On April 23^, 2013, eight days after the Boston Marathon bombing, the body of 22-year-old Sunil Tripathi was pulled from a river in Providence, Rhode Island. After the FBI released pictures of the bombing suspects, many people took to online social media sites and wrongly speculated that Sunil resembled one of the bombers. Sunil suffered from depression and mood problems but was never clinically diagnosed. I can only assume that being falsely accused of such a horrific act combined with other difficulties he was having in his life prompted him to do the unthinkable – take his own life.

Within 24 hours of receiving the news that their son’s body was found, his family released a statement that read in part:

“This month has changed our lives forever, and we hope it will change yours too. Take care of one another.  Be gentle, be compassionate.  Be open to letting someone in when it is you who is faltering.  Lend your hand.  We need it.  The world needs it.”   

The depth of compassion shared by this family moved me to tears and gave me such hope in humanity. They did not inflict anger, hate, judgment or blame on anyone. Their message was one of deep compassion. They were so giving of themselves and of their hearts and at a time when they must’ve been experiencing so much pain. To have the awareness and depth to tell people to be gentle and to lend your hand after just learning of their son’s death, after knowing that many people wrongly identified him as a possible bomber, is what I would describe as a miraculous act.

We need more of these miracles. If you’re thinking that this word, miracle, is a bit extreme to describe this situation, just turn on any television station where all you see is people blaming, judging, condemning, and criticizing each other. In today’s world, forgiveness, acceptance, and compassion are miracles. They are miracles that we can all perform and they are simple acts that can change our world. It is these simple acts that can touch people we’ve never even met and can change situations that we are not even aware of.