{Day 9219 – Heartbroken but still determined to make love & kindness win}

I’ve spent most of this weekend staring at screens trying to make sense of the tragic news that were sent my way. Not that there was any point. It doesn’t make any sense.

I went to bed on Friday hoping that the shootings I had been spending the evening reading about were just a horrible nightmare I could wake up from. But it wasn’t.

It’s the second time this year that Paris has been the target of terrorist attacks. Two times too many.

Paris has never been my home, but I have lived there and many of my friends still do.

Most importantly, Paris is the capital of the country I’m from, this douce France I love so very much even though I left it.

It angers me that these attacks so obviously targeted civilians. Bars, restaurants, football stadiums, concert halls… It was an attack towards Paris’ heart and soul, its very spirit.

But on that point, I know terrorists can not win.

No matter how hard they try, Paris will always be the best place on Earth to enjoy life at its fullest, and this has well been proven through the immediate reactions to the atrocious events of this past Friday. The #PorteOuverte mouvement was such a beautiful initiative and restored part of my faith in humanity.

I still worry about the aftermath of these attacks. The finger pointing. The advantage taking. The political consequences.

Which is why there are two things we mustn’t forget.

1. Terrorism has no religion. The only group terrorists can be linked to are the terrorist organisations that they claim to belong to. There is no reason we should blame other people for the crimes those individuals committed, simply because they worship the same god.

2. The only way forward is love. There will always be people to try and take advantage of terrible events like this one to drive their own political, religious or social agendas. Those people have no interest whatsoever in doing what’s best for humanity and protect it against crimes. Don’t be fooled into their traps. Be kind instead and the world will be a better place.

All there is for me and us all to do is to stand strong and not give up to fear.

Instead let’s live and be kind, laught and be happy, to keep the spirit of Paris alive and help it remain the indestructible City of Love & Light.