A resolution for Peace, and a resolve to leave a legacy worth remembering
Submitted by: Esc8pee - February 2 2010
I strongly, believe that we need more than to blindly follow those with the loudest voices, the biggest and deepest pockets or the most deadly and destructive weapons. When it comes to the pursuit of peace, personal responsibility to the welfare of our neighbor cannot be emphasized enough.
I think a firm belief in God, or a persons personal spirituality is also important – as long as they actually live by the doctrines or creeds that they profess to hold dear. It's one thing to say I believe in peace and love, but, it's quite another to actually practice these things, especially amidst today's climate of violence, hate and greed. An honest belief in God or some sort of spirituality is important because it can be the one guiding force in our thought process and our decision making – even when we are surrounded by chaos. When even those that are supposed to guide us toward rational decisions are leading us down some awful path of destruction, our inward moral compass can be our bulwark...our secure mound that we can rely on to help us not succumb to these forces.
I know it's hard to resist a lifetimes worth of propaganda and training, but we can think for ourselves, we can be the ones with the fortitude to do what's right and what's needed, when it's needed of us. After all, the definition of the word courage is to do what needs to be done despite our fear, and not to do what needs to be done because we have no fear.It takes real courage for anyone of us, myself included to resist the monolithic influence that the robber barons, the crooked ones, and the hate mongers have on each one us. But, I firmly believe now more than ever that it can be done, and that we all have the power to make it happen through positive participation in our relationships with everyone and every living thing around us.
So... my resolve this year is this: To be more: engaged, more: loving, more: peaceful, more: empowered, more: enlightened ...more: Godly, and to use every asset I have to pursue this.
I truly want to be seen as a thinker, a teacher, a lova', a father, a husband, and most importantly now more than ever, someone who not only professes a belief in God, but someone who actually lives it.
I know that's a tall order, and just by saying it out loud I'm committing myself to somethin' huge. But, I know I'm not settin' myself up for failure, I'm setting myself up for greatness. I think when you shed yourself of the shackles of conformity you finally give yourself the permission to live and to accomplish great things.
If tragedy happens to befall me and I die today, I want to have left my wife and my son somethin' real to be proud of. I want to have left a legacy of strength, courage, wisdom and love. It's more important to me than how much money I may or may not have in the bank, how many people are or aren't following me on Twitter, how many Facebook fans we do or don't have, or any of the other things people use to prop themselves up and prove their worth or bring themselves down and incorrectly reaffirm their lack of value to the world.
When you have the time you should take a look at some of the greatest woman, men, and young people that have encountered and overcome seemingly insurmountable difficulties throughout human history. Ask yourself what made them great? Not, money, not power, not how much booty they got. No, those that have impacted human history for the better, gave of themselves, unselfishly, and lovingly. This is somethin' that we can all learn from...
So, as part of my resolution for this year, and every year that I'm blessed enough to walk this earth, I want to work at creating a legacy that I can be proud to call my own. So that if I do die today, when the Lord and Christ review my life, I can have consolation in the way I've lived, and the things I've done.
