<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto"><div>Thought you might like to read my sister janeen's reflections</div><blockquote type="cite"><div><blockquote type="cite"><div>
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<title>a letter from paris</title>
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<p>dear everyone,</p>
<p>just to say thanks for reaching out, checking to see if i was safe, since friday's incident.
i was/am safe. up late. definitely a little shaken. but safe, for sure.</p>
<p>today is the 3rd day of france being in an official state of mourning, so even the tuileries
garden—normally filled with so much light and shadow and people passing by—is under
lock right now, looking very s.t.i.l.l. (like a still-life). the energy on the streets feels heavier—
less bustling, more sober—and the morning métro had none of the typical chatter.</p>
<p>maybe just like you and millions across paris and the world, i am wandering around in
my head, trying to construct for myself a narrative that feels meaningful and relevant;
some understanding and/or interpretation—i'd take either—not only of the world "out
there" and its complex, political/historical landscape; and not only of the psychological
landscape of terrorist social networks as "polarization enterpreneurs;" but also trying to
recompose my personal day-to-day, human relationship to those landscapes, as well as
to my life (including the choices i make in the world) and, most of all, to my (inner) self.</p>
<p>although friday's incident happened, unambiguously, here in paris—paris being a
deliberate, dialed-in, isis target—in fact, it didn't happen to me any more than it happened
to you. not really. of course, in theory, i could've been sitting in that café, or the concert
hall, or the stadium. but, because i wasn't, the danger and risk of that massacre lives as
no greater a threat for me (due to my proximity) than it lives for you. i certainly don't feel i
have earned the right to the sympathy pouring out of so many people's hearts over the
weekend—at least no more than anyone else has earned it, beyond those affected directly—
and the 129 now dead. the outpouring of sympathy was the vibration of your own human
heart/s, and sort of crescendoed into a love song to humanity, voice by voice.</p>
<p>you and i (and everyone) are all french at this moment— all of us in the world. whether we
happen to be walking the sober streets of paris or watching the streets on the news, we're
all bearing witness to the same crazy world in front of us. all of us trying to put complicated
puzzle pieces together, re-jigger ourselves, emotionally, and continue leading lives, today,
with meaning, courage, and the same dreams and ideals we held true to before friday night.</p>
<p>amidst all the uncertainty, here's a few things i know for sure:</p>
<p><strong>the french word for target is "cible."<br>
the tuileries garden, under lock, is like a cage.<br>
human life is not sacred to everyone.<br>
jigsaw puzzles with missing pieces are harder to put together.<br>
evil isn't in the world; it's in ourselves.<br>
la belle équipe is on rue de charonne.<br>
intention is everything.<br>
candles burn softly.<br>
church bells and sirens share the same air waves.<br>
decoding motive is an art form.<br>
"feeling safe" is a subjective interpretation; "safety" is objective.<br>
129 people were slaughtered.<br>
"vive la république; vive la france" is more than a *lick-on* political motto.<br>
the opposite of love is not hate, but fear.<br>
natural disasters are tragic, but are not terrorist acts.<br>
the external world contains uncertainty.<br>
you and i are part of the external world.<br>
candle wicks burn differently.<br>
loves means holding the light for each other, internally.</strong></p>
<p>let's keep holding the light for the sake of each other.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom:0px;">love from paris (and me),</p>
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