day 19 - taking a stand
i'd like to ask you a question: when did being *liked* or keeping *peace* - trump honor and friendship?
playground etiquette says, if you see someone being picked on or treated unfairly - you stand up for them. that's what
we tell kids, anyway. we encourage them resist turning a blind eye and muster the courage to stand with those who we see being wronged.
not too long ago, i was perusing the facebook's news feed when i came across the most dreadfully shocking *status* (a status is a short sentence that describes your present thoughts/actions, and this is sent out into an infinite feed). i was horrified when my eyes fell upon a vicious attack launched on this public forum, brashly maligning another, even using first AND last name - with language that would have grounded my teen for a month.
would it shock you to know it was a grown man - a yogi, in fact - that did the dirty?
long story short - i heard all the chatter. everyone was a-buzz with what they had read. and all nodded their righteous heads in agreement, that this was, in fact, a vile deed. sadly, they also seemed to satisfy their sense of morality by simply stating that it was wrong. for horrified as they were, no one expressed a compulsion to take a personal risk and take a principled stand. until, of course, someone did . . .
holding principled ground in the face of a challenge may not grant you popularity. and certainly, its not easy. but it IS right. and when you know the right thing to do - it should be more difficult to do anything different.
when is the last time you bravely held your ground in the face of a challenge - and stood for what you believed?
today i had a choice. a choice to risk alienation and recrimination; to speak up and have my voice heard. for a moment, i paused. i admit, i considered remaining the bystander, repeating, "not my problem . . . it didn't happen to me . . . " ~ until i remembered the kid on the playground. the one everyone watched get teased and humilitated.
the one everyone was just selfishly grateful not to be.
no. today, i took that stand. and, in addition to an asana practice - this was my yoga.
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playground etiquette says, if you see someone being picked on or treated unfairly - you stand up for them. that's what
we tell kids, anyway. we encourage them resist turning a blind eye and muster the courage to stand with those who we see being wronged. not too long ago, i was perusing the facebook's news feed when i came across the most dreadfully shocking *status* (a status is a short sentence that describes your present thoughts/actions, and this is sent out into an infinite feed). i was horrified when my eyes fell upon a vicious attack launched on this public forum, brashly maligning another, even using first AND last name - with language that would have grounded my teen for a month.
would it shock you to know it was a grown man - a yogi, in fact - that did the dirty?
long story short - i heard all the chatter. everyone was a-buzz with what they had read. and all nodded their righteous heads in agreement, that this was, in fact, a vile deed. sadly, they also seemed to satisfy their sense of morality by simply stating that it was wrong. for horrified as they were, no one expressed a compulsion to take a personal risk and take a principled stand. until, of course, someone did . . .
holding principled ground in the face of a challenge may not grant you popularity. and certainly, its not easy. but it IS right. and when you know the right thing to do - it should be more difficult to do anything different.
when is the last time you bravely held your ground in the face of a challenge - and stood for what you believed?
today i had a choice. a choice to risk alienation and recrimination; to speak up and have my voice heard. for a moment, i paused. i admit, i considered remaining the bystander, repeating, "not my problem . . . it didn't happen to me . . . " ~ until i remembered the kid on the playground. the one everyone watched get teased and humilitated.
the one everyone was just selfishly grateful not to be.
no. today, i took that stand. and, in addition to an asana practice - this was my yoga.
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