"At the end of life, we will not be judged by how many diplomas we have received, how much money we have made, how many great things we have done. We will be judged by 'I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat. I was naked and you clothed me. I was homeless and you took me in.'"
Mother Teresa
_____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____
Disclaimer: this post is unusually long. They all won't be like this. I guess I just had a lot to say about the importance of looking out for one another.
When my dad was in his early 20s, he spent about a year in Haiti performing a service mission. He has told me of some of his experiences while he was there, but there is one that has always stood out to me. It's been a while since I've heard this story so I may get some details wrong, but this is what I remember: There was a little orphaned boy that he used to pass on the streets all the time who shined shoes to make at least a tiny bit of money. At night, he slept on the streets using his shoe shining kit as a pillow. This broke my heart and I decided that I would never go anywhere where I would be confronted with this level of poverty. I'd rather live in my happy bubble of ignorance than see with my own eyes the pain and hardships that so many people in the world have to endure.
Obviously my opinions have changed since then. I'm a big softie, so of course I still feel overwhelming sadness (and if I'm being completely honest, I cry more often than not) when I am reminded of the tremendous suffering in the world. But these feelings now fuel my desire to help rather than my instinct run away.
I took an International Development class a couple semesters ago from an amazing teacher, Scott. On the last day of class, he gave the most inspiring lecture I've ever heard from any teacher. My favorite portion of his lecture is when he spoke about his first time in India. He said that he just wanted to close his eyes to the poverty that existed everywhere he looked; he wanted to cry thinking of all the people who were going to bed hungry. He felt overwhelmed, like his efforts would never make an impact on the world. It's so easy to want to shut down when faced with these problems - I felt myself shutting down just listening to Scott describe these feelings. Why try when you're just one person against the world?
But then he said something that put everything into perspective - it's okay to feel overwhelmed and uncomfortable. Use it! Transform those feelings into action and do something! Engage with that discomfort, combine it with your love for humankind, and you will make a difference. Maybe you won't single-handedly solve world hunger or poverty, but you will change at least one person's life for the better.
I was lucky enough to have been born into a life of advantage. I have two parents who love me always and provide for me in every way they can. I've always had a roof over my head. I've never had to worry about when my next meal would be or where it would come from. I own more clothes and shoes than one person really needs. But not everyone is this lucky.
So it's my turn to give back. To quote an incredibly cheesy Disney Channel movie, "we're all in this together." I know, you're all judging me for quoting High School Musical. Whatever, judge away. It doesn't make it any less true. Life is hard. Quite frankly, sometimes it just sucks. So it's a good thing we've got 7 billion friends in this world to help us out when we need it.
No comments:
Post a Comment