The Story of a Passport
I checked my mail later than usual and there was my shiny new passport. I opened it and looked inside. I’m not sure what I was expecting to find, but I opened it really carefully. I imagined for a moment how cool it would be for one of my descendents to someday have a copy of it after I am long gone from this earth. Maybe several generations from now, one of my descendants will find the record of my passport and get as excited as I do when I am researching genealogy and come across a picture or legal document that tells the tale of the life of one of my ancestors. I find it fun and amusing to think about. I’m sure they’d size up my picture and try to find some connection to the look on their own face. It’s interesting how we are always searching for those links to those who came before us. I think it’s comforting in a world that spins at such an incredibly fast pace.
I wonder what the story will tell. I hope it speaks of a life fully lived, a life that radiated with honesty, love, and kindness. That is my intention.
As I held the passport in my hands tonight, I once again had a moment of awe, realizing just how blessed I am to be living in a country where I can speak my mind, write down and share my thoughts, practice my own faith, have the option to work, travel, own a home, drive to the grocery store, sing out loud…… it’s not a perfect place, but I am grateful for the freedoms which it provides.
Today I learned of a family who is homeless.
Being in the field of education, it’s not the first time I’ve heard a similar story. It’s one that will always make my stomach clump into a ball of knots, like snakes twisted together in a rattan basket. I don’t know why we don’t take better care of eachother. I don’t know how we let families with small children end up on the streets scrapping for their next meal. I’m not pointing a finger at politicians, goverment agencies and local welfare departments either. That’s just too easy. EVERYBODY DOES IT. I’m actually tired of hearing it. I’m referring to each of us as free, thriving, mostly materialistic individuals.
How do we turn our heads and go about our days thinking about what kind of new SUV we want when there are others who are out in our very same towns thinking about how nice it would be to have a warm and comfortable place to sleep?
How do we walk around every day with our eyes closed so tightly and yet get to our destinations on time and with snacks galore in our soccer bags? These are the questions I often ask myself.
If each of us got involved in just one selfless endeavor…..oh, imagine the impact it could make.
Where I live, approximately 100 other people live in my building.
What if each of these persons set out to give of themselves for 2 full hours each week?
What’s that like, about 16 minutes each day?
(enough time to smoke a cigarette maybe? pick out a movie? Put on your makeup?)
That would be 200 hours each week of making a positive impact on someone else’s life.
THIS IS JUST IN MY BUILDING!
That would end up being 10,400 hours of giving each year.
How positive could the impact be with just this short 2 hours of time, radiating out into local communities?
Better yet, HOW GOOD WOULD THAT MAKE YOU FEEL?
(imagine, a natural antidepressant, what a concept!)
We can brainstorm, and oh, I will in subsequent posts!
What would you choose to do for YOUR two hours?
