Dress Up for Paris, Darling!

I had considered your question...What would have happened if someone would have reached out with kindness?  I think it's gotta be the next step in order to heal that one soul.  By the time we were aware of the problem, the rest of the general population of our small society, I don't think kindness would have made much difference to him.  It might have affected the others, though.  It might have been a way to break through that group mentality.  It is almost as if we can only identify ourselves as okay if we belong.  I could see the power of belonging in the group that were joining to face and oust the damaged man.  But to join, they had to identify him as other, and there is the problem.

I think a huge problem we have with our society is that we want to know how to solve the problem now, and just stop there.  We do need to salvage as much as possible and find temporary ways to ameliorate, but we also need to learn and try to stop the patterns from repeating.  We already know the outcomes, but they're so familiar, we don't even know there's a connection. Until we recognize the processes as that strip our souls of humanity, nothing will change.  That's why I used to get so angry at schools who had the children make "NO Bullying" posters to put up on school walls.  Yet the children were allowed to call each other names, identify the outsiders and ostracize on so many levels.  No one recognized true bullying.  They just wanted the resulting violence to stop...

Over and over, I come back to trying to recognize the violence in all it's forms.  We don't see so much of it, because it is just our natural environment...It's not natural, we have just come to tolerate and therefore not see.

I do think the French are a lot more stylish, and clothes-aware than we are.  Take your daughter's advice...besides, how often do American's get to dress up?

I would amend your thought about happiness.  I think it might just be the chance to engage...not just another, but simply engage, and feel part of...Or, alternately, I would say engage another as long as another can be any sentience.  Keep in mind, I believe the rocks are sentient!

I can't wait to hear about your weekend.  I am so happy and excited for you!

Love, and Bon voyage!

C.