what lessons has the bitter cold taught you?

 


As I write this, much of the USA is under a polar vortex, a swirl of extremely cold air direct from the North Pole that is causing more than its share of misery. It was forecasted about 6 days before it's arrival, giving many folks a chance to prepare for the onslaught. I have seen many postings on the internet about bringing in your pets, keeping them inside where it is warm. Schools were closed due to windchill factors of minus fifty degrees. Stores reported people buying food and other comforts. By all accounts, people were ready.

Except for the homeless.

I did not see one word of warning about the homeless. Indeed, I wondered, where do they go when it is this cold? On one national news segment, two cops in Chicago were passing out free socks and mittens to those they saw on the streets. Some of these folks were already suffering from frostbite and pneumonia. Shelters were packed to overflowing, with folks grateful to sleep on the floor, if only to be out of the wind. But by sunrise, they had to leave, once more to wander through the bitter cold streets.

Did you think of them at all? Did you pray for them? Did your hearts go out to them?
Or because they weren't visible to you, did it not even enter your mind?

I know that when it is bitter cold, we go into our own survival mode. Christmas is over; that warm, feel good, fuzzy feeling that we get when we pay it forward has passed. Now it's just another ho-hum day. Life goes on. Many of us are also biting the bullet in terms of joblessness, illness or another sad story that we all know too well. But the rest of us...what have you done to ease another's discomfort?

Today, pay more attention around you. Do you see a neighbor needing a hand? Someone who needs their car jump started? Even if it's someone who needs a warm place to stay while the furnace is being repaired, do you offer it? Kindness has no levels. It is not the Olympics, you aren't judged by how much compassion that you offer. But I will tell you this, that when you offer that compassion, you will get the warm, fuzzy feeling of knowing that you were in the right place at the right time, helping someone in need.

Isn't it great to be an angel for the day?