Sometimes I really wish the web would not be so darn real-time! And just a second later I realise that really this IS the way we experience the world nowadays. We are connected and we get to learn about stories from so many angles. What happened in Aurora, Colorado today is shocking.The news about this terrible event spread across the world so fast that it almost feels like I have learned about it before we even had all the confirmed numbers of victims.
But here is the thing. Once you start browsing the web, you get to dig out more and more personal accounts of events and very often come across something so astonishing you simply cannot move on. When it comes to the shooting at the new Batman premiere it is the face of Jordan Ghawi that is the picture I will store in my memory for quite a while (above). Why? Because he told the story of his sister, one of the victims, so fast and in such a shockingly abrupt way that I cannot forget it. Jessica went to the cinema with her boyfriend. Her boyfriend made it out alive, she did not. What really bothers me the most is the current view of her Twitter account (run under her professional name)...
...and her last blog post...About a month ago Jessica escaped another shooting, that time in Toronto, and posted about it. Today these words will ring in my ears and hopefully teach me a lesson too - to always, always treasure what we have!
I say all the time that every moment we have to live our life is a blessing. So often I have found myself taking it for granted. Every hug from a family member. Every laugh we share with friends. Even the times of solitude are all blessings. Every second of every day is a gift. After Saturday evening, I know I truly understand how blessed I am for each second I am given.
It is really hard to read the news about people experiencing such a tragedy, but I am really grateful that personal accounts of events of witnesses provide a counter-balance to sometimes almost sterile news.
Even if it's the other side of the globe, I am sure I will never watch Batman the very same way again. My thoughts are now with all the families of the victims of this shooting, even though it's so far away. And me - I will remain inspired by Jessica's take on living your live to the fullest - here and now!