Rich or poor, comfortable or struggling, celebrity or forgotten, we all face joys and difficulties. The so-called “Shiny Happy People,” are just as human as you and me, same aches and pains, heartaches, desires and hopes. However, we still just like to create labels and even stigma about those who have been traumatized, or who we feel live on ‘another level.’ The truth is, we are all on the same level, the human level. People ask, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” God asks the same question… People suffer at the hands of tyrants, people suffer from unfortunate and unexpected accidents, no one is immune, that is life… don’t take a single day, a single moment for granted. When something goes wrong, we like to find someone or something to blame, sad but true. As people of faith, and the Baptismal Promise says, we are never alone, even your neighbor (stranger or enemy) is never alone. Mercy always prevails, and it is us who are tasked with the discipline of seeing and hearing people through a heart knowing that we have been forgiven, our neighbor (stranger or enemy) is forgiven. As people of faith, we have received mercy upon mercy, let this Good News open our eyes, ears, and hearts as we live each day, through all journeys of life, mountaintops or valleys.