November flew by quickly and December is just a few short days away. The year is ending quickly and 2014 will be here before we know it. The weather suddenly went from nice and warm to dreadfully cold in just a matter of weeks. It’s a sign that a typical cold Michigan winter is quickly approaching. None of this sounds appealing; however, I’m still excited. It’s not until the end of January that it will start to become ugly outside, but right now, it’s quite beautiful. I’m excited to see the first snowfall (the little drizzles of snow that we’ve had so far don’t count)! I’m excited to participate in some of the holiday festivities in Downtown and Midtown and also in the suburbs. Overall, I’m just excited for this season in the Detroit region as a whole. Detroit is beautiful, and I realize how blessed I am to be here right now.
When I stop and think about it, though, I realize how much I have been given that many others do not have. Many people from the Detroit neighborhoods, in other parts of this country, and elsewhere in the world don’t have this luxury. Think about it – look at what’s happening both in Syria and in Egypt. What about the poverty in India? Africa? What about right here at home in Detroit? To people in these situations, the holidays will likely be just another day – nothing special. In Detroit, step outside of more developed areas like Downtown and Midtown and into the neighborhoods, and the sight you will see will be completely different. Things are pretty dreary in the neighborhoods and the holiday season over there is likely to be a bleak one. At first glance, things look like a mess until you look deeper and realize that there is great potential if only the government would invest its resources into rebuilding and restructuring the neighborhoods and if we could find more people who truly cared. I remember walking around the Brightmoor community of Detroit picking up trash for our Litterati service event with Carlos, Fares, and Rosie just silently wondering why some people have to live this way while I have been given so much and thinking about how I can possibly make an impact.
With the holiday season approaching, this time of year is starting to make me feel uneasy about myself, and rightfully so. Honestly, most of us should be feeling uneasy about ourselves. There’s a question that comes to my mind time and time again, and more so lately. If I were to die today, would I truly be able to say that I contributed to this world to the best of my ability? Did I give humanity my best shot? Honestly, the answer is no, probably not. I’ve contributed some, but definitely not to the best of my ability. If most of us are honest with ourselves, the answer is probably no. To those who can truly say yes, I applaud you and keep up the good work, because the world needs more people like you. Obviously we can’t fix all the problems in the world, but with both group and individual efforts, we can at least start lessening the negative effects of these problems. Challenge Detroit has given me and all of the other fellows the opportunity to lessen the effects of some of these problems. I have been given the opportunity to make an impact on this amazing city that I’ve fallen in love with all while making great new friends and actually feeling like I belong in the Detroit community. For that, I am more than grateful.
These are just some of the many thoughts that have been on my mind lately. 2013 sent me through a bit of a rough patch, so I’m going to spend the last month of this year just reflecting on myself, what I have learned so far, and how to become the person I want to be. Every struggle has been a blessing in disguise.
I’m going to end with this quote by Thomas Merton: “Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy…this love itself will render both ourselves and our neighbors worthy.” Let’s focus on making basic human love and compassion a part of our everyday lifestyle. If we do this, I think we could see some phenomenal changes in Detroit and in the world.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Shivani Naik