Have you ever uttered to yourself, "Why me?" I did in 2001 for many reasons. One reason was that our youngest daughter, Deidre Lee, passed away on the last day of April after many years of fighting Multiple Sclerosis. To say it hurts is an understatement, and one my family and I will never completely recover from. And now I have been told that I must enter hospital and have my left carotid artery operated on and cleaned out, the operation to take place on the 8th of January (the right one is closed as a result of an earlier stroke and is inoperable). When questioned what the risks of this operation are, my vascular surgeon stated "there are risks to any operation, but when compared to the risk of not doing anything those pale into insignificance." When I asked what would happen if I didn't do anything he smiled and calmly said "quite simply you'll die." At that point, the first thing to come into my mind was "why me?"
However, on the positive side of this year, our first grandchild, Kaitoa Nathan Johnson, was born on the 12th of September and is such a joy that we now contemplate moving to Australia some time in 2002 to be nearer to him and his mom and dad, and help with his upbringing.
At one point, I said to my wife that I had felt the "why me" feeling this year for various reasons. She looked at me, and in her own indomitable style said "and why not you?" She was right, of course. What made me think I was so special that nothing bad would ever happen to me? That set me to thinking, and I wish to share those thoughts with you.
Most of us have had some kind of tragedy strike at one time or other. It may seem natural to think of our plight at times like that and think we are so very bad off, that we seem to be the one suffering more than any other on the planet. But the reality is that particular feeling is simply not true. Think of all the others who have faced tragedy this past year. Think of all those affected by the tragedy of war, of unimaginable sorrow as a result of the violence in New York City and Afghanistan this year, of the many who now are homeless because of circumstances beyond their own control, of the many on the planet who have, and still do, die of hunger each day, and the list goes on and on. And "we" think we have it hard?
May I suggest that a saying my father was prone to quote to me when I was a young lad suggests that many in the world have had it worse than we ever have had. The saying was "I cried because I had no shoes, until I met a man who had no feet."
Yes, we all may have faced hardships we never could have seen coming, and heartache we never thought we would ever face. But instead of dwelling on the past, is it not better to look to the future and try to make things better there, not only for ourselves, but for all those we come into contact with? Is it not time that we, as members of the human race, solemly resolve to make all our brothers and sisters on the planet a little safer, a little more able to carry on their existence and add to the wonderful mix of cultures, religions, and customs our species is capable of? Is it not time to finally do away with the hate that still exists in parts of the globe based on race, religion, or any other prejudice, and try to find ways to coexist on this small green marble in our universe?
I suggest it is not only time we did just that, but also time we looked outside ourselves, time we collectively rose up with a resolve to eradicate prejudice and poverty, ignorance and hatred, throughout our planet. There is no need for anyone to carry the things of the past in ways that continue to destroy those we see, but rather the time has come to put away those destructive things and come together as a race of people who will protect our planet and ALL of its inhabitants.
Therefore I suggest you join with me in this new year's resolution: At every opportunity that presents itself, we will all try to better the lot of EVERYONE we meet. If we all do that, just think what a wonderful and fruitful world we would all live in. From now on I shall try to look at my glass as being half full, not half empty. I invite you to join me in that outllook for the betterment of us all and the generations that follow us.
Just my musings...
Mac
