Hope.

On days like today, and days like Monday, I find myself responding to the news pouring in with a new sense, a sense I have experienced before taken to an entirely new level, a sense familiar to so many people but one that feels all new to me.  People told me that becoming a parent would bring a new perspective to the news of the world.  I wasn't expecting that perspective to be unrelenting, undeniable, unmitigated hope.  When I look at this little boy, I don't feel fear for his future, I feel thankful for the light he brings to fight the dark and I feel hope for what he will do as he grows to create a kinder, safer world.  As I rocked him to sleep just now, I told him "Wherever there are people who hurt and harm, know that there are many more people who help and heal.  You will be a helper and a healer because you already are."

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.  Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." Martin Luther King, Jr.

"Look for the helpers" Mister Rogers mom