Burntoshine (burntoshine) wrote, @ 2006-03-28 09:56:00

Writing Assignment # 3 plus
Assignment: Please tell me about the last time you felt Utterly Content - wanting and/or needing nothing. Peaceful. Serene. Blissful.

well, to be honest, it was this weekend. i had the opportunity to spend time with the love of my life. the sun in my sky. all the cheesy lines you can think of apply here. then i got to spend time with my family, both immediate and our newly added fourth. i ran a 5k road race and raised money for healthcare. i ran the race to the best of my ability without any real training and did it well. i was impressed. my gazelle of a partner ran it beside me and exceeded any of our wildest aspirations, proving herself capable of tackling any and all challenges placed before her. the sun was shining. the pavement seemed like cushioned rubber. running into Copps and hearing people screaming, just knowing that there are people supporting you without you even knowing their name. that is peace. that is serenity. that is bliss.

but it didn't end there. another day with my best friend. another night beside her. dinner with my aunt. things just kept coming up kevin. and all the need and want and desire melted away. this weekend was more than i could have hoped for. more than i could have expected. and more than i deserved. so thank you. to the around the bay. to the people who supported the runners without knowing their names. to family. to love.

*******

i was just thinking of something else as well... as i was thinking about james loney, about harmeet singh sooden, about norman kemper, and about tom fox... the Christian Peacemaker Team members who were held captive in Iraq...
i was thinking "why would they capture Canadians? we didn't support the war. we aren't killing innocent people over there. why." and then the question became not why were they captured, but "why were they there? why do canadians risk their lives to defend people who we are not attacking?"

and then it hit me. it is not about us. it has never been about us. it is about others. not in the Edward Said sense or Other, but in the not me sense. the i have an obligation as part of this world to care about things outside of myself sense. wow. to sacrifice oneself for someone who in a way is sacrificing themselves for you. that is amazing.

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