Bigger Things

Resolutions and goals. Can anything describe a brand new year more than those two words? I've tried to figure out what it is about humanity that drives us to clean our slate and start anew at the beginning of a new year, but I can't seem to put a finger on it. Perhaps it's the anticipation of the upcoming year, or the bad taste that the previous one has left in our mouths. Whatever it is, it does seem to be refreshing. 

As I have been reflecting on my life {past and future}the biggest thing that has been on my mind is the fact that LIFE IS BIGGER THAN ME. 

Bigger than myself, bigger than my anxiety, bigger than my education, my work, or any of my hobbies. Life is bigger than me, and it's bigger than you. Life encompasses all. Life is the communities where we live, the air we breathe, and the relationships we have. Life is humanity working together, as one. 

Last week I watched a documentary titled Camp 14: Total Control Zone. (Available on Netflix- I highly recommend.) The documentary films Shin Dong-Hyuk, a young man from North Korea who escaped from a prison camp (Camp 14) in January of 2005. He is the only known person to have successfully escaped from a North Korean prison camp, and did so by crawling over the back of his (deceased) friend who had led the way through the electrical fence.

"High school students in America debate why FDR didn't bomb the rail lines to Hitler's camps. Their children may ask, a generation from now, why the West stared at far clearer satellite images of Kim Jong Il's camps, and did nothing." -unknown

We live in a miraculous world. Where I am free to do whatever I want {within reason} and not have any consequences for it. For me it puts many of the political "issues" of the day into such a trivial category. Things like gay marriage and taxes do not measure up to the sobering issues that people around the world endure daily. I am not saying that issues of the free world aren't "real." They do have impacts, and do mean a lot to many people. HOWEVER, if I could have one wish for this year, it would be that we could have the same passion for the value of a human life as we hold for the value of the dollar, or anything else that we get heated about.

I encourage you to take a look around, start small! Offer a smile to someone on the street. Send a card to someone who is struggling. And most importantly, get involved! Look at the people you can help in your community, and country. If you can't donate money, donate time! If you really don't have time, use the power of prayer! Life may be bigger than you and I, but as individuals we are also the beginning of something great. 

Be big.