyday actions and create a strong stance against our world's xenophobic attitude. I hope we have all took the time to tell our loved ones we love them, hold a door open for someone, and promote charity and love.
Love. Amour. 사랑 .
Although we derive from different countries, speak different languages and look different, LOVE is universal and should reflect humanity.
My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone effected by this tragedy. Actually, my prayers are for the world, as there are tragedies all around the world that do not get the media's attention like this one. Japan, Kenya, Mizzou, Syria, Lebanon, Baghdad and all the other places that need our healing; my prayers go to you.
Count your blessings, live each moment like it's your last, and most importantly, live empirically.
#PRAYFORPARIS
#PRAYFORTHEWORLD
Peace & Love, Stay Positive; xo.