| | strangely, our only hope for discovering our own purpose might lie in looking at great challenges beyond our comfort zones.
the struggle is to get off the starting line, to move beyond caring and speaking and begin doing. the challenge is to take the walk.
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she had five children, all of whom had died from AIDS. she was now caring for her 11 grandchildren by herself, because her husband had also died from the disease. as an afterthought, she said she too, was infected with the virus. yet despite her situation she made time to volunteer at the hospital. there was no sense of self-pity. she knew she wasn't unusual. she said that stories like hers were common. everyone she knew had been stripped of just about everything they had but hope.
driving through soweto i noticed that the main road was four lanes wide and freshly paved. everything else in the area was in utter disrepair so i asked the driver if there was anything special about this particular road. he looked over his shoulder and told us the road led to avalon, the cemetery.
the driver said that while this particular road was a major thoroughfare through soweto, on weekends traffic came to a total standstill because of all the funeral processions. grave diggers worked 24 hours a day and acres of land had been cleared to accommodate all of the bodies.
we stood by the car and i noticed a row of graves that were much closer together than the others. some were freshly covered and others were just empty holes in the ground. i was about to ask why they were so small when i stopped myself, realizing the truth. they were for children.
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we were searching for the answers to our own words of hope.
i find hope and it gives me rest
i find hope in a beating chest
i find hope in what eyes don't see
i find hope in your hate for me
have no fear when the waters rise
we can conquer this great divide
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from the book "take the walk: a journey towards action, awareness, and hope" by hanson.
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| | Posted 1/10/2009 4:16 PM - 4 Views - 0 eProps - 0 comments
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