September ~ The Month Of #SecondChances

                        

Newspaper headlines, the unfolding events across the globe all speak of mankind’s moral compass taking a dive to levels never seen before. Everywhere and across the board, people seem to be more and more engrossed with themselves, more about asserting themselves, their rights, the ultimate ‘selfie-shness’, a phenomenon dangerously obsessive, oftentimes more than not, bordering on the narcissistic.

It would be enough just to throw up one’s hands in the air and say – ‘the world is coming to an end’ so why bother? Nothing good can ever come of this depraved race that we call humanity. So we might as well just prepare for the inevitable – a day when the world literally and figuratively collapses in itself.

BUT. There is still the but. 

Every time I look at a baby, 
Every single time I look at the sky and see a perfect blue – yes it does happen once in a while in this crowded city of mine.. :) 
Every time I look at the well-worn wrinkles on my mother’s face, 
Every time I close my eyes and think of the hills back home… 

I am reminded that this world and we are not done. Not Yet.

And talking of children, they are not perfect, believe me (!) and our hearts struggle as we seek to set them on that path that will enable them to grow, to mature and to be well, close to perfect. 

Along the way, they stumble, make poor choices that are flawed, misguided, leading to brokenness, hurting and pain. Yet, still, we stand behind them, urging them to continue, to desist and persist, with the knowledge that life, in spite of everything is a beautiful, wondrous experience…

I looked at this video and realized that yes, there is evil in this world, unimaginable, unspeakable evil. This month alone has been reminiscent of great tragedy, in my own state and in the country of my friends.

And yet, there is also redemption, there is freedom – from the shackles we bear; there is hope – through the darkness of the deed and there is hope – that we can have a better tomorrow. 

Life may not always give us second chances but it does give us a choice – Every. Single. Day. How we choose to live it ultimately then determines what kind of a life we live..

I share this video because it is so close to home and because simply, it tells us that even in the face of such evil, we can still choose. Choose to forgive. Choose to love rather than hate. Choose to live rather than simply exist.

            Dedicated to the fallen, to the ones that remain behind, to the ones that have conquered and to the ones that still struggle. Dedicated to the memories of the past and to the dreams, visions of the future. Dedicated to my family and to my friends that are now my family.

            Dedicated to my mother who taught me, still teaches me how to live, with hope, with faith and with grace and dignity…