I’ve traveled all around the world. One of my favorite places to visit is Maui. It’s peaceful. It’s familiar. It’s close. It’s where I find my peace.
Sometimes it’s hard to remember to tap into my internal place of comfort. There’s a lot of bad in the world. People in power who don’t care for equal human rights. Atrocities that are murdering people, either swiftly through violent dictatorships or slowly through change of policy and denial of rights. Some of our neighbors judge us by our skin color, others by our gender identity. We fight for what we feel is the best for the world, but many find solace in allowing others to make the decisions that will shape our society.
I’m in that fight. Between work and completing my dissertation, I find time to fight, to work on elevating important causes, to sign petitions, to get out the vote, and to be just another person trying to build, with as small as my voice is, the foundation for a better tomorrow.
But it’s easy to lose sight of self. It’s incredibly simple to slide into a place where you don’t see the light, where the beauty of the world isn’t apparent. This is dangerous, for if you forget what you’re fighting for, then the battles are in vain, and the victories will always come at a price.
The children rescued in Thailand this week was an example of the beauty of humanity, the purpose of sacrifice, and the spirit of resilience. The Jetblue flight crew that saved the dog’s life, who was struggling to breathe in middlings, showed how we can care for the most innocent of us who don’t have a voice. The woman who used her lotto winnings to run a charity to help the less fortunate is evidence that money does not and should not determine our character, because when we are born we have nothing, and when we die we leave with nothing but our memories and the acts we did here on Earth.
So today I’m thinking about my light. I’m thinking about the beauty of the world. I’m thinking about where I find my peace, where I find my home, where I feel close and able to create more light so that others can experience a better time than we offered today.
I hope, in some small way, I’m able to be successful.