Part of the Team

Today has been a “not so good” day.  Although everyone has days like this, they still come when we’re least prepared, it seems.  Mondays are kind of a down day for me anyway, after the events of the weekend (I’m a minister), and it is kind of a one-two punch when the blues also make their appearance on a Monday.
What is it, I wonder, that makes us wish for the entire world to come to a stop while we sort out our problems and issues?  We know that won’t happen, but secretly long for some sympathy, some commiseration, some understanding.  Yet even our nearest and dearest don’t always come through…they’re dealing with issues, too.
Is it a self-centered thing?  Is it a natural part of being human?  Or is it ingrained into us by our culture and/or environment?  I certainly don’t have the expertise to answer those questions, and barely have the smarts to ask them.
Even when someone dies, only a comparative few stop.  Only a comparative few alter their schedules.  Only a comparative few take time to comfort, reflect, and think.  Most of the world goes on, oblivious to the reality of the death.
And it should be that way, really.  If the entire world stopped each time disaster or tragedy hit someone somewhere, it would never start up again, because tragedy and disaster are part of life.  On the other hand, if no one stopped—if no one paused—if no one reflected, we would be less than we were created to be.
It’s a balancing act sometimes.  To know what to do and when to do it sometimes are not as obvious as they at first may seem.  When you’re in doubt, don’t be part of the majority who go merrily on their way.  Be part of the team that supports, comforts, and consoles.