Boston Marathon Heroes

Monday after I heard the news, I text my family on the east coast to see how they were faring. One remark was, "this world is ruined." I text back my first thought, a mantra that I would go back to again and again and write on the board of my classroom Monday night when my sad and bewildered students entered the room for evening classes:

Goodness is not as loud as bombs, yet it quietly and persistently surrounds the people of Boston. 

Are you guys seeing all the hero stories out there? If not, go to this heroes link and this inspirational one if you want more. Among the most iconic of the heroes was the man in the cowboy hat, Carolos Arredondo. After losing both his sons as a result of the war in Iraq, he was at the marathon supporting a charity group running for fallen veterans, and leapt into action, saving the life of a young man who would ultimately lose both his legs below the knees. I wonder if the deaths of his sons were somehow transformed in the act of being at the marathon and saving the life of another young man (IC Truth #3--Everything, no matter how challenging, has the ability to be transformed)?

Remember my last blog article, inspired by the banner in FDR's presidential office, "Let Unconquerable Gladness Dwell." Don't lose hope that goodness, in its quiet and persistent nature is everywhere, all the time and leaps into action when it is most needed. May the heroes of the Boston Marathon inspire you to carry their light of hope in the days to come.