when there is a crime in your town, or county, you pay attention. if it does not happen to us, does it matter? if its not our families or our backyard on fire, does it matter? how close must it come, how near to the flame do we have to be? at one point we start to realize that a water bottle discarded carelessly in one body of water will appear in front of our eyes as we swim in another. a fire in one neighborhood will migrate to another, leaning on your horn will cause angst to everyone that hears it.

our actions create ripples. words can bring happiness or fear, the way we approach people and situations will produce a reaction of comfort or flight. we are the deciding factor if a day is going well for us and the ones we come into contact with. it is why our smile is so important, why kind words and compliments bring joy and why having empathy for everyone is important. it is not about simply making our own bed and being content, ourselves are just the start. we are all in one universe. our actions matter, both small and large, as does our state of mind. a good day and a bad day are simply perspective from your point of view. a panic does not happen in a vacuum, it takes our involvement to complete or break a cycle.

at one point our time will end. our collective summary of life will be what we engaged in, a collection of choices we made and accidents we saw, sunrises we caught and opportunities we lost. all the other noise, the sensational stories and towers burning will not come into play if we don’t let it. if you don’t watch it in the news, if you don’t let the fear creep in or the authorities take your fun away, none of those other things will matter. simply trees fallen in the woods that fell on deaf ears.