Tuesday, September 25, 2012

A walk in the dark

I was in Chicago this weekend to meet some friends. I woke up Sunday morning and scanned though my RSS feed for the latest on Syria. A study reported that an average of a 1000 people were dying each day with the rate potentially going up through the winter. I felt a sick punch of impotence in my stomach. Later in the day, we walked around downtown Chicago straining our necks to count the number of floors in the Hancock tower. When our eyes returned to ground level, I noticed the people walking around with their pretty coats and expensive shoes. I noticed the chromed out sports cars that made vroom noises even when parked. And then I noticed the hobos. Some were holding boards requesting food and not money. There was a war vet who had lost a leg and held a board requesting a job, any job. There was one guy with no board but a dog wrapped in his coat on his lab. The dog chose to not move but it was not smiling. When the wind got stronger, the dog shivered a little until the guy gave it a pat and hugged it.

I am glad I got to have a good warm time with my friends on Sunday. I am thankful for the fact that I have friends and a loving family to turn to. I am thankful for a clean and protected childhood. I am thankful for good teachers and an education. I am thankful for having a roof over my head, clothes to wear, food to eat and an honest occupation to sustain myself. Most of all I am thankful for a sensitivity that keeps me humbly thankful on any given Sunday.

   

3 comments:

Q said...

Aww. I share the sentiment. Yeah, we definitely have a lot to be grateful for. :)

Unknown said...

Amen to that!!

Unknown said...

Amen to that!