I wake up each morning in awe as the sun pulls back the curtain over the cornfield, revealing the beauty of colours that surrounds me. I rest my head on my pillow night after night, after watching a sunset that couldn't possibly be better than the next, yet it is. Then there are the in between times which are filled with learning, delight and amazement. Running through all of this there is a gratitude in my heart for this life I get to call mine. For this country life, surrounded by nature, solitude, animals and family is more blessings than one could ever ask for, let alone deserve.
Gratitude. It's always there in the back of my mind. Dreams like this don't always come true, of that, I am fully aware but living this life can also lead you astray at times, down a path of cheeriness and bliss that can leave one living in a bubble.
To the young man whose trial I was summoned to for jury duty last week, I don't know if you're guilty or not, and for me, it doesn't really matter. I am not a juror on your trial. I will never have to bear the burden of weighing the evidence that will affect you for the rest of your life. What I will have to carry with me, every day, is what your life was like before you entered that courtroom. Was your family one that every child deserves but many never experience? Were you subjected to poverty that should never happen in a country as rich as ours? Did your chance at a decent education spiral downwards as your tried to deal with the hand in life you were dealt? I can guess at some of your answers but I don't truly know.
Many people will say we all have choices in life, and up until last week I would have agreed with that wholeheartedly. Now I realize, it's quite easy to make good choices when life has always dealt you a winning hand.
To the young man whose trial I was summoned to for jury duty, I am sorry. I am sorry that we live in a society that often wants nothing to do with you until you cause them a problem. I'm sorry that over two hundred people were there to hear the twelve charges laid against you and to hear your pleas yet no one was there for you when you needed them most...all those days of your life before that fateful day.
And to you young man, as I pray for you each day, I thank you. Thank you for bursting that bubble I chose to dwell in and setting me straight. This life is for living, yes. It's also for caring for each other, protecting one another and loving our fellow man. Perhaps if we had more of that, there would be a legal system with nothing but time on its hands.
3 comments:
Oh this is an incredibly moving post. There are tears in my eyes and my chest hurts. I have seen those same kind of kids who some turned out OK despite the neglect and horror they had to deal with all their lives. Others in the same family did not do well, it breaks my heart to. Choice does come in to play as far as friends and conscience but it breaks my heart once the bad choices they have made change their lives and their is no return.Some choose to use their crappy childhoods as an excuse and some choose to use it as a ladder to strife to overcome and rise above it, and help others in the same boat. I know this for a fact.
I am sorry your bubble has been penetrated and I think that everyone can learn a lesson in this post. Compassion and helping the children, not living a life where you cannot see others in need.
Sorry to go on and one but I have seen this and it gets me very emotional. There should be no neglected hungry children in this rich nation so many enjoy.
Great post . HUGS B
I sat on a murder trial as a juror before...and it was the single worst event of my entire life. I will never forget it.
Well said. Just like we talked about last week...how does someone *get there*, to that point of no return. Rehabilitation or Prison? Prison seems to just be a revolving door. I don't know the answer; I really don't. I do know how much of our tax dollars are spent each year on the prison system. Outrageous. I know many people say they don't watch the news because they just don't want to know about all the tragic things happening in our world. Whether or not they are engaged in the happenings of the world around them, it still affects all of us in one way or another. My hope for that young man is that this is the end of his criminal career. And the beginning of becoming a functioning member of society. Working a real job, paying bills, filing taxes....all the things that can make life seem mundane. But, mundane is a whole better than living in a cage!
Life is beautiful. And it's up to each person to make it their own kind of beautiful.
Great post, Andie!
LYLAS!!!
xo, misha
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