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September 01, 2005
Taking Life for Granted
We never know the worth of water till the well is dry. ~Thomas Fuller, Gnomologia, 1732
Happenings in the gulf states, and the ripple effects felt across the nation, should give us all cause to reevaluate our consumptive lifestyles. Watching MSNBC video footage of hurricane victims in New Orleans confronts us with how lucky we really are in so many aspects of our lives. It is not just the every day little things we take for granted. How often do we express gratitude for our families, our homes, our pets, neighbors and coworkers? What delight do we take in the water flowing clean from the tap, the fresh produce displayed neatly at the market and the lights glowing bright in the dark?
We are witness to the fury of nature followed by the cries of its victims - their pleas for help piercing our bubbles of comfort. How many water bottles would each one of us carry to these people if we could? The most basic necessities are out of reach for Katrina's victims while the miracles of modern media stream the death to us live. We can look in on this horror, while they can not even escape it. Somehow this seems twisted... like a nightmare spun from a Stephen King novel. I feel guilty as I sit here typing and sipping my Gatorade. We find ourselves wishing we had the forethought to have sent buses and trains to pluck the poor, sick, weak and ignorant from the path of this monster storm.
Here, safe from the destruction, we have beds to curl up in, roofs over our heads and showers to climb into before we shuffle off to our jobs again tomorrow.
Today is all we have... make the most of it!
Posted by capecodcyclist at September 1, 2005 08:55 PM
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