Tuesday, September 7, 2010

The Burning Light - excerpt from my autobiography

Just a few weeks ago my kids, my wife and I were at an outdoor movie event. Of course it was late at night and so they had flood lights on and vendors with bright lights by their tents. As everyone began to arrive at the showing they took their seats where they felt the best viewing would be. We of course wanted to be towards the back so the speakers wouldn't be so loud. As we sat there for some time waiting for the movie to begin, the sky grew dark and the lights became more predominantly bright. In fact most of the lights were directly in the eyes of those in the back. I looked across the field of onlookers and noticed many people were covering their faces from the bright lights. It was strange in some ways because many people looked very frustrated by the annoying distraction. I was more than frustrated and felt I should do something about it. My wife encouraged me to just get up and change the direction of the flood lights. I told her that they must be that way for a reason and so I sat for 10 more minutes complaining about it. Finally I got up and walked over to the flood lights that were at chest level and rotated them away from the audience. Surprisingly as I walked back to my seat many viewers who were along the way to my seat said "Thank you so much" When I sat down I was perplexed as to why no one else got up if it annoyed them so much. I then noticed the piercing light from the vendors station so I got up again and went to the vendors and asked kindly to block the light for those who were being blinded by the brightness. As I returned back to my seat more people said "thanks man" and "what a difference". When I sat in my seat the movie became enjoyable once again.
You see sometimes we put up with things even though they are simply solvable. Instead we often just allow those circumstance to annoy us and we just tolerate them. You have the option to be different and make subtle changes that make a world of difference. It may sound trivial but you would be surprised at how many people just put up with things instead of making the difference. By nature we like to be indifferent even though our clothes and sometimes our words say otherwise. Martin Luther King Jr. was someone who decided that black people shouldn't put up with discrimination, to be blinded by a light of ignorance, instead he said " I have a dream!" He let others know of his dream and then he made it reality!! Are you willing to be different? Willing to crush indifference and be the change that you are so longing for?! You can, if only you make the first step.

1 comment:

  1. very well said.... you certainly have a way with your thoughts being transferred to the written page... once again a winner.

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