July
11, 2016
Greetings
from square one,
I
wrote something else this morning and deleted it. I remembered after I read it what my purpose
is.
It
is hard to imagine that this morning won’t feature more bad news; tragedy, ever
present in the wings, seems to have gained momentum in our world. It changes our perspective. It is up to us to find ways to bring balance to
our view, to see that there is more to the human experience than the next act
of violence. That is another
conversation.
But
the tragedy is there, it will exist again today in some form. For some it will be very personal, for others
it will be a policy decision, a legal issue, a headline to mutter over. There will be another challenging event,
somewhere, and then there will be our response.
That
is the space I want to consider. It is
the space I filled with my first essay this morning.
When we don’t know what to do next, there is a vacuum, even
for a brief time, and we often fill that space with our first visceral reaction. We are driven to think, say, to act on that
impulse.
Imagine,
just right now, imagine, if we all give in to our worst impulses. Then imagine if we live up to our greatest
potential.
Human beings create their share of catastrophes. What
comes next is what we contribute too. We
can choose. I am not talking about what
side of a divisive argument you align yourself with on Facebook. I mean before that, when your most private,
from-the-gut thoughts begin to form.
This is where
humans begin to gather around a direction.
Too often the reaction space is filled with death, violence, ego, pride,
revenge, cynicism, anger. But thankfully
for all of us it can lead to hope, peace, justice, generosity, change. Courage.
Courage is sometimes overcoming fear and sometimes it is
overcoming an impulse. It is pushing
back from a instinctual response and reaching for what is better in us. I’m asking you this morning: let it be whatever
you are most proud of.
Since
the time when my ancestors fought for freedom from oppression with rocks and
sticks, and long before, mankind has turned to violence when it seemed there
were no more options at hand. It is not
a heritage we seem capable of shaking, but I am hopeful.
There
are people in the world who are desperate, angry, hungry, defending themselves
and their children from despicable situations that lead to acts that most of us
will never have to consider.
We
are not all acting from desperation; we are not all acting from a narrow menu
of choices. We can take a deep breath
and choose compassion, patience, hope.
We can make that the fuel that guides our words and our actions. From there we can best contribute to the
dialogue, to the next steps, to the clear thinking and selfless leadership that
will create better headlines.
Maya Angelou said that bad circumstances are ‘the human inheritance’, but: “..you must decide not to be reduced. You have your humanity, and you must not allow anything to reduce that.”
So the
response is what you get a choice about.
Do what you will be most proud of.
Say what reflects
the best in you, act intentionally, so that whatever happens next you can point
to that moment and show your children how they will carry on the light.
Dr. Joshua Corsa, a surgeon at Orlando Regional
Medical Center, spent too many
hours in surgery trying to save the lives of the people attacked in the night
club shooting there. He shared that he
intended to keep his blood-soaked shoes as a reminder of the tragedy. Afterward he wrote, “After the worst
of humanity reared its evil head, I saw the best of humanity of come fighting
right back. I never want to forget that night.”
I read those words and decided, on second
thought, to be a part of the best of humanity.
Instead of something else.
Hope
this finds you carrying the light,
David
Copyright
© 2016 David Smith
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