sometimes it baffles me how drastically different our lives can be from those we live right along side...the people we sit by on the bus, the people we walk by on the way to work, the people who live less than a mile from our house. i have always wanted to read the book "the other america," but haven't gotten to it yet. just tonight when i was thinking about this, i realized what a perfect title it is for a book discussing and bringing to light the poverty crisis in the united states. the most baffling thing is that "the other america" exists right in the middle of the america of plenty, the america of materialists and the america of more, more, more. we are human beings with eyes, and ears, and hearts, and minds...i just don't understand how there can be such disparity and so much, seeming, acceptance of this...i don't understand. i am not even really talking tangible things- those things don't do anyone that much good (well, OK, food definitely does a body good, but you know what i mean...). i guess maybe what i am talking about is people- people who listen, people who show concern, people who encourage, people who believe in other people- believe the
best of other people! why are we so scared to be this kind of person? why are we so scared to listen? why can we only do it for our sister, our daughter, maybe our co-worker, or a good friend, but definitely not that guy on the bus with the dirty clothes? or that girl at work who has gotten pregnant 6 times before the age of 21? no, those people aren't to be trusted.
tonight i am wondering a lot...about why people are so scared, about what it is that makes us so disconnected, and about how in the world some people find the will to survive, and maybe even raise a happy baby or two, when they feel so, so alone.
today my heart was broken for a very scared, very alone momma.
what a crazy world we live in. i just don't understand it.
