"Nothing can be done without hope and confidence." That is a quote by Helen Keller. For those of you who have been living under a rock, Helen was a deaf and blind women born in 1880, who became the first deaf and blind person to earn a college degree. Her life story is truly amazing and should be read by everyone, in my opinion.
If anyone has the right to talk about hope, it was Helen. She was born in rural Alabama and at the age of 19 months contracted an illness that left her deaf, mute, and blind. At the age of seven, her parents brought her to the Perkins Institute for the Blind, where she met Anne Sullivan, a visually impaired student who became Helen's teacher. After many months, she had a breakthrough with Helen that helped to change her life forever. If you are interested in the story, you can watch the film "The Miracle Worker" which tells Anne's story about working with Helen. Over time, Helen learned to sign, read braille, and even speak. In her later years, she became a prolific author and an activist for many causes. After learning to speak, she became a prolific lecturer as well. Imagine, through all of that adversity, she kept a sense of hope and optimism. Not only that, she put her education to good use trying to help people with similar disabilities, as well as for political causes she believed in. Note that Helen was a pacifist and opposed Woodrow Wilson's policies in domestically, in Europe and in Latin America.. About Woodrow Wilson she stated: ""Could it be that we don't want to think badly of Woodrow Wilson... We don't want complicated icons. "People do not like to think. If one thinks, one must reach conclusions, and conclusions are not always pleasant."" It is hard for me to imagine being blind and deaf and still being able to learn how to speak and write, let alone doing so as eloquently as Helen did. On top of that, she had the empathy to stand up for and fight for people with similar disabilities. On this day of thanks giving, I find I am thankful for people like Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan who use what God has given them to the best of their abilities. They prove that hope and optimism can go a long way towards helping people. In the end, Helen lived her beliefs and fought for them nonviolently, Isn't that something we can all aspire to?
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"Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." This is a quote by Anais Nin. Nin was an essayist and a polygamist, if you can believe it. She seems to have been a very loose character, even before taking a second husband. In either case, I am not here to write about her forgettable morals. Some people are better off forgotten, and I believe that Nin is one of those best forgotten, so if you are interested in her, look her up yourself. I'll waste no more of my time with her!
Now, as for her quote, I'd have to say its true. What is not true, though, is that phony experiences can be used in place of true courage. So many people nowadays go about accumulating experiences that are, for the most part, safe, yet are marketed as dangerous and exciting. Does a person really show courage by going on a roller coaster, or by bunge jumping? I would argue that the answer is no. People go out to do these experiences to show their courage, yet they are too afraid to tell anyone how they truly feel. Instead of having the courage to be themselves, they safely emulate styles they are told are rebellious. Have you noticed the large number of tattoos and piercings all around you now? Or how everyone now feels comfortable calling others names, just because they don't agree with what they feel is right? Real courage has nothing to do with any of that. Real courage has nothing to do with changing your style of dress or adornment to fit into a group. It has nothing to do with driving a fancy sports car, or causing trouble. Courage has everything to do with being yourself and treating everyone with a modicum of respect. Courage has to do with doing what you believe is right, even if it is an unpopular opinion. True courage will expand your life because you won't let fear hold you back from doing what you believe is right. True courage will allow you to talk to people regardless of what the group you hang around with thinks. And true courage will expand your life by allowing you to experience more of everything since you won't be hiding behind anyone else's ideals. True courage is peace over power and not just doing something because you can. It is doing what you can, without intentionally hurting anyone else around you. While Nin gave a nice quote above, and likely thought she was the embodiment of her quote, her actions hurt others (her first two husbands whom she cheated on) and actually diminished her and her works in my view. In the end, I think Nin was weak and a coward. And I really wish that a more courageous person had uttered those words. In your life, have the courage to lead by example. To say what you believe is true, but still have the tact to say it without hurting someone else just because you can. Courage comes in many forms. The best courage, in my opinion, is when you can be yourself, do what you like and not hurt others in the process. Have the courage to treat others how you would like to be treated. Don't feel that you have to wait to see how they treat you first. Show them how you want them to treat you by how you treat them! |
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