I worked in the ER yesterday, on Thanksgiving

I worked in the emergency department yesterday, on Thanksgiving. As it often happens, the people that tend to come in on holidays are those who are the loneliest and/or the sickest. Sometimes, they come in to get out of the cold. Or for a meal. And every year, year after year for decades, I wonder: How long before we create a society where such emergencies don't exist?

I give thanks for the patients who have taught me so much over the years, who still teach me every day, no matter how hard the lessons are. Everyday, they tell me with their eyes "Don't look away. This is our society." I feel their pain, and I am grateful for it. Experiencing pain and gratitude and love is a way of entering and remembering who we are, where we came from, and where we might go.

Love and gratitude, Anoop