“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”  – Dr. Martin Luther King

I don’t normally watch the local news, the amount of violent, horrific crimes is more than one can bear and this blog is meant to be uplifting and enlightinging, but I can’t let Dr. King down on this one.

For whatever reason I was tuned in to the eleven o’clock news one night this week. When I heard the report that a 16 year old boy at Fordham prep, committed suicide by throwing himself in front of a train, I was beside myself.  Even more unsettling (if that is at all possible) was the reaction of a conductor on the Metro North train that was delayed.  After reporting the delay to commuters on the train he inadvertently left the mic turned on and proceeded to say, ” yeah I think some guy got killed, I hope the motha f….. suffered.”

In hearing this I was moved to tears.  I went up to bed and tossed and turned for hours. How did we become so callous?  When did we become a society so consumed with getting to where we have to go as fast as possible, that we have become indifferent about a human life.  How did we get here? Are we that filled with hate and anger that we can’t for a moment stop and think about that child’s parents, siblings or friends?  I want you to close your eyes right now, put down the iPhone or tablet and really ponder for a moment how dark that boy’s life had become that he felt that was the only solution to his problems.

There are a multitude of Dr. King’s quotes on love.  I don’t think we have enough people sharing those messages anymore.  Maybe that’s why I just so happened to be watching the news that night.  Maybe it is why I felt compelled to start writing, so that I can share messages of hope and inspiration and touch people’s lives in some meaningful way. In order for there to be less hate in the world, we have to dig down and look within ourselves.  Call that friend that you haven’t heard from in a while, he or she needs you.  Go and visit that elderly relative you have been meaning to see, they miss you. Finally, please listen to your children, talk to them and really hear what they have to say, that is the greatest gift you can give because all they want is to be heard.

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that.  Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.”  Thank you Dr. King for those words, I will do my part.