I Am Watching, I Am Humbled

I am quite taken aback really, by the incredible courage that people come along and display for us. Such beacons of humanity’s light, able to share with us their most naked and vulnerable selves. The dignity with which they bear the burden of illness and suffering in the public eye...to be witnessed by the world.. Pope John Paul 11 was such an extraordinary example of openness, willing to have his physical being laid low before the worlds’ eyes....bent and burdened by limitation and pain...a broken body , the vehicle for a soaring soul...a man true to the example of the Shepherd of man that He followed. I am overwhelmed by the grace that some men display in their willingness to share weakness, suffering, failing and ultimately dying. The Pope’s gift to the world of his authenticity, his human connection to you and me even in death, truly was a holy gift.
I am deeply touched by Peter Jennings’ announcement that he has been diagnosed with lung cancer. And honored that he has chosen to continue to anchor World News for us. To be cranky or not cranky, to be hoarse or not hoarse...to be open and vulnerable and real. To touch our frail humanity with his own and remind us once again, the bell tolls for all of us .
I remember witnessing the raw, poignant, agonizing, beauty of Adrienne Alperts’ public struggle first to survive and then to thrive...and she did it before our eyes... in such an incredibly short time really, she was back on the news baring witness to the fact that we are only limited by our belief in limitation. Courage beyond imagining, showing us the golden links of destiny that are our shared connection to one another. We are all so very vulnerable...
And in this topsy turvy world we live in, nothing stays the same, no power is always in power, no young and vital man remains that way, no youthful blush lasts forever on any rose, the wealthy sometimes lose their wealth and the poor sometimes find themselves on top...but of one thing we can be sure, nothing stays the same, nothing lasts forever and death claims us all but for a moment....some people face their "changes" with grace and show the rest of us how. I am watching, and I am humbled.