It's 9:57 pm here in Chicago. I'm sitting on my porch swing and I didn't come out here tonight for any kind of peace and quiet. It's July 3rd. The time in Chicago when the City is at its loudest. I hear EVERYTHING from backyard parties to police sirens, from rare sounds of children laughing to the normal sounds of the Green line passing by, from heart attack sounding fireworks on my street to the church bells from afar, the aroma of burgers on a charcoal grill to the burning smell of fireworks (or gun powder). Tonight, many are celebrating while others are mourning. Many are sharing these moments with friends and family while others are alone and hurting. No, I didn't come out here tonight for peace and quiet. I came out here to hear the heartbeat of my city...to hear it breathe...to hear LIFE in a city that deals with so much death. I sit here and take all the noise in. I notice they knocked out all the street lamps again on my whole block. It's pitch black, like a hurricane came through...but as I look around there are lightening bugs everywhere. I smile as God reminds me again of my call to be a Light in a kid's Darkness. The juxtaposition of life is always joy and pain, together and alone, light and dark. May we never just seek to stand by and just listen and watch but embrace the experience of life in every way it comes to us...and at us. May our senses never become numb but always aware and ready to move. Where do you see life in spite of death in your life?
"I hear life all around me Daddy. I like all the noise tonight."
"That's because there is peace in your heart Baby Girl...even in spite of the pain." #RIPKikito
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