Perspective always tends to find you when you least expect it and coincidentally when you need it the most. This year has brought a whirlwind of highs and lows. I honestly try to see every closed door as an opened window somewhere else that I just need to look for. This doesn't mean that I don't get a little pissed off for a while when the door smacks me in the face. It can last even longer when it leaves a bruise on my cheek. I was nursing just such a bruise on my cheek this morning (if you're all still following me) when I powered up my phone and started surfing my social media. Things took a sharp left turn when started catching up on Twitter. I read over tweet after tweet about a shooting at an elementary school in Connecticut detailed with over 20 dead, mostly students. I'll admit that it didn't hit me at first but when it started to sink in, it hit me like a freight train.
I continued to scroll through the Twitter feed and read about the emerging details and I started to cry. I thought about how I would be feeling right now if one of my siblings was sitting at a desk in that school in Connecticut. I thought of my 5 year-old brother, Jaiden, specifically because he was elementary school age. The horrific images that fluttered through my mind were terrible and sort of earth shattering. My small tears turned into unmanageable sobs for the families who were living the reality that I was only imagining at a distance.
I realized that I still have people in my life that love me and whom I also love. We are lucky to have each other, even if we are spread out a bit, and know that we are all safe this Christmas. It was a jolt strong enough to shove me out of the chair at the head of the table at my own pity party. I have some amazing gifts in my life and I am lucky, regardless of the obstacles I have also been blessed with. Christmas is a magical time. It brings an intense need in each of us to be closer with our families, be a little more generous to strangers and the less fortunate, and be a littler nice to our neighbor.
I think that one of the of the best ways to pay tribute to these innocent fallen children, teachers, and their families is to exemplify the spirit of Christmas in every possible way. Be generous and and kind to everyone you meet. Treat your family and friends with love and appreciation during the holiday season. Forget some of your vain and 1st world worries that we tend to let take precedence over more pressing family matters during this time and replace them with quality time with your loved ones. Remember and keep in your heart the reality of other families who will not be as fortunate to spend these festivities together this year.
No comments:
Post a Comment