“You’re all that stands in your way.”
For the past few years that quotation has been my personal motto and one which I’ve found applies to many situations in life. From the inner voice that feeds fear and defeat to the realization that ‘believing the lie’ fell on us, I think we’ve all had moments when our biggest obstacle has been that flawed creature trapped within a mirror. In those times, it’s easy to lose sight of what matters and to stop being a better example. It’s easy for a person to forget their way and get lost in a world as big as this one.
We live in a time so advanced that occasionally the best things – the simpler things – are forgotten. Every once in a while true greatness takes time; a peculiar fact for such an age of convenient immediacy, no? Those simpler greats include a few character qualities that perfect themselves over a lifetime, such as respect, honesty, honor and dignity. At times, these same traits are misused as some form of pop culture integrity but they’re strong enough to endure beyond fifteen minutes of fame.
What they don’t fare so well against are the other character traits that make us not so great. Apathy, arrogance, ignorance…the list rolls on like a wave in the ocean. Before you know it, the good things are lost in a sea of turmoil and confusion. What soon rises in the wake is the loss of our own graciousness; of our own compassion for all mankind.
Earlier this month, a story in which a pack of teens viciously and randomly attacked an elderly gentleman was reported by KMOV-TV St. Louis. The better – and rightfully angered – part of our being would demand justice, yet the 82-year-old feared further abuse should he be identified on camera telling his story. Take a moment to consider that level of fear. Eight decades of living – surviving three, maybe four, generations – and now this man has to be afraid of children in his own neighborhood.
Surely the labors of his life were not meant to yield such bitter fruit. Isn’t it up to us, the generations that follow, to not only respect but to look out for our elders? Haven’t they struggled with shaping and building society long enough that they shouldn’t have to fear for their own safety? The morality being taken for granted is the same morality which saw them through hard times…and this is the thanks they get?
Dignity cannot risk becoming a lost art, it’s that simple. There’s no more room for philosophizing the meaning of right or ignoring right because it’s the harder choice. To fail the generations before us is to fail the generations that follow us. We have to do a better job of taking care and standing up.
So, what do you think? Is it time to work a little harder at being a better example?
You’re all that stands in your way.
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