A New Perspective

It has been a week since I had my carry-on bag stolen in the Paris Gare du Nord train station. I knew immediately when I didn't see the bag that that was what had happened. I think the most troubling thing for me was not what I had lost (some things of great personal value to me) but that someone would calculatingly hurt someone else. Call me naive---I knew thieves were out there---I just never thought something like this would really happen. After two emotional days, I could begin to look at this loss with some perspective. The fact that we had just been to the D-day beaches and the American Cemetery in Normandy the day before, had me thinking about the loss suffered by the families of these soldiers. I knew my hurt---it was infinitesmally small compared to theirs---what must they have felt? Then, as the week has gone by, and I have reflected on other kinds of loss---so much of it not caused by the innocent person who is suffering---I marvel at how they carry on and forgive and choose to make their life good even when it is painfully difficult. While I wish my bag had never been stolen, it has given me a new perspective on loss and appreciation for the courage all around me of loved ones and friends and how they deal with the challenges of life. As Elfaba says in "Wicked", "I have been changed for the better."