A remembrance, and a little church in New York

10 years. A whole 10 years since the day when the world seemed to fall apart. I’m talking, of course, about the terrible events of September 11^th 2001, and the terrorist attacks that took place. But I don’t want to talk about that. I want to talk about a small church in New York.

Via here.

 

This is St Paul’s Chapel. It’s just down the road from where the Twin Towers used to stand. This church became something of a base for the rescue efforts that took place in the days following the attacks. It is a place that manages to be terrible and beautiful at the same time.

The terrible comes from the memorials for the people lost in those days. It’s hard to comprehend the loss incurred when it is reported as ‘x number of people’ dead or missing. It truly hits you when you see their faces in photographs, when you see the tributes from their families and friends who have had their lives torn apart. Both times I have visited this church I’ve ended up weeping because of those tributes.

The beautiful comes from the rescue efforts from there. People who risked their lives to save others. People who did everything they could to help those who had lost everything. People who provided support, both emotional and physical, to those suffering. If the attacks hurt your faith in humanity, the rescue efforts from this church and elsewhere would help repair it.

 

Today we mourn those lost, and celebrate those who helped bring a shattered world back together again in the face of adversity and fear. We celebrate their courage.

Love B xxxx

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Paul%27s_Chapel

Random Thoughts: Rioting. Not cool.

Seeing the news on the riots in London and in other cities across the UK... it's actually unbelievable.

I'm not an insanely patriotic person, but it is bizarre thinking back, that 70 years ago we were in WW2, and people were pulling together to defend their country and their cities in the face of destruction.

And today, we are seeing this destruction at the hands of our own people. Heartbreaking.

I desperately hope that all of you and your loved ones are safe and haven't been affected by this wilful and pointless violence. I hope it ends soon, the perpetrators get caught and that people can go outside on the streets again without being afraid.

There is a lot of trouble in the world at the moment- disasters, war, economic difficulty. How is making the world worse going to solve anything?

Love & prayers to you all,
Bex xxxx

FOTD #3 and Food for Thought

Hope you've all had a good weekend my lovelies! I've been at home with the family for a few days, needed to get away from the uni house. I will miss uni and my friends there so so so much, but I am excited to have proper time at home for a while (that said, give it a week and I'll be begging to leave). Today's make-up:

Face: Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation in 51 Light Vanilla, e.l.f. Complexion Perfection Powder
Eyes: Collection 2000 Collagen Curl Mascara in Black
Cheeks: The Body Shop Cheek and Lip Tint
Lips: The Body Shop Colourglide Lip Colour in... Garnet? I think that's what it is!

I actually feel slightly guilty for the 'frivolous' nature of this post because I've just read this post from Dani:
http://polkadani.blogspot.com/2011/06/c-word.html. And I urge you all to go read it too. It is so easy to forget how privileged we are sometimes, how lucky we are to have family, money, our health, our lives and that we ought to be thankful for every minute of it. I've been very lucky in that I've had no close experience with cancer. However I have family and friends with serious illnesses which terrifies me. I've struggled over the years with an eating disorder, self-harm and depression and I know what it's like to feel like the darkness will go on forever and there's no point in living. On those days especially, I find it hard to be grateful. But when I come out of those periods, I do try my best to see that I have an amazing family who've put up with too much from me, and people I am so honoured to call my friends, just like Dani.

Read her post here, you won't regret it:  http://polkadani.blogspot.com/2011/06/c-word.html

And to cheer you up after serious talk, here is my gorgeous dog :)

Love to you all,
 Luxie xxxx

Random Thoughts: Bah Humbug

Question: If you see someone looking gorgeous (whether a friend or someone famous) do you feel happy for them? Or do you, as I did today, get overwhelmed by waves of crippling jealousy?

I want to admit it. I find it hard not to compare myself harshly to others. I'm not particularly happy with any aspect of the way I look. On a rare day, I can scrub up and look a bit better, but that's the exception rather than the rule. It's particularly hard when this happens with friends.

Particularly irritating is when people complain of how fat they are, or how bad their hair is or something, and you stand there thinking 'But I'm way fatter than you are... so how does that make me feel when you say you're too fat? I would KILL to look like you!' And then you feel so guilty for thinking badly of someone you don't want to. The key issue is how often you do it. Once a fortnight, when you're having a bad day, is acceptable, for me (I have a massive tendency towards self-loathing) it happens once every 10 minutes.

Where am I going with this?... I don't know really. Just to say: be thankful for what you have (and remember to be thankful.) However critical you are of yourself, believe me, someone will be longing to look like you.