The recent images of the Syrian conflict are absolutely horrifying, to say the least.
Friday is the end of yet another week. I picked my kids up from school. We went to the shops. We ate potato wedges. We held hands as we lazily walked through the mall. We returned home – I complained about the traffic on the drive back. I fixed us dinner in my well stocked kitchen. I took a warm shower and put on my “comfort” clothes. I curled up on my couch to just “be”. But all the while I was aware that on the other side of the world people were dying. Some days our consciousness is more awake than others. Today, I was acutely aware that my regular, average day is somebody’s wildest dream come true. Most importantly, being able to exist without constantly and fearfully glancing over my shoulder is someone’s wildest dream come true.
Empathy is a very deep and complex emotion. It’s one that fully unleashes the glory that is “being human”. Empathy is deep and it deepens oneself. Thankfulness, on the other hand, is very basic…so basic that it’s easy to overlook. As we grapple with finding our ability to empathise wholeheartedly, maybe we can be thankful in the mean-time? Thankful for just the regular, average, predictable monotony of our lives. Thankful for even mediocrity where we would much prefer the exceptional. Thankful for the warm glass of milk on a cold night. Thankful for the cool glass of water on a hot day. Thankful for the shoes on our feet and the clothes on our backs – even the unbranded kind. Thankful for that person who makes us smile. Thankful that our home is a safe place. Sitting on my couch, I’m reminded that Thankfulness is indeed very basic. So terribly basic that we must repeatedly remind ourselves to be thankful…lest we forget.
– Melissa Domingo
7 April, 2017