Perspective

The Mystery within...

Saturday morning I put on my navy blue sweatshirt with the white swirl of our Milky Way Galaxy on it.  It has an arrow pointing to the place I occupy in this massive blur with the words, “You are here.”  I needed to wear this, keep my troubles in perspective shirt, since I lay awake Friday night worrying about another leak that has made itself apparent in my five-year-old sunroom.  I told myself, “You can either let this really upset you or you can let it test your mettle to find a remedy.”  It reminded me of a previous water problem I had many years ago when my son took apart an upstairs bathroom leaky faucet but didn’t turn off the water supply in the basement, and then went to Home Depot for a part he needed.  I went with him.  When we came home there was water pouring out of my kitchen chandelier, running down between the walls, and seeping up under my hardwood floor. The next day I saw Fr. Alex Luzi and he asked how things were going.  I told him of my in-home waterfall and he acknowledged that is upsetting and then said,  “But in the whole scheme of things there are much worse.”  I was grateful for his words back then and for remembering them now.

It doesn’t take much to imagine worse things.  Near and far people are homeless, food insecure or starving.  Sex slaves and child prostitution are not isolated incidents.  And those over 200 Nigerian girls that were kidnapped last April are still missing.  There are forced marriages, female genital mutilation, dowry deaths, and domestic abuse.  Discrimination, killings, torture, trauma and mental and physical suffering have touched many of us, or those we know and love.  So yes, in the whole scheme of things I am grateful to know, but wish there weren’t, so many worse things than a leaky sunroom.

What if putting our own troubles in perspective could somehow test our mettle to help alleviate the many worse things happening in our world?