Dr. Gabriel Barsawme, LSW: all we have to do is to decide how to respond to the times we live in.

[We] must choose how we respond to the times we live in. In the choices we make, in our responses, we transform the world and discover who we are. 

Our nervous system has evolved to keep us alive and safe. [Danger] triggers the nervous system to respond in a way that keeps us safe: fight, flight or flee.  

I remember what Martin Luther King said in a speech that many have heard. Evil can flourish because of the silence of the mass, of the good. Because they feel uncomfortable and fearful of reprimands. This experience seems to be echoed by generations before him as well.

Viktor Frankl made the same observation. In the concentration camps he noticed that when the German soldiers were being abusive they’d stop and be less abusive if the other inmates in the camps dared to speak up. Evil flourishes when there is no resistance.

We may think that we have no power and that our small selves can not make a difference. I beg to differ. History shows us that even the smallest person can change the course of the future. These are also the words of Tolkien through lady Galadriel. But this is not mere fiction. The abolitionist movement was led by 12 men. The civil rights movement in the US was sparked by the civil disobedience of Rosa Parks. The course of the future was changed by Jesus of Nasareth and his disciples. The world is changing because of the insights and teaching of the Buddha. The list can go on.

There is of course a risk in choosing what is uncomfortable in your life. You may fail. Therefore, the question you may ask yourself as you choose to live uncomfortably is if you believe in what you choose, if you truly believe in the cause.

Sometimes the cause is uncertain, diffused, obfuscated and opaque. Yet, the guiding principle may be that you choose what is good, what is true and what is beautiful. You may not be on a path to throw the ring of power into Mordor. But perhaps your task is to choose to be kind, to smile. To ask yourself what you truly want and how you can truly contribute to the world around you.

The answers may surprise you, and you may be confused at once. But inaction and mere thought will not clarify your path. Only walking, once step in front of the other, will clarify your path. With each step you take, I believe, your path will appear.

So, my friend, what will you do with this one awesome and wonderful life that you have been given?

The world is a fearsome place

How you respond matters

Dr. Gabriel Barsawme, LSW