Late night thoughts

I find myself at night lately contemplating the twists and turns and strange paths my life has taken. I wonder how I managed to make it through everything, why I had to go through it to begin with and how I still have managed to seek joy. I know the answers to these questions, but they run through my mind nonetheless.

None of us are promised a pain free life. In fact, someone well known said that YES, we will have difficulty, we will face adversity, but it will be ok because the world has been overcome. Love is in control in the end. In my life that comes to my faith - I believe that I survived what I have and still have breath in my lungs and joy in my heart because my God has control and will change what was meant to cause harm into something beautiful and good.

I also believe that nothing protects us from challenges in life. We will ALL have some of our own. The question is what will we do with them. Will we stagnate or blame others or other things for life being terrible? Or will we seek the good and beautiful in life while also introspecting - learning and growing from our painful experiences. None of us is immune. Money won't protect us - we are all one moment from being homeless. Education won't protect us - while useful and important we can't guarantee it will place us in a safe place in life... Health is guaranteed to none - no matter how healthy you've always been. Having tons of friends and lots of connections doesn't guarantee people will really be there when the chips fall. Having a family that will take care of you may change in a moment. All of the talents and gifts in the world doesn't guarantee they will make us valued by others.

So the question comes back - how will we cope, will we grow or burrow in - afraid to move? Will we seek solutions or react to our fears in anger? Will we hold our breath waiting for the perfect life we are expecting or stamp our feet at the unfairness of it all, or will we use the knowledge we've gained to seek solutions or a different direction?

We each have the capability of resilience but many of us have not been taught to find it within us. On the other side - how do we react when others go through their pain? Are we present in their pain the way we would need others to be when we are in pain or do we offer a simple answer or promise of prayer? Do we show compassion and empathy to others? Do we use our gifts and talents to improve our community and other humans struggling through life? Do we show unconditional love and acceptance to those that others may pass by - because one day, that person may be us. One day that person who is sick and homebound may be you. One day that person desperately searching for shelter, food or clothing may be you. The person longing for socialization and a sense of value could be any of us... But the reason we should offer these basic needs to those around us is simple. It's Humane... and each human (including me and you) is part of humanity. Humanity has forgotten how to be humane and we need to relearn it while also teaching our children the same if we eer hope to redeem the communities we want to be safe, the people we want to change, to experience the support and love that we need ourselves.