A couple nights ago, I woke up from my sleep in distress because of a dream. I was distraught and overcome with immense sadness and feelings of hopelessness. I think I must have cried for almost half an hour. I know dreams are just that, dreams, and usually they are meaningless. However, I would say this was an exception. Let me share with you what this dream was about.

We were driving around Karachi when I noticed a dead body lying on the road. Worse, the head was cut off and lying next to the body. Next to this dead body was a man asking for help from everyone and anyone. He needed help to find a proper burial spot for the man. Unfortunately, this man had no legs (common across Pakistan either due to polio or other circumstances) and hence was not able to seek further assistance. What got me was the fact that people were walking and driving by but no one was willing to provide any help. They were too engrossed in their own worlds to care. The dead man had no family or friends around him. The other man was begging for help but no one could hear his voice.

That night I was too sad to reflect on the dream, and so I cried myself to sleep. The next morning I tried to gain some insight, especially because I could not erase the picture out of my mind. The picture is till clear in my mind. Through the help of friends and soul-searching, the following are a few of my reflections. There are just too many to include here.

1) I took this dream to be a message, a sign to act. I feel that too often we are concerned with treating the symptom of poverty but hardly do we try to understand the root problem. By no means am I saying that we should not help those who need our help because a little bit definitely goes a long way. If we want to eradicate poverty, then we must explore issues perpetuating this. This is not simple, in fact, it is quite complicated. After this dream, I am feeling that I have to, no, I need to do something. I have always felt this way (hence the reason for going into nursing and coming to karachi) but these feelings have now intensified. Rest assured that these feelings are not based on pity, but rather on feelings of responsibility and simply because...I want to....

2) I know I need to re-channel my energy from feelings of hopelessness to that of hopefulness. It is our responsibility to re-kindle the spark of hope for those who need it and who have lost all hope. I say re-kindle because we are all born with this spark but sometimes we need support and encouragement from others. I too need to be hopeful because this will guide my attitude towards others and what actions I will need to take to help others.