What is Real?

In the aftermath of any tragedy, we search for what is real. Ultimately, a set of basic facts will be revealed. On Monday, April 15, two bomb blasts went off in Boston. X number of human beings were killed. X number of people suffered physical injuries. The blasts were caused by Z. Y placed the bomb materials. 

From those facts we begin to create what is real for us. That our world is an unsafe place. That “those people” are a threat to us. That someone is to blame for failing to protect us. We look for evidence that supports the reality we are creating. Like puzzle pieces that don’t fit, we reject evidence that doesn’t support our reality. If we are creating our own reality, we get to choose the evidence we look for.

One idea that came to my mind as television coverage unfolded Monday was that blasts like this happen nearly every day somewhere in the world. Monday it happened in Boston, at an event with happy significance to many. What about all the other people affected by the same kind of events happening every day around our world? 

I noticed the tide of people rushing towards the blast. First responders trained to provide the care, the order, the discipline needed. One night, years ago, I was one of those rushing towards the tragedy. The night the skywalks collapsed at the Hyatt Hotel and hundreds were trapped in steel and concrete. Lives are forever changed by the choices we make in any crisis. 

I have seen stories posted on Facebook of a mother who moved across the street from the blast, shortly before it happened. Her daughter a safe half mile away at the time of the blast, delayed as the hills spared her. Of friends helped to find their way out of the crush of people fleeing or sheltered til they could get back to the hotel. There are pictures of everyday heroes doing what needed to be done, without regard for their own safety or without thought to their own suffering. The sweet face of the young boy who died, pictured in another time holding a sign that says, “No More Hurting People.”

Each of us will create what is real for us out of this event. It will be a reality of fear, of renewed hatred, of anger and pain at the inhumanity of humans against humans. It will be a reality of the enduring resilience, strength and love of humans; a sadness that is a renewed call to bring forth the love that will heal all wounds and restore our peace. You choose the reality you create.