Yesterday began like any other day for me. I struggled through the morning ritual and griped and grumbled about the petty, quite insignificant trials and tribulations that tend to make up my average day. It rapidly became something very different. I witnessed one of the most heart-wrenching and painful things that I have had to be a party to in a very long time. I watched one of my father's very dear friends bury his son.
This man had, for as long as I can remember, represented the epitome of strength and toughness in my lexicon. Yesterday that illusion was shattered for me. I watched in resolute horror as this incredibly strong man was brought to his knees by the horror of his loss and pain. For the first time in a long time, I wept openly. His heart is broken and, consequently, my heart is broken for him. This man who has spent his entire life putting back together that which others have been unable to fix is shattered by a loss that was beyond his control. I wanted nothing more than to be able to put him back together again; a sentiment shared by everyone else who was in attendance I'm certain. I know now that nothing will ever truly make his pain go away or fill the hole in his psyche and yet, sitting in that lonely church, I wished for some panacea that could lessen his pain and somehow make it endurable.
With the realization that nothing would ever make his pain go away, my thoughts turned to the hundreds (perhaps thousands) of other families who are going to be subjected to this same sense of pain and loss in the coming days, weeks, and perhaps months. It has always been my belief that pain and loss teach us humility and the power of loving each other. These are lessons that we, as humans, have been given many opportunities throughout history to learn and yet, we seem to have an uncanny knack to disregard the lessons which are most important. Having witnessed the wrath of hurricane Katrina and the tragic loss of life in Iraq yesterday something hit me. We are, indeed, all one. It's past time for us to come together for the common good of our fellow men and women be they white, black, American, Iraqi, Democrat or Republican.
The Bible (a book I don't tend to lend much credence to) says to love thy neighbor as you would love yourself. Why has it been so difficult for us to learn this seemingly simple lesson? The ineptitude throughout history is somewhat staggering to me.
My heart weeps today. It weeps for everyone in the world who has been forced to bury a child, a father, a mother, brother or sister. It weeps for all who will have to do so in the coming days and weeks. It weeps for those without shelter, clean water, or enough food to make it through the day. It weeps for those in positions of power too bloated by their greed and hubris to understand that our very humanity is in jeopardy. It weeps for those so resolutely blinded by their suppositions of their place in the world according to some ideal of "God" that they feel the need to strap explosives to them and take the lives of the innocent to express their rage and anguish. It weeps for the children of the world who will be made old before their time by the occurrence of things beyond their control. My heart is heavy and it weeps.
I would ask everyone reading this to please contact the American Red Cross at 1-800-help-now and donate whatever you can. No amount is too small!