A Facebook Friend's Thoughts about Boston - The Iran-Pakistan Earthquake

So on the day after the horrific events at the Boston Marathon our thoughts and prays go out to the victims of that senseless act and to all those whose loved ones are among the dead or injured. A Facebook friend Joe Bauer posted his thoughts today at his blog All Around Joe. Joe was standing at the location where the bomb went off an hour before the explosion, From his blog he writes:

I feel like there are way too few times in our lives where we get to actually realize how short and important life is. Yesterday I was in the exact spot the Boston Marathon bomb went off, less than 60 minutes earlier. I was just hanging out. I’d never been to the Boston Marathon before, and figured I should check it out (since I was in town). I snapped some pics for my Instagram/Twitter/Facebook accounts, walked around for a few minutes, and that was all I needed. I wasn’t running the race, and I didn’t personally know anyone who was running. I’m the kind of spectator that thinks that if I show up for a race, I should be doing the race. Otherwise I’d rather be doing something else. Little did I know, that philosophy actually could have saved my life…

He goes on to write :

These are the reminders. Dare I say… the blessings that the rest of us are given (if we choose to accept them). We get reminded… If we want to make a change, we need to do so now! There’s no time to wait. If we want to travel to some crazy place in the world, we need to put a plan in place to do so asap! If we want to climb a mountain, the time is now! If we want to start a business, or invent a product, do it now! If we have a relationship we want to build, don’t wait until someday. Someday may never come. Get moving! We get this slap in the face, this sinking feeling in the gut, this spark that motivates us for change, for action! You can let life take you where it may, or you can grab the bull by the horns and freaking drive your life where you want it to go.Use this event as a motivator to start driving!  You never know when you’re going to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, but you do control what you do with your time now. 

Stop going with the flow!

Stop saying “someday!”

Stop waiting for your big break!

MAKE THINGS HAPPEN!!!

And if you reach adversity, pivot, and keep moving forward. Never stop, never settle!

You can read his full post - Here

Not to be outdone by the events at the Marathon, Mother Nature reminded us that we are still at her mercy as a 7.8 on the Richter scale earthquake hit the border area of Iran and Pakistan today.   Here is a report from Al Jazeera - Quake in Iran claims lives in Pakistan

A powerful earthquake centered on a border area of southeast Iran has killed at least 34 people and injured 80 others in neighbouring Pakistan, reports say.   The earthquake on Tuesday, measured at 7.8 magnitude and described as the strongest to hit Iran in more than half a century, shook buildings from the Gulf to South Asia. Al Jazeera's correspondent Imtiaz Tyab, reporting from the Pakistani port city of Karachi, said despite the earthquake being centred in Iran, Pakistan had borne the brunt of the impact. Residents of the Mashkail village in Washuk district, around 3km from the border with Iran, were particularly affected by the tremor, he said.   "The earthquake was so powerful that it was felt in the southern city of Karachi, even damaging a few buildings in the country's commercial hub." Full Story

I remember how we felt when an earthquake shook the east coast a while ago and that was nothing close to the magnitude of this quake - It must really be frightening! And as if that wasn't enough for Pakistan in one day a Deadly blast hits Pakistan election rally

An explosion in Pakistan has killed at least eight people and wounded dozens more at an election campaign rally being attended by a senior politician, officials say. Ghulam Ahmed Bilour, a senior leader of the secular Awami National Party (ANP), escaped the blast with only minor bruises on Tuesday in the northwestern city of Peshawar. He was shown on television footage with blood stains on his shirt after the attack.

So our thoughts and prayers go out to not only the people of Boston, but to the people of southeastern Iran and in two locations in Pakistan!