Dear Mr, Ms, Mrs, Miss, Father, Mother, Brother, Sister Terrorist,

I don’t know why you do what you do. I can’t imagine anything that would cause me to purposely kill people–not a war, not a cause, no fervent beliefs. Nope, nothing except insanity—are you insane? I am looking for some rational explanation of your actions the past few days in Mumbai, and in the past bombings in London, Madrid, Yemen, New York, Kenya…

I know, I know—one can’t define illogic using logic and perhaps my desire to “understand” is my attempt to tie this all in a neat little package and put it safely on some remote shelf in a distant place in my brain to forever remain, collecting cobwebs and dust, and never causing anyone pain ever again. Ahhh, sounds like a fairytale for grownups, doesn’t it?

Michael and I stayed at the Taj Mahal Hotel and Towers in Mumbai in April. A grand dame of historic prominence, it overlooks the famous Gateway of India. I love Mumbai (called “Bombay” until 1995). It is a potpourri of people, customs, and architecture. A blend of modern financial and traditional business models (e.g. the famous “Dhobis”—washermen), traditional cuisine mixed with McDonald’s (no meat, thank you very much!), contemporary buildings moments away from World Heritage sites, Mumbai is an enthralling city.

As a survivor from Vancouver so aptly said, we need to go to Mumbai and put our arms around its citizens. This violence is NOT Mumbai and we cannot allow the terrorists to win by avoiding this magnificent city. In fact, perhaps the only way we can fight this insanity is to continue to discover new friends in every corner of this world.