Don’t worry
because I have heard that it is for the purpose of “friendship” and not politics
or diplomacy, whatever that means. Meanwhile it’s my kids first day of school tomorrow
and I can still hear them tossing and turning and making noise at 11:05pm when
they have to catch the bus for their first day of school after summer vacation at
7:00am. I am up drinking coffee and perusing social media sites while the world
tries to figure out what to do about 1100+ men, women and children killed with
deadly nerve gas in Syria. Coincidentally, earlier in the week someone complained
to my coworker that they felt suicidal because they lost their wallet. On
another hand, I know an elderly person who wakes up just about every day to do
volunteer work with a fractured spine that is too delicate to operate on yet I also
know others half as old, who have called it quits and packed up on days where
they find that they have a slow Wi-Fi connection. I myself have called out sick
for being “tired” on occasion when I know someone else who chooses to show up
to work daily with a chronic illness that I can hardly imagine what it is like
to have.
In the old
days our parents or grandparents used to tell us to eat our food because “millions
of children are starving in China, (or Africa, etc.)” Somehow we have gotten
away from that realization even though decisively more children are starving
now than were back in our parent’s time. Interestingly, it is not uncommon to
hear a child of today complain that they won’t eat the hot dogs we just cooked
them because they are Shop Rite brand which we got on sale and not Sabrett’s or
they won’t eat the chips we bought them because we forgot to get Cool Ranch
flavored or they won’t wear the sneakers we bought them because there not Nike’s.
Think for a
second about your “important forms” file wherever you keep it. We all have
those vital documents and letters that we probably only even look at every few
years just when we need them, yet when we need one and its gone, we’ll tear
apart the house looking for it. For example, it is commonplace at my place of work
for someone to call incessantly the day before a court date or other event
saying “I gotta have that form faxed over today, its life or death!” In
addition, big businesses and powerful corporations and other power players seal
multi-million dollar agreements on forms and letters then store them in big
important buildings in big cities, in big locked file rooms for safe keeping. Yet
on September 11, 2001 when the World Trade Center buildings were suddenly and
tragically destroyed, millions of those indispensable forms and papers were
blown all over the streets of New York City like leaves blown off a tree in a windstorm.
Yet somehow the world went on while many of these once urgent “life or death” forms
and documents lay in the gutter stepped over like common trash and no one gave
them a second thought.
When a
private unexpected tragedy strikes an individual or family it is much like a “personal
9/11” event for those directly affected. Suddenly the bills that were stressed
over, the home repairs that may have been neglected, and the unsettled arguments
with others that were once obsessed over, instantly become meaningless like
those once critical forms and papers that were turned to garbage in the blink
of an eye on 9/11. Depending upon the incident, it can take a long time to
restore even a semblance of normalcy and in many cases, dependent upon the
circumstances of one’s “personal 9/11” things will never be the same again for
an entire lifetime for those directly involved.
This blog
entry is not about politics, nor is it statement about changing the world
itself. Instead, the message is simple and cliché, yet so often forgotten when
we get caught up in the whirlwind that is life in today’s ever changing, fast
paced world. Keep things in perspective. Unfortunately if you do not remember that
on a daily basis, life will eventually remind you. For all of you who may be
reading this who may be going through a personal 9/11 event or know someone
else who is, my heart goes out to you as I hope for you to maintain the
strength to endure during your difficult time.
Hey Kenneth. This (of course) isn't a new idea, since I too have written something about this (http://www.elephantjournal.com/2013/08/expose-the-illusion-of-life-with-common-sense-jon-mark/).
ReplyDeleteI've accepted the statement that we are all flawed human beings. We are impulsive, undecided, anxious, paranoid, etc. What I don't accept is how people connect that flawness with beauty, it's almost as if we're accepting it in order to generate excuses for our '1st world' problems.
The other thing is that people get turned off my political blogs, or anything that 'goes there'. It's difficult to present something like 9/11 in any other way. I've tried to 'walk' people through the process with this thing in Syria to say that, we don't know what's going on and shouldn't have an opinion on the state of their affairs therefore, what reason do YOU have to get your government involved? It's their itch they want to scratch not yours so either don't get involved and shut up or send your opinions to your representatives. The investment that we've made in this country however is that we can say what we want without knowing anything and act like we want because it's our right, is what national pride has become and it is greatly encouraged.
Great blog Kenneth.
Thank you, I appreciate your feedback very much
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