The Simple Things — Unlikely Hero

Aug 1

Aug 1 The Simple Things

I bent my head, eyes closed, as the steamy water cascaded from my head to my toes. The bathroom mirrors had already fogged up. I had finished the “business” of the shower, but I lingered under the warm hug of the water and steam. This was a luxury, and I knew it. I have spent years being very efficient in the shower. Back then, I perceived time and money were being washed down the drain, and I couldn’t afford either. But recently, I have allowed myself to linger; the extra warm shower was therapy. My mind drifted for the thousandth+ time to 4 decades ago, before I knew this luxury…

The little girl was in the home stretch in her walk home from primary school. The mile trek was easy as she laughed and talked with friends. She burst through the front door with youthful energy, hot and sweaty from the day’s happenings. She kicked off her shoes and headed straight for her bedroom in the back. She dropped her book bag on the floor and grabbed the Bobbsey Twins novel sitting on the cardboard box next to the bed. She had borrowed it from a friend who borrowed it from a friend who borrowed it from her cousin who borrowed it from her friend; and she had to return it soon. Time melted away as she got lost in the adventure, and before she knew it, she was being called to dinner. She picked at her plate as usual, moving the food around to make it look like she was making progress. After what seemed like forever she was excused from the table. Dinner was followed by bath time. She went out back to the tank and grabbed the paint pail attached to the rope sitting next to the square opening of the tank. She lowered the pail into the depths of the tank and drew it out full. She dumped the water in the wash basin and carried the basin indoors to the bathroom. On a hot day, the cool tank water felt refreshing on her skin. But when the evenings were cool, her mother would heat water in the kettle on the stove and add it to the basin to warm the water. The warm water felt like liquid sunshine as she dumped the basin full down her back at the end of her bathing ritual. After a cup of hot Milo, it was time for bed. She read until she fell asleep…

It’s easy to take the simple things, like a warm shower, for granted. Can you imagine a life where you turn on the facet and there is no water, much less warm water? Or doing homework and studying by the light from a kerosene lamp or candle because of regular “blackouts” or no electricity at all? Or walking miles and then waiting in line for hours to make a critical phone call on the only pay phone in the region? Or choosing to go barefooted to preserve your only pair of shoes? Or not going to school because you literally have nothing to wear? While I was fortunate enough to not personally experience all of those circumstances, I am sure some of my readers have. And there are fellow humans, our brothers and sisters, on the planet right now experiencing similar circumstances…or much worse.

As I revel in the warm shower water like liquid sunshine pouring over me, I am overcome with gratitude. I have come so far. I am blessed beyond measure, and by the grace of God I can stand…under the warm steady stream of the shower, in the polling station, at my children’s college graduations, in the board room, in the greatest nation on earth.

I didn’t get here on my own; I am the beneficiary of the sacrifice, selflessness, altruism, and generosity of unlikely heroes known and anonymous. We all are. We are standing on the shoulders of giants, some of whom never imagined how far their influence would reach. We are standing in a place of significant privilege. With privilege comes responsibility. We are stewards of our blessings. What we have is not for us to keep. We are stewards of the future. I have come to realize that the root of selfishness is a scarcity mentality; the belief or fear that there is not enough to go around so I must keep all I can for myself. The opposite of that is a generous mentality; the belief that there is more than enough to go around and as we lift others up the tide rises for all of us and we all benefit.