Setting the Roots for a Positive Change: It Starts With You
This morning, I was listening to the radio as they discussed the recent shooting of Representative Giffords in Arizona. From this story, the radio hosts began to talk about a Livonia Police Officer who was recently killed. And then, I thought about the 9-year-old girl who tragically lost her life during the shootings that took place in Arizona.
All of these people died due to unexplainable and incomprehensible hatred….
Sometimes, when you think about the world we live in you can begin to feel overwhelmed with confusion. How could someone wake up one day and seek out to kill or harm in innocent person? What kind of world do we live in?
On Monday, we celebrated and paid tribute to the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. Throughout his life, he continually stressed that his efforts, and those that followed his efforts, will be ones of a nonviolent nature; despite the fact that Dr. King was often the recipient of violent acts. He, however, stood firm in his beliefs and leaned towards the nonviolent teachings of Mahatma Gandhi.
As we know, Dr. King’s life tragically ended due to hatred and violence.
I got to thinking about all this, and then I stopped. I realized that I probably need to accept the fact that there will probably always be evil in this world, but, I will certainly not let the acts of these people make me feel discouraged about the world we live in. I will certainly not let those evil people plant a seed of discouragement in my mind.
Instead, I will think about Dr. King’s message and the strength he had, and Representative Giffords and the drive she had to become a political leader— someone who has become well respected across party lines. I will think about that police officer that got up every day to protect the citizens in a local Michigan suburb, and that 9-year-old girl the outstanding drive she had at such a young age.
I will think about the words spoken by Mahatma Gandhi: “Be the change you want to see in the world.”
