Boston Marathon

Via Huffington Post Photogapher Robert X Fogarty

As we approach the year marker of the bombing of the Boston Marathon I start to think about how we approach our lives...

April 15 2013... people were changed, families were changed, lives were lost, lives were eventually gained...

Is it strange that we take huge tragic events like these to effect our lives in a positive manner?? I think so, but it's true...

Many people lost lives, many people lost limbs, many people felt like they dodged a bullet, many people lost a sense of security in their lives... How can you do something so positive like a marathon and it end so so badly?

You start your day like any other... cup of coffee...simple morning conversation with your family... passing hellos to random people you pass... simple mundane things that you would never remember otherwise. But this day, you will remember every. last. detail...

 There are so many positive things, so many positive outlooks, so many positive reactions to this tragedy... These "men", bombers did not win anything... The "victims" won...

For people who are not disabled nor have gone through any sort of difficult feat as even having a family member lose a limb, you may not understand where I am coming from...

It seems like the end of the world at first... How are you suppose to live through something this tragic, this horrific, this unthinkable?

I have yet to meet an amputee that does not have a very very positive outlook on life. We know what it is like to see death in the face and say "Fck you, you are not taking me, I am going to make it through this". It is a triumph we have achieved, we are not victims, we are victors! We have gone through more than most people go through in a lifetime.

Don't feel sorry for me or any other person that is disabled. Don't give me that typical "I'm sorry" face when you see me. We have more understanding of what life is about than many many people do. We do not want your pity... we want your respect.

Whether it be cancer, diabetes, accidents, bombings, IEDs we lived through it and made it out the other side. We are loving life and appreciating every second we have of it.

 I respect these bomb survivors so much that are standing up and showing that we as human beings can rise above adversity, terrorism and say "you are not taking me down... I am still standing... even if it is on plastic feet."

Take this into account on your own lives... are you living how you should? Are little things bothering more than they should? Are you really living life to the fullest? Are you living life like you may not have another day?

This is how life should be lived... like there may not be a tomorrow... like today may be the only day you have in the sun... Are you living life like you want to?