What’s happening on our streets
by NightShift
Posted on November 4, 2010
I was saddened to see the report in the Vancouver Sun about Pascal’s last day. The story by Carolyn Hawley captured a sense of what we see every day, of people dwindling outside the line of sight. And yet it offered hope, simply by being printed, to remind us that we are all but characters in the bigger story. For surely it’s up to each of us to avert our eyes or look truth in the face as we confront what we are willing to see. It’s uncomfortable and it’s a burden to engage in another person’s suffering and lovelessness. It’s even more uncomfortable to realize afterwards that we were too late. Having encountered the same grey pallor that triggered Carolyn’s response, I recall the moment of helplessness, when no amount of friendliness or human love could pull a person back. The comfort is in the realization that we are capable of sharing and of reaching out; it’s just timing that willingness that’s the challenge. A Volunteer