Years ago I developed a "worry" habit. Seemed everything about my life caused me concern and I couldn't get a handle on it. I had a young son, and of course if anything had happened to him, somebody was going to pay. It was an overall feeling of dread that I could not shake. A therapist I sought out told me that worry does no good; it only saps your energy and wastes your time. What I should do, he advised, was to take reasonable precautions, be careful and watchful, and go on with my life.
When my mother died my older sister was out of town on business. After she had returned and we had taken care of all that needed doing, she said, "I'm never going out of town again, just in case something else happens." I told her that she could not live her life waiting for a tragedy to occur.
I'm reminded of these stories lately. We are all, as a nation, in a nervous state due to threat of terrorism. These threats must be taken seriously by everyone, and I'm sure we all do. The idea that we have to get it right every single time, and the terrorists only have to get it right once, is frightening. Another awful thing is that we don't know -- really know -- what motivates these people. Do they truly hate us that much? What did we ever do to them? These questions buzz around and no answer will ever truly be found.
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