This weekend I decided to go to the mall. My niece, LindaB was doing makeups at the Nordstrom's Trend Show. And being a former beauty consultant myself, I always like to know what's new in the industry. I arrived at the mall around 2pm and could not find a parking spot anywhere. The place was packed! After circling, I finally found one, thanks to my friend Joseph. I always ask St. Joseph for help.
The mall was packed! People everywhere. I went into Nordstrom's and it was mobbed at the makeup counters. Every chair was taken for beauty makeovers. I walked into the mall itself and it was just as crowded. It seemed to be a little better than Thanksgiving weekend. I felt a sense of energy run through me. I don't know if people were actually buying a whole lot but I sensed that people, at least for that day, lightened up a bit. After all the bad news on the TV, on the Internet, and the newspapers this day lended itself to a little hope during these hard times.
A little fun, maybe? A little walk around the mall with a cup of coffee or a pastry, maybe? Looking 10 years younger from a beauty makeover, maybe? Or, maybe just for one day, losing oneself in the midst of the crowds.
I know people are hurting, I know people are waiting on the food pantry lines, I know people are losing their jobs and houses. These are very real things that are happening right now to millions of people. And I know that our president-elect Obama said that this recession could get worse before it gets better. I know that! But I also know that there is hope and that is what I feel. The Spirit works through chaos and hard times in making things new. As painful as it is we are in the midst of a rebirth. It is going into the unknown that is the hardest. But we are a people of hope. We are resilient and we stand strong together. Reaching out to help each other is key right now. Being supportive, being a good listener and being hopeful for others. Depending on our circumstances, we could volunteer at a homeless shelter, or help out a neighbor who has fallen on hard times.
I count my blessings everyday and pray that I never take anything I have been given for granted. It is all gift from a very generous God. With hope and trust we can get through this with each other. I met a woman today at a store and she was laid off from a bank after 26 years. Ouch! that hurts. However, she was hopeful that she will get a another job, not at a bank though, but somewhere else and perhaps doing something different. Maybe God has other plans for her. You never know!
During this sacred time of Advent we wait and we hope and we trust. All is not lost and never will be.
5 comments:
Hello again! What I'm about to write really doesn't have anything to do with your last post but it is about the earth and the cosmos.So I thought it would be appropriate for your blog. While in pursuit of becoming a nurse, I am currently taking a Biology class.In my studies I came along a term known as Density-Dependent Limiting Factors. The definition of this is: factors of the environment that becomes more important as size of the population gets larger. Examples would be- parasites, predators and DISEASE. In other words these examples are what makes the population size manageable for our Biosphere. After reading and memorizing this definition, I asked to myself "what would happen if all diseases were to be cured?" I answered myself with.. "the world you be overpopulated". If people didn't die from disease, and knowing that people would still reproduce, the world would be overpopulated. If the world was really overpopulated then there would be more destruction of natural habitats and ecosystems by humanity to built housing for more people. There would also be more CO2 gases released into the atmosphere which is the cause global warming.
As a person that has lost her mother to cancer ,a common and horrible disease, this knowledge does not lessen the hurt of losing a mother but it gives me a better peace of mind in knowing that disease is a part of the life cycles and is a way for the earth to remain ALIVE and ACTIVE. Also, as a person which will one day be apart of a medical team, I greatly hope that we WILL be able to see a cure in AIDS, Cancer etc. But I think it really makes one think about WHAT IF? WHAT IF we DID find cures? Would it be a good thing or a destructive one? I would like your thoughts :)
Also, to comment on "Hard Times Hopeful TImes"... The mall was very busy on Sat, like you had mentioned. I had a client who commented on how GREAT it is to see so many people out shopping. I agreed. I also thought that people are so much more greatful due to all of this. I can recall numerous times in the past clients of mine complaining about the crowds. Its nice to see people more jolly this year even tho they may be struggling.
Thank you Guiseppe for responding to Hard Times Hopeful Times blog. Your second comment ties in with Hard Times Hopeful Times in some ways. I will respond to your comments as soon as I can. I need to ponder some of your comments which by the way, were very good. Watch the blog for my comments.
First of all Guiseppe, I am glad that you felt called to take up nursing. It seems that you are learning a lot. Your comment on Density-Dependant Limiting Factors was excellent! Although, I am not a nursing major or expert in the medical field your insights were well taken. I can only say from a spiritual lense that there are cycles of life. This is a mystery. One such cycle is in the fall when the leaves drop to the ground. They leave the tree barren and still in winter. The leaves are raked, mulched and used as compost or as ground cover for some outdoor plants and soil. What is happening beneath the soil is God at work. Tulip or daffodil seeds that were planted in the fall are resting. The earth is resting, it is a fallow time. Winter has a beauty all of its own. Then new life begins to form from the soil at springtime. Those tulip and daffodil seeds explode into an array of colors. Everything begins new again. Another cycle of life begins.
With a sickness or disease, the mystery continues. We don't know why people get so sick. We don't know how people get cancer or MS or Lukemia. Our bodies hold many mysteries. We have wonderful research to find ways to help find a cure for such diseases. There are so many new medications now, especially with MS that people are in remission for a long time. Heart operations are done very successfully. You don't hear of Polio anymore here in the US or Rheumatic fever. The medical world has come a long way and it takes lots of resources, time and money for research in finding a cure. We are very blessed to have such good doctors and nurses. I think if you read the story of Adam and Eve in Genesis, Chapter 2 and follow up with Ecclesiastes Chapter 3 you might find some insight. From the beginning of time people were called to leave this world whether young our old. God created us out of his love for us. God calls us back to him so we can be with him in heaven and share in his glory. We don't know when. I know it is hard to have someone you love so much taken from you. My father passed away at 58 years old from heart disease. He had an aeorta valve replaced in the 70's and lived seven more years after that. We were blessed to have him that long after the operation which was new to the medical world then.
I hope researchers will find cures. People are living longer today by taking good care of themselves, eating right, exercising, etc..but like I said, our bodies hold many things and we don't know why some illnesses invade the body. It is a mystery. But there is hope - hope for the cure(s) that will eventually help all people someday.
Maybe another blogger can respond and join in this conversation.
There is much to be said for the simplicity that hard times bring to our lives. Like Giuseppe was saying about limiting factors, hard times limit our choices and force us to reduce -- kinda like a small closet. Perhaps they also force us to consider what is really important and share what is excess. I find energy when I can release some of my possessions to others who may enjoy them, and I appreciate more those that I keep. I guess we would all do well to take a Thomas Merton moment like you did at the mall.
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