Paris was attacked last night. Details are still coming in, but many people are dead and many are injured. These people were at a night club, a concert, out to dinner... just living in their neighborhood.
And that's what we can do. Yes, donate money to a cause close to your heart, or on the other side of the world. Yes, write a letter to your political representative. Yes, if you can, go volunteer your time in undeserved areas of the world. But also - live. People are asking what can be done, how can we help, and all I keep coming back to is live.
LIVE. Explore, engage, enjoy. Go to a museum. Attend a poetry slam. Rock out at a live concert. See a play. Be with other people, experiencing art.
It may seem too small, or trivial, or like you are being blase and just 'getting on with your life', but that is how we win. That is how terrorism ends. We, as individuals of a larger society, make the conscious and active choice to include love and kindness and culture and the sharing of ideas with respect into our daily routines. Every interaction. Every moment possible.
Anne Bogart, Artistic Director and theatre teacher, quotes another theatre practitioner: "The Japanese director Tadashi Suzuki once stated, 'International cultural exchange is impossible - therefore we must try.' I agree with all my heart. The possibility of seeing beyond one's own cultural context is a political act in the world and has the potential to break down the rigid assumptions surrounding us."
"Theatre is the act of resistance against all odds. Art is a defiance of death."
Defy death today.