There are always dark nights and cold winters in our lives, but these dark nights and cold winters don't last forever. Like it has this morning, the sun eventually rises, and light disperses the darkness. And while in a few months, winter will come and it will bring snow and storms as it usually does, eventually, winter will give way to spring, and with it will come new warmth and new life. Then the trees that are now losing their leaves will begin to grow new ones.
Recent events may bring with them new challenges, but it's not the end of the world! Let's learn what we can from our experiences by getting to work!
Maybe we can start by spending a bit more time getting to know some of the people in our very own neighborhoods. What about the people next door? Who are they? Who in our very own communities needs a helping hand, a warm smile, or a listening ear? We can start by going out and showing people that we care--especially those who feel like they have been pushed to the sidelines. As we come to know the people who live in our own neighborhoods and communities, we will discover that there is not a shortage of people who need our help, and that there is much that each of us can do to show that an individual is appreciated and that, as a human being, theirs is a dignity that cannot be taken away.
To show that respect and not just to say it is itself a language that must be learned, and speaking that language involves more than just the lips (or the fingers)--it is spoken especially from the heart, but it involves the entire self, for it is a language that is really spoken as it is enacted. And it can be enacted by freely giving of one's time, talents, and energies.
Life is so much more than sitting in a room by one's self and reading endlessly!
So let's get to work! :)
