This week, as I walked down the promenade (Elm Street), I saw a woman trip and fall. She was running. A friend had found me walking so the two of us rushed to this woman, calmed her down, called the paramedics, called a friend of hers, and generally felt helpless despite what we did. We did not move her, because we knew not to.
In the age of HIPPA, the paramedics couldn’t take her friend’s number. We were told that if we didn’t know her—we didn’t—we were no longer needed. Off we went. We knew she was in good hands. That was all. While I’m sure she’s okay, it was very unsettling.
Much harder and scarier things happened this week—around me, in the world.
Remy’s hanging with these guys at camp
I brought my daughter a band-aid when needed. I wrote my guy at overnight camp, where he’s having fun with an exclamation point (via snail mail). I listened to friends whose weeks threw them unexpected loops. I listened to my camp counselor son in the wake of a hard day. The things I can do are small. The things I could feel despair about could engulf anyone. I have a certain amount of denial in play, if you will. Months ago, I realized that right here and now, my priorities are pretty clear: “happiness,” “family.” That’s kind of what I’ve got on my plate, which isn’t to say I’ve stopped caring beyond that (or acting). Sometimes, in order to stay focused, it seems I let someone down or don’t take the big things in quite so deeply.
A friend posted this quote by the wise man, Howard Zinn, which I share in the spirit of this week. I found it comforting; I hope you do, too.
”To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness. What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places—and there are so many—where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction. And if we do act, in however small a way, we don’t have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.”
