My train ride from the city goes through some interesting parts of Chicago. It passes through some stations which don't seem to be in very good areas. There are broken down houses with weeds sky high and mattresses on the streets. And then minutes later we are at a station where the "Salt & Pepper haired men" in their expensive suits are getting off the train. As I sat in my seat watching the world go by as we steadily chugged down the tracks to my destination, I peered out the window and caught a glimpse of something that made me smile. At this point into my nightly trip home, we had barely left the city and were still in a fairly run down area. But as I looked out the window, I saw a group of about eight children in their bathing suits running around in the streets and enjoying a fire hydrant that had been opened and was spewing water everywhere. The sight of these children, enjoying the little joys in life, was awesome.
I can only remember one time in my childhood when a fire hydrant was opened in our street in the summer...it was a BLAST. Way better than those dinky little sprinklers that you set in your luscious lawn in your little suburban neighborhood. Of course I'm making very large assumptions- but perhaps those kids are not as fortunate as others yet I'm sure if any suburban kid saw this scene, they'd be very envious. This 5 second glimpse made me realize a few different things:
1. We're all very fortunate for very different things and for different reasons.
2. Life may be hard, but there is always a silver lining.
3. Be thankful for what you DO have.
4. Enjoy the little things in life, no matter how little they are!
No comments:
Post a Comment