Life Lesson in Compassion

Today I am extra grateful. Through a very long story, my family ended up sitting in the State District Courthouse at 8:30 am this morning. A thick door opened and two men were sandwiched in between two "prison guards." The men in between the guards had a chain wrapped around their waist that then strung to their hands which were also chained together. They were wearing blue and red jumpsuits, the kind you see in the movies. These two men had been arrested, and had no one to post bail for them, and so they spent the week in jail, waiting for their court hearing. As I was sitting there with my family my heart sunk for them. They had no one to turn to for help bailing them out of jail. "I couldn't help but realize, these two men are ordinary people." I thought of what kind's of music they might like, or maybe what their favorite song was. I thought of their parents and where they lived. I thought of how lonely they must be and how ashamed they must feel, to walk into a court room full of strangers, that know you did something wrong. Watching them, various scenes from my own life played across my mind, and I tried to picture them in those scenes as well. Ordinary scenes that everyone experiences, birthdays, dinners with family, high school dances. These two men were REAL people. Once my family was on our way home, happy with the outcome of our own little crisis, the two men came to my thoughts again. We didn't stay long enough to hear what each one of them were on trial for, or what their outcome was. But we were happily headed on our way, while they still awaited the verdict. More time in prison? Bail money, that perhaps they didn't have? Community service? I cannot imagine what their thoughts were waiting. But I am grateful for the knowledge I have in my life, the circumstances, and the blessings, that allow me to make choices that are in accordance with the law. Before today I thought of criminals as objects. Things that did something wrong and had to be punished for it. I never realized the reality. That they may in fact be good people, just a little lost in life. Maybe people who were stuck and had no idea how to get out of a situation other than turning to illegal activity. Maybe people who are in so much pain inside themselves, that drugs become the only escape they can see. I have learned a lesson in compassion today. And gained a greater realization of what a person is truly worth, regardless of their appearances, possessions, status, or the mistakes they've made. I am so grateful for this lesson and will never forget it.