From the News: Persistence and Interdependence

While having my first cup of coffee this morning, I was watching CNN Headline News, which showed the following scenes back-to-back:

• An eight-year old boy with only one leg successfully playing Little League Baseball in the role of pitcher
• A woman dying in a hospital waiting room, after having waited there for 24 hours for medical attention

This jolted me into remembering a couple of things about we humans.

• With persistence, we can accomplish just about anything we want to. Seeing that boy play baseball, instead of slumping around and complaining about his limitations, was very inspiring.
• Despite our abilities to accomplish what we set out to do, we are incredibly interdependent on each other. We need each for our very survival.

We already knew these things, of course. But, I personally appreciated being reminded of them. I hate that the reminder of our interdependence was such a grim and sad one, but it certainly sent a strong message. (I am sure you hope, as I do, that those responsible for the lady’s death will pay for it.)

So, if you are feeling in a bit of a rut, as I have been lately, let the little boy be a reminder to you that you can accomplish what you persist at. This is also a great reminder to be thankful for what we do have. Those of us who are blessed to have both legs should be thankful for that.

And, I hope the lady’s death stays with us a reminder that we all depend on each other. May we always recognize when others need us, and respond as we should to them.