boston.

Yesterday afternoon, the sun was shining and I had just picked up a latte before heading into work. It felt like nothing other than a normal Monday. 

However, just before I went into the pool for my shift, I checked my Twitter account, only to find a stream of tweets about two explosions at the Boston Marathon. 

Although I don't have any connections to Boston, the world stopped at that moment. I was frozen. 

I couldn't help but wonder, "how can this happen?"

I have several close friends who participate in marathons regularly, and I have been on the sidelines cheering them on many times. One of my girlfriends and I had actually talked about going to Boston or New York just to see how these supersized marathons worked.  

I had the worst pain in my stomach for the rest of the afternoon...this so easily could have been my friends or family. 

At dance class that evening, I knew I couldn't teach without saying something about what had happened. When you enter the dance studio, it's similar to a yoga or therapy space - you leave your troubles, problems, anger, whatever at the door. But what could I say? 

As 20 women looked at me, eager to start class, I knew this was the time. Incidents like these make us realize how short and precious life is, and I thanked my students to taking the time to come and do something not only good for the body, but also for their hearts. 

We pledged our energy and danced for Boston last night. 

As cheesy as this sounds, I feel like the sun is shining a little differently today. There's been a shift in energy, and the world is feeling the aftershocks.  

This got me thinking - what can I do to help those in times of need, which for any given person could be any day? I'm planning to go donate blood as soon as possible and am on the lookout for other ways to contribute. 

Just a thought as we head into the remainder of the week. The best things we can hang onto is each other. Boston, you and your people in my thoughts and heart today.