As I lay in bed with thoughts of various distressing situations in my life running through my head, my thoughts turned to my next door neighbor - who killed his son in a car accident. I thought about that for a moment.
My mind then drifted to the neighbors on the other side of our house, who were elderly and moving away to be closer to family - the circle of life, I guess... But we were going to miss them dearly.
Thoughts began coming of friends and family who have recently lost loved ones, others who may soon lose loved ones - to old age, or illness.
Co-workers entering their next phase of life after children have grown and moved out - what will they do with themselves now?
Visions of people I care about struggling with divorce, debt, addictions.
And then I had the feeling that, Hm - we're all in this together. We're in the same boat.
Most of us don't have it any more figured out than the next person. Many adults still wonder what they'd like to do for a living, or how to be happy.
The ones who appear to have it more figured out have been blessed to learn to work with their emotions well, to have found their faith, or to choose the outlook they're going to have in life. Yet they are still never exempt from pain and hurting.
In the end, we're really not all that much different. Anyone remember the song from Sesame Street - "We All Sing With the Same Voice"...? It's one of my favorites, and it's true. On some level we're all the same. In the same boat. Find it, listen to it...
My name is - You.
