Friday, November 28, 2008

thanksgiving & india

Yesterday was a great day for me and my family--my mom is here, we went to some friends' house for a fun meal, and we Skyped with some family back home.

At the same time, it's hard to imagine all of us Americans going about our happy, thankful lives while Mumbai, India was at a standstill yesterday due to terrorist attacks. I'm totally guilty of not paying attention to this much--I heard about what was going on but didn't check into it, and someone at our meal yesterday brought it up and told me a little more about the situation.

It's amazing how one can get so caught up in making food, caring for a child, doing the things that need to be done--and ignore the pain of others. We expected the whole world to stop and mourn with us on September 11, but we rarely do the same for others.

At the same time, how do we live if not in this way? How do we "mourn with those who mourn" unless we're professional mourners, doing nothing else?

I'm grateful for a world in which good things happen, sometimes seemingly against all odds. I'm grateful for a world in which it's it's a daily challenge to remember the "other" and not just "my own," and I hope and pray each day I live more fully this way.

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