The two words that have been top of mind lately are courage and kindness. We need more of both and that we need to practice the acts from each. The rhetoric, the disruptive speeches and self-centered attitudes are affecting all of us. Also fear, fear of loosing control, fear from terrorists both foreign and domestic, of losing your job, fear of not making ends meet and fear of loosing medical benefits, and the latest fear of mother nature and the impact of natural disasters. However even in difficult circumstances we can choose to be courageous and kind.
What is courage? It is disagreeing with family members when their views no longer in is agreement with yours; it is pointing out some wrongs going on at work that need fixing; it is taking a stand when you see someone abusing power at work; it is disagreeing with friends on an issue that you don’t agree with he or she; it is also admitting that your point of view might have been wrong and that it is time to change or learn something new. Courage is also a personal thing that can vary and change with each time and over time. It would not be fair to quantify courage with the same measure; this because as individuals we have experienced different situations through out our lives and also we have experienced courage of lack of to different scales. However courage is courage and all acts count.
My biggest example of courage is my parent’s decision to leave Cuba back in the sixties. My parents realized then that they did not want to raise their kids under a communist regime and they decided that we would leave the familiar life they had lived, their family and friends to settle in the USA. A country where English was spoken and they did not speak it, a different culture from what they were accustomed. After waiting 4 and a half years we were given the authorization to leave Cuba, and so my parents, by two brothers and I left Cuba. It was the first time traveling to another country for all of us. We arrived in Miami and five days later we flew to Los Angeles, where we would settle.
I was 12, and so I did not think much then about the thoughts that were possibly going through my parent’s minds. They did not know how to drive and both learned soon after. A new country, a new city, and all the details associated in settling in and raising three kids. Today I can only imagine what it must have been like to be in their shoes; and I who have traveled the world and seen so much can’t think of anything thing that I could do that would even come close to this. Courage they had, and it was ground on a belief that they were doing what was best for their family.
There is a great quote about courage that I love. It reads, “ xxxxx “. So courage is not limited to big tasks that draw a lot of attention, most of the time, courage goes on unnoticed to most. The great Argentinian poet Borges wrote that “……….”
My belief is that courage is needed to affront the wrongs we see, the hatred, the lack of humanity we witness and to stand for what is right. These are turbulent times and we are witnessing an increase in hate. Hatred based on beliefs that are as antiquated as a centuries old manuscript.
It takes courage to be yourself also. Courage to stand alone if your ideals don’t agree with the populous; and also, it takes courage to accept that there are others that have different ideas or beliefs and that have every right to do so.
And as a lead into the next part of this essay, in today’s world, it take courage to be kind.
What is kindness? That ability to defer to others in situations when it is needed, or at least we believe that it is needed. It is taking into consideration the wellbeing and feelings of others even with some personal sacrifice. It is that friendly smile to a stranger, a gesture of respect to someone deserving. Kindness is taking time to take care of self.
I do believe that there is a lack of kindness overall in society today. Maybe is because everyone is in a hurry and folks just don’t have time to pause. People cut you of while driving; they honk because you are not driving fast enough. Folks cut you off or talk over you because they don’t agree with what you are saying.