Reflection

As I reflect back on this past week, I have many reasons to feel grateful.  First and foremost, I am blessed with a tremendous family, particularly my husband and my son.  They are the reason I wake with a smile every morning, and sleep soundly every night.  I am grateful for my job, which allows to work with tremendous colleagues and inspiring students, and funds both living necessities and luxuries.  I live in a safe neighborhood, where my son can play outdoors and my neighbors are considered friends.  In short, I have a beautiful life.

With gratitude, however, comes a sense of social responsibility, and that is where I am struggling this morning.  For every reason I have to feel grateful, there are countless individuals who are not able to enjoy the same blessings.  I had the opportunity to serve lunch at the Salvation Army this week, and I spoke with many individuals who are struggling with basic needs.  Some of the lunch guests had health issues, both physical and mental, while others had lost their jobs in this economy.  There were some diners who make questionable decisions that force them to need social services, but there were also many children at the Salvation Army through no fault or decision of their own. 

I am grateful that places like the Salvation Army exist for anyone who needs their services, and I am grateful for the tremendous staff and volunteers that work every day to improve the lives of those in Lake County.  However, I feel a sense of guilt that my son can eat whatever and whenever he wants, without waiting in line at a soup kitchen, and that my family has a safe and warm place to call home. What happens to the children that don't have that?  Do they go to bed hungry most nights?  Is that why they cannot concentrate in school?  How do their mothers and fathers bear this burden, as they try and make ends meet?

As I reflect on my own blessings, I must also take responsibility to help others who are not as fortunate.  Whether it is by donating to a local food pantry, or volunteering somewhere for an hour or two per week, I have an obligation to society to give something of myself, because I already have so much.  But what will that look like, and how to I instill the same social responsiblity in my son?