Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
MORNINGS often work like clockwork - get up, get ready and get breakfast - whilst reading the newspaper that has just been freshly churned, still warm from the press.
We forget that behind every story and picture printed on that paper are writers or photographers that could have risked their lives to bring that news to your table.
While your mug of coffee makes rings on the corners of the paper and the crumbs of your toast litter the tiny print, you flick through real stories of serious things happening around the world. You might dabble at the crossword or scratch in a few numbers into the sudoku grid, smile at the comics and then walk away unfazed by the sheer weight of human tragedy that the newspaper is heavy with.
But not only does the stark reality of the human condition gets me, the fact that there are journalists putting their lives on the line for that one spectacular picture or the latest happenings, amazes and humbles me.
Front-line reporters are truly inspirational people - their commitment to telling the world the truth above their own safety is no easy feat. While people flee to safety and the sky rains with bullets, these are the men and women that head in for that little snippet you read every morning.
This week, it was with great sadness that I read of the deaths of Tim Hetherington and Chris Hondros. They were incredible men and amazing journalists, reporting in Libya before being killed by government forces. Both men were extremely talented in their fields, having won admiration and numerous awards for their work, which will forever be a tribute to their sacrifice.
They survived wars, protests, hurricanes and earthquakes to tell the world the real story.
They are not the first of journalists to die while on the job and probably won't be the last. There are even more journalists around the world that are jailed, abducted, held hostage, assaulted and silenced as they try to voice out atrocities to the world.
It takes courage to go out there, into the field - it's more than just a job. Not many people would agree to willingly plunge into war-torn countries, heavy artillery fire or rampaging tsunami-ridden regions.
So when you pick up the newspaper that lies curled on your front doorstep, take a moment and think about the blood, sweat and tears that materialise into those finely printed words - and feel the weight in your hands.
