Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind Written by: Jeffrey East Inspired by the Compassion India Bloggers, 2009 www.compassion.com jeffreyjosepheast.blogspot.com Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind Life is so uncertain at times. One minute youre happy, employed, everyone you love is alive and wellthen, things just seem to fall apart. Thats been my life over the last 3 to 4 years. The changes Ive endured, some avoidable, some self-imposed, have all been difficult, and somewhere along the way, I lost myself, and I lost sight of what was really going on and just where I stood in the bigger picture. And even though things are never really that bad, its so simple to get lost in our own little world. To get so wrapped up in our own sorrows and problems that we totally ignore the fact that there are indeed others in the world that have it worse than ourselves, which is selfishly so hard to believe at times. But Ive been awakened. I have a group of friends that I have yet to actually meet. A group of folks that gave selflessly of their time and hard earned money to make an actual difference in this world by bringing to light one of those examples where someone has it worse than ourselves. A group of folks associated with Cross Point Community Church on Charlotte Avenue in Nashville, Tennessee, took a weeklong trip to India as part of the Compassion India Mission. The Compassion Mission Statement reads as follows: In response to the Great Commission, Compassion International exists as an advocate for children, to release them from their spiritual, economic, social and physical poverty and enable them to become responsible and fulfilled Christian adults. That group of friends that I have not yet met from Cross Point, did more than serve as beacons of Gods light, love, and true hope during their stay in India, they served back at home at the same time. Avid bloggers, their journey was extremely well documented through their powerful images both written, and visual. A few nights ago, just before they returned home, I took a couple hours to read all the blogs and view all the photosneedless to say, I was moved to tears. I felt so helpless here in the StatesI really did. For the first time in life, I wanted to be somewhere other than the comforts of home. I wanted to make a difference. I was so inspired, that I grabbed my guitar, headed upstairs, and wrote a song in a matter of minutes. The song came directly from a combination of a couple of (non)-events that took place in my life last week, (verses 1 and 3), and the painful truth of what was more than likely taking place at those very moments in India (verses 2 and 4). I got some of the statistics in the song from Pete Wilsons blog at withoutwax.tv. The sound from the attached video is the raw recording made shortly after the song was written. The pictures are taken directly from withoutwax.tv, and Angie Smiths blog audreycaroline.blogspot.com. I wish I could give credit to the photographer, but Im not certain who that was, if you know, then please tell me so I can give them credit for visually capturing the very spirit of hope in a seemingly hopeless situation. Please ignore the poor the audio quality of the video, I didnt have the best equipment to work with ☺. God Bless all of you that went to India, all of those in need of help in India, and all of those moved to help in some way. I pray that India, and places like it are never again Out of Sight, Out of Mind. God bless.