Inspired

I am blessed to have the opportunity to meet some wonderful people everyday. When I take S to classes. Those people don't work. The work they do cannot be done if they have no passion in what they do.
So, I often have inspiring talks with some of them to hear their experiences from over the years. Each of them have been dealing with children all their lives. Their stories are...dramatically inspiring, to say the least.
One was a case worker in the North-really North, where the temperature dips to -40C when the Sun never shows up(& those are many days). It was disheartening to know they would need a Children case worker in such areas. The enlightening information I received through him was that the natives, unlike I expected, are abused by drugs. They load themselves with alcohol heavily & constantly force their children(some as young as 3 years) to drink as well. Why? was my first question. The answer was disgusting to say the least. Apparently, the government pays them to live there in the reserves & they don't need to work to earn a living. Worse news is the more people in the family, the more their income. So, lack of work & free money is making people ruin their own lives. All the kids are physically abused & are more than happy to run away to other places. Not to mention I was disturbed for a long time after hearing this.
Recently, I had a conversation with their Director, who goes into the heart of Manitoba(to where the Polar Bears roam, actually) to train kids find their talent, or to give them some support at the least. She makes this trip every year & every time her heart pounds. She never knows how she will be treated, if she will even come back alive. She told me that it feels like walking into a lion's den...every single time. I had tears in my eyes just listening to her. Her stories were similar to the ones I'd heard earlier. But my heart hadn't hardened just yet. In spite of all this, she ended saying that every time she comes back home, she feels grateful for her life. And this, my dear is a 2 time cancer survivor. She is by far the most realized being I've ever seen.
Every time I walk in to the class with S, I don't know what I'll encounter. Just wait to get enlightened, which hasn't failed to happen almost every single time. I am grateful for my experiences thus far. There is more to this land than that meets the eye.