#146: To Save a Life

This poem from Jaime reminds me of one of my biggest personal anti pet peeves - having a meaningful or funny conversation with the cashier at the grocery store. I always appreciate when he/she asks me about my weekend or my plans, or when a conversation sparks up about a food item I'm about to buy. I think sometimes I just need little doses of casual human interactions in my days, especially with strangers, for rejuvenation and to remind me that we are all human, and we are all connected. And though we may be in different boats, we navigate through similar (and often rough) waters. Thank you for these heartfelt words, Jaime. 

- Amanda

To Save a Life

There are many ways to save a life.

Let us not think little of the way we greet our doorman
Of the smiles we give out on the sidewalks
Of the dinners we make for our friends.
Not everyone stops to say hello
And some people go entire days unnoticed
Coming home to empty houses
With walls full of photographs of people who don't phone.
Make the time.

There are many ways to save a life
Too many people today are lost
Working jobs that don't make them feel good about themselves
Confused as to how they got here
And where to go next
Overwhelmed by the noise of it all
Giving up or giving in.

Too many people are sad
And feel shameful to say so
Others get trapped in the sadness
And cannot see all the things that light up for them each day that passes
Too many people are frightened to be who they really want to be 
Because so many of us are judging 
People are hiding themselves
Instead of coming out
Make the space.

There are many ways to save a life.
This work is not designated to the soldiers & doctors
For the heroes making headlines 
This is the work of ordinary women and men 
Holding doors
Caring about someone's answer to the question
"How are you today" 
Writing a thank you note to a neighbor
So many lives are saved this way
Let us celebrate the work of ordinary people.

Lost ones
And Loved ones 
die in the daytime
At every hour.
People take their lives 
On quiet and unsuspecting evenings.
People kill 
when the noise
Or the silence
Has become so loud
That no one is listening.
There are many ways to save a life
Let us not think little
of letting someone else know that they matter.