Cheers to those who try!

Often enough we hear of those of us who “made it” and are “successful”. We praise people like Angela Merkel, or Bill Gates but what about all those who did not make it? Are their trials not worth mentioning?

I think of all those people in India who were displaced by floods and are now seeing food prices quadruple. I think of all those people who lost half of their value of their homes (or more) in Florida and have now given-up on any idea about retirement. And what about all those incarcerated? Or those homeless people sleeping endless nights on the street ... are their stories not worth the talk?

I clearly remember watching a news bulletin a few years ago, about a mass exodus out of Somalia due to famine. The reporter was interviewing a lady who had one child in her arms and two more standing beside her. She mentioned how she had to leave her village because there was no food and people were starving. She also told the reporter that on her way to the United Nations camp (where the interview was filmed) two of her children had died. She started her walk with five children and ended-up with three ... and the hair is rising on my arms, as I do my best to hold-up tears. Why are those kids not worth the talk?

We give so much importance on fame, glory and money that we forget about the heavy trials which many go through in their lives. And even more so, we often turn a blind eye to catastrophes. Who cares about the innocent people killed by United States drones – they are simply “collateral damage” ... They go on with their lives (or death) and we go on with ours. What’s Miley Cyrus up to anyway?

Not many people know for example that First Nation children were used here in Canada as test subjects (http://westcoastnativenews.com/hungry-first-nations-children-used-in-experiments/). We do not talk much about such things because we dedicate a lot of our time to success stories; to that one percent who made it! And we encourage others to be just like those successful people, not realizing that everyone’s circumstances are different. It is also good to note here that if we are to ask any successful people about their road to success, many will admit that at one point or another they got lucky. A break here or there, can make a world of a difference in someone’s life. Many do not get a break.

So, to those who have not gotten a break yet, I wish good luck! I would argue that their lives and stories are just as worthy as anyone else’s stories. That is why I often sit and talk to homeless people. They are invisible to the general public. I praise their resilience because I know some homeless people who have been on the street for over a decade. The reasons are many; I can go on for a long time talking about those - as Oscar Wilde once said: “The truth is rarely pure and never simple.”

I agree that the world is a tough place but that is just because we made it so. We spend more time on arming ourselves than healing ourselves. We dedicate more energy and time to watching and listening to success stories than we do to helping one another. With that in mind, we trot along. The majority of us do not have many tremendously successful stories but what we do have is a journey of continuous trials and survival. No medals for that but I for one, honour all those who try and keep going despite all hardships. Good luck and cheers to all!

(Note: My photographs, November, 2012, Downtown Toronto - roughly three am)