20 April In article posts, Popular Tips, Tips for Parents, Tips for Teens, Uncategorized by Inspire Conversation Tags: Relationships (family & friends)

An Inspired Conversation, Issue 1: Life is Precious

An Inspired Conversation

Week 1, 4/19/2013

Life is Precious

This past week, a tragic event happened in the city of Boston. While the first set of runners were crossing the finish line in the Boston Marathon, two bombs were detonated. Reports have confirmed three fatalities and dozens of injuries. The scene was that of shock, confusion, and fear.

The police are still looking for a suspect and no one has been identified yet. Many are calling this terrorism,while others think it is still too early to tell. Our hearts go out to the families that were affected, and to the citizens of Boston. You are all with us in our thoughts and prayers.

Amidst this terrible tragedy, we can learn many lessons. For today, I would like to touch upon two of them:

1. Appreciate what you have…please…

Life can change in an instant. Those runners never thought in a million years that two bombs would go off that day and change their lives forever. Everyone who was running in the race, watching, or cheering, has been affected and their lives are now changed forever.

While these sorts of events cannot be anticipated, there is a lesson here. The idea is to appreciate everything. We know it is hard to do that. Some days are worse than others, and we all have our problems. From family, school, work, friends, relationships, and other factors, we all have bumps along the road. Despite this, it is important to appreciate life. Appreciate time with family and friends. Appreciate new ideas and attitudes. Focus on trying to appreciate the life you have. Appreciate the beautiful spring days. Things happen and we should not take life for granted.

2. Learn to research, develop & form your own opinion

Events like these naturally trigger responses from the media. Different media outlets portray these events in a different light and always find someone to place the blame on. While it is important to watch the media to stay up to date with what is going on, it is even more important to realize that you cannot believe everything you hear in the news.

Take the time to research things, review multiple media sources, and try hard to form your own opinion. The media is just that… an opinion. It is an opinion meant to persuade you into thinking a certain way. It is important to realize you don’t HAVE to agree with them. Some media reports are misleading or simply wrong.

So, the next time you are watching the news, try thinking about why they are saying what they are saying, the context of the report, and whether or not you think you need to do further research and investigation in order to be sure that you have unbiased facts in front of you in order to form your opinion.

3. We are all affected by this tragedy, and we need to stand together as one nation.

As President Obama stated at an interfaith service held today (which was brought together Christian, Muslim and Jewish religious leaders, as well as state and local officials), “[e]very one of us has been touched by this attack on your beloved city, every one of us stands with you. . . .”

Let us strive to always treat one another with respect and dignity…

Until next time…

Inspire Conversation

As Always, we’d like to hear your thoughts related to the idea that life is precious so please leave a comment below.