Yesterday, the New York Times had a section called “year in pictures.”  At first I was disappointed because each week I always look forward to reading the editorials.  However, I spent time looking at every photograph and realized how many painful events occur across the world every day.

I saw pictures such as a 15 year old girl holding her brother as she shared a tent with 11 other relatives after an explosion in Aleppo, Syria had partially blinded her. I saw the anguished look on bystanders faces as they watched two men being executed in Iran and as Egyptians mourned the death of a protester.  One photo was of visitors standing in the rain in what is called the “rain room” in the Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan.  Another picture was of a boy dangling from a power line over the Ganges River in India.

The picture that impacted me the most, however, was of a man a holding a woman when they were both found dead in the rubble of Rana Plaza in Bangladesh after the building collapsed.  I was going to include a photograph I took of the newspaper picture here since I was unable to get a copy of it online.  However, my background in music has helped me be sensitive to copyright issues so I decided not to include it although my description does not do it justice.

When I saw it, I was reminded how easy my life has been.  That couple had died trying to earn a few dollars toward a better life.  They looked so young.  Seeing that picture reminded me that I still have a lot to experience and offer the world.  It certainly isn’t fair that we got our perspective lives.  I could have been born in Bangladesh having to work in a substandard factory for little wages.   Instead, I am a middle-aged woman in the United States who has a brain injury.  I have hopes for this New Year that begins on Wednesday and lies in front of me.

Sparky and me singing.

Plus I have a dog who likes to sing with me.  Perhaps now is a good time for us to practice!