Thursday, September 16, 2010

Slavery and a Chance to Help Educate People About the Problem

According to Free the Slaves, there are ~27 million slaves in the world today. That is more than at any other time in history, despite it being illegal in pretty much every country of the world. It seems that most of these slaves are used in farm work or as domestics, though some are used in mining or the sex trade as well. There are slaves in almost every country in the world, including the United States, which is estimated to have over 10000 people living in slavery at any time (from Free the Slaves).

I came across this project, which is looking for funding to create a comic book about human trafficking and needs $8000 before the end of September to make it happen. Personally, I think it looks like a good way to introduce children to the problem and raise awareness of it across the nation. I'm supporting it-I hope you will too.

Borderland: A Comic Book About Human Trafficking

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Plumbing the Depths of the Mundane

I posted this a few years ago on another site, but thought I'd resurrect it here, since I don't have time to write anything else right now.

As I am approaching middle age, I am finding my perspective on things is changing. It recently occurred to me that I used to spend most of my time waiting for the big things to happen in my life, and just going through the routine of living the rest of the time. But so much of our time is spent on the ordinary, the little things, just the routines of life. So why do we waste so much time waiting for the big things, the exciting things, the meaningful things to happen to really fully experience life, instead of what I call plumbing the depths of the mundane?

It seems to me that my life would be much fuller and richer if I put as much emotional energy and commitment into the small things of life as I do those "important" things. I want to savor each and every moment that I am alive. I want to embrace the little things and absorb the experience completely so that it becomes a part of my mind, my body and my spirit.

I recently started wearing sandals for the first time in a very long time, and I have spent a long time just feeling and experiencing the sensation of the wind blowing through my toes, or the dew filled grass brushing up against it. Instead of simply ignoring this, I chose to contemplate it, to try and go as deeply into even such an ordinary experience as this, and plumb its depths. It gives one an entirely different perspective on everyday living!

I usually wolf down a meal in under three minutes and rarely even taste the food that I eat. But now I am trying to slow down and look at the presentation and colors of my meal; taste the food; feel its texture on my tongue and as I swallow it; smell the aromas; in short, I am trying to take the simple act of eating and turn it into a much more profound experience.

Now there is nothing wrong with the exciting experiences in life. There are big occasions that one looks forward to and are life changing events. Wonderful events. But these are sproadic events. They do not happen all the time for most of us, at least. So I have recently felt the need to deepen the meaning of every part of my life. Life is such a short and precious commodity that it is a shame to waste it. Broadening your experiences is one way to do that. Choosing to do things that you normally don't. But if we don't deepen our lives, change our way of looking at life then it seems to me that we are still not living life to the fullest, still not seizing the day, still not raging against the dying of the light.

I feel that life is a straight line, very thin. The longer one lives, the more area we fill. If we broaden our experience, the line becomes a wider ribbon, and the area we fill is greater. But if we can deepen our experiences then we fill a greater volume in our lives. I want to fill the greatest volume I can while I live this life!

Thursday, April 8, 2010

I saw a mother die today...

I saw a mother die today. Her body didn't know she was dead when she rolled through the doors, and the paramedics and emergency department team pretended they didn't either, as they worked hard to resuscitate her. But in truth, we all knew that she had already died in the twisted and screaming metal wreckage that had once been her car. Her heart had just not learned the truth at that point...or maybe just refused to accept it.

I saw a mother die today. I think of those words, and it seems to affect me like few others among the many, many deaths I have seen. Maybe it was because she was young (only in her twenties), with what appeared to be a long life ahead of her. Maybe it was because she was a mother, and as she died, I stood with her four year old son. She might have seen her children grow up, finish school, get jobs. She might have celebrated many Christmases with them, and thrown them birthday parties. She might have been there at their weddings and watched as her grandchildren were born. But instead, I saw a mother die today.

I sat with her four year old son. He was in the car that killed his mother. He was scared, tied down on a hard board, blind...perhaps because of glass in his eyes, perhaps because he was scared to open his eyes after the visions he saw during the accident, who knows...(nothing was found later when we examined his eyes), in pain from his own injuries and calling out for his mother who would never again reply to his cries. There were many more qualified to sit with this frightened little child and comfort him, and they did. I did my part.

His father came and said that his mother had gone to heaven, and the little boy said, "no, mommy's in the next room". How do you tell a child his mother has died? How do you tell a child that his mother's head is almost severed from her body, that her internal organs have so many leaks that there simply is no blood left to circulate in the veins and arteries, and that her limbs have been crushed so badly that it almost seems there are no bones left in them? The father simply said he had to go live with him now and that he would not see his mother again.

"Bambi: Mother? Mother?
Great Prince of the Forest: Your mother can't be with you anymore."

How does a mother show her love? By properly restraining her son in the back seat, well secured in a car seat. He walks away from the accident that killed his mother.

I saw a mother die today, and I stood with her son.