Daily Mood Quote
Day 117 – August 28, 2011
“If you don't stand for something you will fall for anything.”
~Malcolm X
Being an outsider is the price that is paid for standing for something. In my lifetime, I have always spoke up against injustice, for the underdog, and taken the road less traveled. It hasn't been easy and it has cost me some friends, a job or two and occasionally some money. But one thing it hasn't cost me, is my integrity, my self-respect and my dignity.
Over the past several years, I have watched and wondered how many can live with the lies they tell, the injustices they create and the people they hurt; all to fulfill selfish needs. Maybe with age comes a little cynicism. Maybe, I've just grown weary of the lies people tell, or maybe it's just people's false claims of friendship and support. Who knows? Either way, I'm at a point where it's just easier to be the outsider. In my case, being the outsider has been the story of my life. A very good friend of mine, with whom I served in the military, once dedicated a song to me at a club we frequented when I younger (before a husband and kids). The song was by Adam Ant, called Goody Two Shoes and the lines he dedicated to me where, “Don't drink don't smoke - what do you do? Don't drink don't smoke - what do you do?” used to make me laugh and make me proud. You see, I don't drink and I don't smoke and even though the vision is pretty rough, I can see things for what they are and people for who they are. I have certainly never been a follower, even in the military, I was often asked by my superiors, “Are you always so challenging?”, “Do you always ask so many questions?” I haven't changed much, just ask my husband. Who patiently looks for the answers if he doesn't know them.
I believe that in order for the world to achieve positive success and/or change for the betterment of all, we must have more leaders and positive role models, not just leaders in power positions, but leaders in everyday, common place, daily living: Moms, Dads, Siblings, Aunts, Uncles, Neighbors, this list could go on for awhile, I think you get the idea. You see we recently had a hurricane and many will come out and help, that's great. But what happens after the need disappears and the publicity dies down? How many of us remember Tuscaloosa Alabama? And that was only a few months ago. We are great when disasters occur, but what about the everyday stuff? Mowing a elderly person's lawn, taking someone who can't drive grocery shopping, tell the truth for a day, don't spread that rumor you heard, call someone back you promised to call back, wave to a friend, say hi to a neighbor, or help someone in need. (run on sentence is warranted here, I believe). It's the little things that go along way. I've heard often, “someone else will do that,” or “I don't have time,” and (my favorite, not...) “it's not my problem.” There is also that close second, to just simply “ignore.” I wonder how they would feel, if they needed assistance and no one cared and they were ignored. Questions to think about, I think.
It seems the force of the world is trying to make honesty, caring and being authentic in our actions a bad thing, a wrong thing. It doesn't make much sense to me, but I'm not the first to note this contradiction. In the 1978 movie Heaven Can Wait with Warren Beatty, Mr. Jordan (played by James Mason) noted : “The likelihood of one individual being right increases in direct proportion to the intensity with which others are trying to prove him wrong.” And so given that thought; I must be, at least, on the right track. I will continue to strive to be that role model and put doing “what's right” above “whats right just for me”. Do I expect serious resistance and to be treated like an outsider? To borrow a Minnesota colloquialism, “You Bettcha!” But, at the end of the day; when I look into the mirror, I will be shining from the inside; not trying to wipe the grime of selfishness off my face.
What will you "stand for" today?
Tune in tomorrow to read the daily mood quote
Thank you for reading
No comments:
Post a Comment