New Zealand....

....our hearts and thoughts are with you....once again, we are trying to make sense out of the senseless.  Impossible.  Inconceivable.  Where does it all end?  How does it all end?  How do you stop hate?  With more violence?  With understanding?  With an olive branch?  With education?  With love?  Is there an answer?  I keep thinking we're better than this....but every day, I'm proven wrong.  And every day, I ask WHY?  But there is no logical answer when you're trying to figure out a fanatic. 

"Fanatic:  noun, a person filled with excessive and single-minded zeal, especially for an extreme religious or political cause.  Synonyms:  zealot, extremist, militant, bigot, chauvinist, radical, diehard, ultra, maniac, crank.  Origin:  French, fanatique; Latin - fanum = temple; fanaticus = of a temple, inspired by a god; fanatic - mid 17th Century.  The adjective originally described behavior that might result from possession by a god or demon, hence the earliest sense of the noun 'a religious maniac.' " 

Sigh....

Because I can't live in that mindset, here's a view of the Skokie Lagoons on a beautiful March Sunday yesterday.  "Optimism:  noun, hopefulness and confidence about the future or the successful outcome of something.  Synonyms:  hopefulness, confidence, buoyancy, cheer, positiveness.  Origin:  Latin, optimum = best thing."  I'm going to live in that for the rest of the day.  I'm optimistic that you will too.