Then in the week that is, this photo comes my way and I see the Pope giving a classic look. It is just something to behold! It tells me we can experience the shocking at the most unexpected of times and in the most unexpected of places. It is not just in the great disaster stories that we experience the shocking in life but in our everyday life, in the little events of our life. It is not always the big slap in the face. We just don't know it.
A comment is made in our presence and it shocks us. A look comes our way or we see the unexpected and it shocks us. An unexpected story unfolds about someone we know and it is just unbelievable. It can even be funny but it is still shocking. Life does take its toll and we may not be even aware of what is going on around us. Then the great tragedy, disaster or calamity happens and we are put in touch with that other side of life that is going on continually but we just do not feel comfortable confronting but at times we just cannot avoid it.
I am at a conference on children caught up in the migration movements in our world. I am hearing of what is part of our world's reality - child brides, child labour, child prostitution, child trafficking. Unbelievable but it cannot be denied. Yes, this is tragic and shocking but it still happens and goes on and on. So what are we going to do about it? Yes, this is not the whole picture and it is not the lot of the world's vast majoruity of children but it is still happening too often and to too many. We are so unaware while the shocking is happening in our midst and we only gain a glimpse of it when the shocking hits the news or the shocking becomes too much or crosses that red line such that we can no longer ignore it.
Rule of thumb is "once is too often". So let us keep our eye open for the shocking.
No comments:
Post a Comment