The City Of Lights

November 14, 2015

It can be absolutely shocking just how quickly the world can change in the blink of an eye.  48 hours ago, the citizens of Paris, France were enjoying their every day lives, and now as I type this, a series of attacks have killed at least 129 people, and injured many others.  Millions of people in Paris, France are now in mourning, and trying to pick up the pieces in what is considered one of the worst terrorist attacks to take place in a major city in Europe.

My thoughts go out to those who did lose loved ones in Paris on November 13, 2015, and to the entire country of France.  Know that millions of people all over the world are feeling your pain, and we wish that there was more that we could do for you.

What happened was a senseless tragedy, and I know I'm not alone when I say that I want swift justice to be implemented towards the cowards who orchestrated these attacks.

But I think that I also want to use this space to give you some words of wisdom.

Don't let these attacks prevent you from traveling outside of your comfort zone.  Don't let these attacks prevent you from seeing the world.  That would be letting the bad people win, and nobody wants to see that.  It's easy to get bogged down with negativity, especially when that's all that the 6 o'clock news seems to focus on.  But the world is still a fantastic place, and there is still a lot of good within it.

Don't fear the bad people.  Fear makes them stronger.  We definitely don't need that. 

And, to the citizens of Paris, know that I and millions of others are standing by you. 

When I think of Paris, France, I think of the nickname that the city has held for what seems like decades. 

The City of Lights.

And, on November 13, those lights dimmed a little bit lower, and weren't as vibrant as before.  Some may have wondered if there was even any point of putting any lights on in the first place.  Despite that, I don't believe that light has completely gone away.  I think that light has always been there.  And while it may take months - even years - for people to be able to even begin to make sense of what happened...that light will forever be there.

And it is everybody's individual lights that will make Paris shine brightly once again.

That much I know is true.