There Are No Snow Days

The snow whips around outside my window. I’ve heard back from only 4 of my artists at this point, all of whom are trying their best to remain safe and warm today. My own helplessness intensifies, as my inability to help my artists is made more obvious in their misery. Dreams of picking them up in a Poverty & the Arts snow mobile and driving them back to my apartment for warm drinks, delicious food, and an environment to feel safe and comfortable for a brief moment swarms my head.

And yet in the midst of these emotions: emails continue, conference calls ensue, and work persists throughout the day. I am left feeling numb. How can I live with such awareness of the pain and misery of the streets and be called to ignore it while I get my job done? I know effectiveness in the big picture comes with diligence in the small details, but the awareness of inequality is my biggest burden. There is such ease in believing poor people deserve to be poor and that rich people always work hard. What a privilege it is to think that a god desired and organized my circumstances, while rationalizing free will is the reason god allows poverty and injustice to continue in other people’s lives.

It is hard to live with such necessary cognitive dissonance when the tools and people are already available to fix so many of the unjust systems. However, corruption, misinformation, and ignorance will continue to shackle humanity to the oppression and injustice of many.

But today I choose to seek comfort in the responses of my artists—all wishing me the same security and safeness for today. Charles even told me that he was saving a snowball for me for our next encounter. Their perseverance and passion truly humbles me.

And so I become thankful for my awareness, thankful that I know them and their pain. I realize that my awareness of their pain is only a fraction of our relationship. The moments of joy and friendship and laughter are just as present with my artists as the moments of discomfort of guilt by their circumstances. And so I am thankful.

Today, I am thankful.

-By Nicole Brandt

“When you live in community with the poor, there are no snow days.”

Quote and image by Room in the Inn.