Thursday, October 15, 2009

Out of the bubble

I remember when I was a student at Indiana Wesleyan University calling the school a "bubble." Everything was warm and nice. People cared about each other. It was a lovely place. I always worried, though, that students weren't being prepared for the "real world."

It has been a few years since my time at IWU and I feel the same way about "bubbles." Only now I know that IWU wasn't the only place where one could live in a bubble. Our lives are so busy these days that we often live in a bubble that is filled with thoughts and concerns mainly for ourselves. Sure, we worry about our spouses, children (if we have them), pets and close family. For the most part, however, we are pretty self-centered. Society lends itself to being self-centered and we all fall into the trap.

I have worked downtown for a couple of months now. Today is the last day that I will walk to work and pass people selling a newspaper that is geared at helping the homeless. Today will be the last day that I go to McDonald's for breakfast and buy homeless people meals because they've tugged at my heart strings. Today will be the last day that I'll have a glaring reminder to get out of my self-centered world and see other people's needs. I hope that someone new will get a job downtown and take the homeless people to breakfast in my place. I also hope that my heart remember so stay soft and remember other people's needs.

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