Savor what's left

I am in love with Cormac McCarthy's post apocalyptic epic The Road.

I'm teaching this book to my students right now; I really can't give enough praise for this novel's take on the end of the world. It tells the story of a father and a son who must make their way across an ash-covered America. They encounter many challenges while on a perilous journey toward the southern coast. The bleak landscape and the situations the father and son find themselves in cause the reader to reckon with some seriously difficult questions.

What is the point of living if everyone you love is dead?

Do the rules of what is right and what is wrong change depending on your circumstances?

Just how far would you go to protect your family?

In one of the early scenes of the novel, the man and the boy are exploring a long-abandoned grocery store, desperately searching for supplies. By sheer luck, the man finds a tarnished but unopened can of Coca Cola among the rubble of a looted vending machine.

The man shares the soda with his boy, who shows wonder and appreciation for the rare treat. He'd never had a cola before. And he never will again. Sharing it with his dad is beautiful moment for him. It's a hauntingly simple and powerful scene. A rare needle of light piercing through a veil of darkness.

I look around the first world nation I live in sometimes and think about how often we privately complain about minor annoyances. Petty things. Cut off in traffic. Lost an hour of sleep. Annoyed with our coworkers or our boss. This scene with the soda always reins me into reality; it reminds me that we currently live in a world where we can leave at the drop of a hat and go buy whatever we want. A Coca Cola is ordinary to us. But in a world devoid of almost everything, a can of soda inspires gratefulness.

I have enough to eat. I have a roof over my head. I am not constantly in fear for my life. There are others across the world who do not enjoy these luxuries, and I want to remain cognizant of that fact.

So in the darkest hour, life can still offer us gifts. And even if it's as small as a dented can of soda found in a pile of ash-covered rubble, appreciate it. Find light in dark places and savor what's left.