These are The Times

It is fitting that someone so concerned about the Rights of Man as Thomas Paine would pen the words “These are the times that try men’s souls”.

The time indeed are trying these days, and I have to admit as much as I try to be a soulical person rather than going with the ebb and flow of life, there are times when, like the vulture, I really want to just ‘go out and kill something!”

is it bad to say that? Is ‘bad’ the right word i wonder? Am I losing touch with the values that I have always believed in simply because I am surrounded by people who have spent their life floating about this beautiful blue marble and cannot comprehend more than the latest selection at Itunes or whether it was a good thing to trade Wade Belak to Florida last year?

I am in danger of becoming cynical, not a good thing for me, who has tried, at least, to believe in people and that at the end of the day they will act in an honourable manner that respects themselves and those they deal with in their lives. Am I that naive to believe in the good of people? Am I naive to think that people care for more than what is right in front of their faces?

World events can be incredibly depressing these days – soldiers dying in Afghanistan (and Iraq), greedy banks bringing down whole economies then stepping up to the till to get a handout from the government, good people being financially and personally destroyed by the whisper of innuendo from those who really don’t have a clue what the truth is.

Today was perhaps one of the worst in my life since arriving here in Ontario – for several reasons that I won’t go into other than to say disappointment in my fellow man was a large part of what transpired. By about 1:30 this afternoon I had a splitting headache and my sinuses were like footballs. So I thought to myself perhaps a wee nap in the afternoon would be what I needed, simply as a way to reorient myself in a more positive direction.

I laid down, tossed, turned, stared at the ceiling, seethed to myself for a bit, rolled over again and had a wee bit of a nap, but it didn’t really help. So I got up, grumpily, and slipping on my shoes headed for the kitchen to grab a coffee. Passing my youngest son’s room I saw that he was still fast asleep, cherubic and tucked under layers of quilts and duvets – completely oblivious to the world with a somewhat impish grin on his face.

I had to smile in spite of myself.

Sam has had a hard road in life, even if he is only 4. Before he was born his mom was in a car accident that caused in utero issues that left him 5 pounds at birth and in an air ambulance headed for Children’s Hospital. Since then his development has taken a much different path than his peers. While they were prattling away to anyone who would listen he was sitting intently staring into a glass jar trying to figure out how to get the blocks out of the inside. He is quite brilliant that way, but in the ways we usually measure children he has had some major problems achieving his goals. But it has made him unique, from his love of Simon Says, to his curious speech of huge polysyllabic words mixed with gibberish, to his obsession with puzzles and Thomas the Tank Engine.

But he is working through his trying times, some days no steps forward, some days giant leaps that put him years ahead of his peers. And every day when I get him out of bed the first thing he does is to smile at me and give me a hug.

Yes, these are the times that try our souls. But perhaps the times try us as a lesson in seeing what is really important to us. People here in our small town look at me somewhat askance when I mention that the tough economic times are just chock full of opportunity, and yet I am as guilty as anyone at not seeing the opportunity in my son’s eyes.

Thank you son for taking away my headache.

Kwee