WE'VE NEVER HAD IT SO GOOD

A couple of weeks ago, I received an envelope from Sleeping Children Around the World.  It contained a photo of a young Indian girl, standing behind a bed kit laid out on the ground.  There was a small sign that contained Christmas wishes from a good friend who donated a bed kit in my name.  The sign also indicated that 2020 was SCAW's 50th birthday - in fifty years, the organization and its supporters have provided 1,721,373 bed kits to children around the world.

After supper last night, I looked more closely at the newsletter that came with my photo.  Tucked aside on the front page was a brief statement telling me "Every bed kit includes a mosquito net and in malaria hotspots a special, treated bed-net is provided.  Malaria claims the life of a child every two minutes".

That last statement made me want to dig a bit deeper; on the UNICEF website, I learned that malaria kills over 1 million people every year, the majority of whom are children under the age of 5.  This toll in lives is taken from all over the world, but most typically in regions where poverty, displacement and disaster are common. 

It makes me think.  As I do my best to comply with the orders and measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19, I can't help but acknowledge the sheltered life I live.  I feel grateful and ashamed at the same time.  I'm grateful because I realize how lucky I am to live when and where I live.  I feel ashamed that I have been largely blind to my good fortune and that my focus has been so inward-looking and frankly, ignorant.

There are millions of people who already live under other conditions as threatening as this pandemic - things like HIV-Aids, malaria, hunger and violence.  I wonder how they will face this new  threat, without the resources at our command in the West.  I'm chastened that it has taken a threat to my own security to make me more aware of the threats endured by others.

I'll try and remember this when I am anxious or depressed by what I am experiencing today, when the worst in me is being brought to the surface: gratitude doesn't change what I have in front of me - it changes the way I see what I have.

Be well, stay safe friends.

Pat

Take This Away

Embracing gratitude in the face of adversity

 requires a heart open to grace.

~ ignatianspirituality.com ~

A Week of Gratitude

Saturday ~ reading and watching

Sunday ~ spring-like day +16C

Monday ~ unplugged downspout

Tuesday ~ I Will Come to You

Wednesday ~ stuffing and labelling

Thursday ~ the morning star

Friday ~ generosity