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Today's
Meditation:
The
stereotype of dying nobly for causes is one that we've all
seen. And there have been times in history and
certain causes that probably could propel certain people
to be willing and able to give their lives for those
causes-- after all, sometimes living in certain situations
or with certain realities might have kept them from being
true to who they were.
But
personally I can't help thinking when I hear of people who
have died for causes, "What a shame!" With
that much commitment and passion and courage, those people
most certainly could have continued to work against
whatever it was they died to fight, couldn't they
have? And while others may see them as courageous
and noble, it's even more courageous and noble to continue
to be a husband or a wife, and father or a mother, a
friend or a brother or a sister, helping other people to
make it through their lives, too.
After
all, we most definitely are not on this planet
alone. There are others here who need us, who depend
upon us, who are able to thrive in part because of the
encouragement and love that we share with them. If I
die in a blaze of so-called "glory," I no longer can help
my family, I no longer can help my friends.
We
mature as we realize that we are needed, and as we allow
ourselves to commit ourselves to fulfilling those
needs. We know that we are mature when we no longer
need to receive accolades for what we do-- they're nice to
get sometimes, but we don't need them. And we're
mature when we recognize causes that are important to us,
and to which we're willing to dedicate ourselves without
any sort of glory and honor. Living humbly is a
marvelous goal.
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