Tears and Hope: A Reflection

I generally keep Minds in Bloom on topic, but I have also said that along with Critical Thinking and Creative Thinking, there should be a third “C” to this blog – Compassionate Thinking. With that in mind, I offer the following, written by my 16 year old son.

My Little Moment of Inspiration

I am a lucky person

I’m smart, not extremely bad looking, and what little mental problems I have are not the type that not everyone has when they’re my age

I have a mother, father, and sister who all love me, even if my mother and father no longer love each other. I have friends to hang out with, to play video games with, to swap jokes with, or just talk awhile with. I don’t have a girlfriend, but hey, I haven’t really been trying for one until recently.

I have a good life, and a brighter future than a good majority of people.

But tonight, I cry

I cry not for myself, but for the world.
I cry for those that suffer, those that struggle.
 I cry for those who are hated, those who are lonely and unloved.
I cry for those who know true hunger, the subjects of terrible misfortune, and those who had misfortune thrust upon them.
 I cry for the dead and the dying, the unknown and the forgotten.
 I cry for those in pain, those in sorrow, and those with neither, and only a simple hollowness inside.
I cry for all the banished hopes and unfulfilled dreams.
And most of all, I cry for the victims.
The victims of love, of hate, of ignorance, of uncaring, of tragedy, of death, of society, of humankind itself.
I can never hope to understand what they have been through, I can never hope to know what it is like to be them. But still I cry for them, and I hope that everyone does at some point in their life. I am not a religious person, but I pray to any deity that is listening to help them, to save them.

And as for you, reading this, probably on some blog or internet board: don’t condemn yourself. no matter who you are or where you’re from, it’s never too late to change. I’m not saying that you’re wasting your life here on the internet; it’s a good place, where everyday people can go and be whoever they want to be for a time; where they can relax for a while, be someone else if they want to. And if that’s what you enjoy doing, if it satisfies you, then OK. Don’t let others convince you that doing what you’re doing is a “waste” of life or intelligence, if you are doing what you want to do, then that’s your right and your privilege
But if you’re like me, you know that you have a greater purpose. I want to enjoy my life, and sometimes I feel guilty about that; like I said, I am a lucky person. But I feel that if I have enjoyed my life, then that life has not been a wasted one. But I also feel that one should do more than just pray. A single action can change a life, and a single life can change the world. If you made a positive change in just one person’s life, if your good deeds outweigh your bad ones, that too is not a wasted life. If you can achieve just one of your life’s goals, that is not a wasted life.

And for those who feel they have wasted their life: today may be mediocre. Today may be depression or hate. But tomorrow can be different. And tomorrow you can be a better person. Tomorrow you can take the first steps towards achieving your goals. Tomorrow you can find something that you really and truly love to do. Tomorrow you can do something, anything, to make someone’s life just a little bit better. It’s up to you.

But for tonight, count your blessings, think of those who lack those blessings and pray for them. Tonight, think of who you are, and what you want. Tonight, think of what you could do for yourself, and what you could do for those around you, and those far away. Tonight, cry with me. And tomorrow, be who you want to be, and together, we just might change the world.

-David Babcock

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