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London: On July 7 the world
reacted in horror as news of
four simultaneous bomb
blasts in London reached
us. Detonated at the height
of morning rush hour, three
of the bombs were on trains
in the London subway system
and one was placed on a
double decker bus. More
than 50 people are believed
dead and at the time of this
writing, rescuers were still
searching for more people.
Toronto: Today as I sat
eating an ice cream cone at
the local suburban mall, a
security officer approached
me and said, Be careful.
There are people stealing
over there.” I looked over
my shoulder, expecting to
see someone purse snatching,
to see several masked men,
brandishing guns inside a
jewelry store.
After quickly getting up, I
moved away from the direct
line of sight and hid behind
some plants from a safe
vantage point as another
shopper called 911. This
occurred at 1 pm in a busy
shopping mall full of
people, including children.
Despite disheartening events
such as these, we need to
remember that genuine
goodness and generosity lie
in the hearts of many.
Rather than letting negative
world events or the actions
of a few hardened criminals
colour our worldview, let’s
do our part to improve the
world and help it become a
better place. This can be
as simple as random acts of
kindness, helping someone
make a legacy gift, or being
courteous.
As
British Prime Minister Tony
Blair said, “"The
purpose of terrorism is not
only to kill and maim the
innocent, it is to put
despair and anger in
people's hearts.
"It is by its savagery
designed to cover all
conventional politics in
darkness, to overwhelm the
dignity of democracy and
proper process with the
impact of bloodshed and of
terror.
"There is no hope in
terrorism, nor any future in
it worth living. And it is
hope that is the alternative
to this hatred."
So we need to keep hope in
our hearts and minds and
continue to do good works.
Not only personally, but
also professionally. So our
hearts and prayers go out to
our friends in London, and
those around the world whose
lives are touched by
tragedy. More importantly,
by “playing it forward”
through good works we can
create a domino effect in
our world and really prove
that one person can make a
difference. Let’s make that
how terror affects us all.
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