It’s taken me a few days to process the mass shooting that took place in Las Vegas this past weekend. I cannot imagine the horrors and sorrow that the victims and their families have suffered. I cannot commend enough the first responders and everyday people that risked their own lives to help and protect others. I learned that, where I work, an employee had a relative who died in the shooting. That’s the closest I’ve ever gotten to knowing anyone affected by one of these events.

But my dad and step-mom were staying in Las Vegas just last month. My brother was in Amsterdam back in June when a man ran over pedestrians with his car outside a train station. My mom was in Spain a couple of months after the Barcelona attacks last year. I have a lot of family and friends who travel. I like to travel.

As I’ve reflected this week, it’s been frightening to think that all of them could have been victims of these events. It’s even worse grasping the fact that they could have been harmed anywhere at any time and still can be. I can be! It’s awful to think about. Yet that’s the reality we face. Evil has always been part of our reality, and it will continue to be in any shape or form.

Politics, facts, and feelings aside, I want to keep this short and simple and say one thing with this post: tell everyone you care about that you love them. It doesn’t have to be every day, not even every week. Whenever you can, let them know that you love them and are thinking of them. Live your life to the happiest and fullest it can be, and do good things in it. Be good individuals. The better we are at that, the better the world can be.

Be free, and be safe.