This time of year brings up many emotions as time is spent with friends and family, which can be good or bad depending on your friends and family. This time of the year is also a time of reflection about the previous year, the good the bad and the ugly. 2010 was a great year for me with the big highlights being: marriage, graduation, and a new job. Those are very big events given the current economic and political situation. Times-are-a-changin and who knows what that means. Also with this reflection comes the things that motivate me such as problems that I didnt solve or struggles that werent overcome throughout the year. For these reflections lead me to try harder and something different in the upcoming year.
One thing I struggled with this year with family and friends was feeling empathy for some of the complaints and problems that were expressed. Sad truth is not all people are fortunate enough to have some of the problems that others have. Meaning the government taxing me, or gays in the military for people who are not gay and are not in the military have absolutely nothing on the people that are out here with no place to stay, nothing to eat, no place to feel safe, and no one to love them. This time of the year can be devestating for these people. These are the people that I feel empathy for so much so that I want to do all I can do to help people overcome that, taxes? who really gives a shit...those are fortunate problems when you cannot get a job because of one or two mistakes in life. People are still people, taxes are paper. Now I am not saying tax me cause I don't care about money, but I am at a point that I don't feel any sympathy for your problem with the way things are handled in government or about the couple of pounds you are trying to lose or the grades you didnt get or the money mispent. Everybody has their hangups and what not, I complain when the Yanks don't sign Cliff Lee, but in the world I live in there are people starving, going homeless and being abused.
What I realized is that I am very fortunate in many ways and probably more that I am unaware of. To me, if I don't do something with that or give back to that, then I am a fucking idiot as I didnt do much but be born in one place versus another. I don't take this for granted. I was born American, white, and from a strong working class family, in this society I have many advantages that others do not. I didnt choose this or do anything to earn it and yes I had my drug struggles and anger, stealing, cheating and lying stuff going on but it doesnt compare to growing up without parents or without food. If that was me I would have made similar choices and be in similar situations that alot of people are in. If I can even in the simplest of ways help the next person then I am not wasting space on this earth.
Everybody needs to complain and everyone gets angry about stuff sometimes but if all was said and done and today you would be taken away from here, did you do all you wanted to do, did you live the way you would want to be remembered. These are things I ask myself on the days when the clouds are very dark. I have nothing to complain about in terms of the REAL world where people are dying and starving and we don't want to provide healthcare or tax money to help people in need. I don't get that, I see someone in pain and I want to help them out, just part of being a human. So help the next person, pay it foward, be kind to someone who has wronged you, take interest in someone that wanders alone, we have opportunities everyday to give back what has been given to us, the ability to live and breath and if you are reading this be freaking wealthy enough to have a computer and smart enough to operate the internet and read. There are people who have none of this. Make 2011 a better year....
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