Courage isn’t loud or fearless. It is the quiet decision to try again tomorrow. Author Unknown

When we are young if we have been lucky enough to grow in a safe and loving environment we see our future as a straight line heading for the fulfillment of all of our dreams. Soon enough we learn that life rarely unfolds without problems and challenges that take us in directions that we never imagined. It can be daunting and confusing when the world impedes the progress that we planned for ourselves. It can be disorienting to find ourselves lost in a situation that we never imagined.

Those of us in the later years of our lives have so many stories to tell of failures and stolen promises. We have endured the serendipity of living often with a weariness that feels unremitting only to survive again and again. The true history of humankind is bound in both successes and disappointments. As our lives unfold we realize that we have never lived in isolation. The whole world is constantly challenging our beliefs and our determination. It is the way it has always been since the beginning of time. 

We too often forget that we do best when we live in harmony with nature. We are but one aspect of life on planet earth. Every single thing that we do affects the world around us. We all too often hurt nature without considering the consequences of our actions. We like to believe that the harsh weather disasters that befall us have nothing to do with how we have treated the ecosystem in which we live. We pretend that tearing down forests and excessively using water has no repercussions but evidence shows us the folly of such beliefs. We are dependent on each other and on the entirety of nature and yet we assemble in tribes and fight with people that we do not wish to understand. All of these things change the reality of our lives whether we choose to believe it is so or not. 

If we are truly honest we will admit that we humans have done both good things and bad. If we continuously learn from the evil that people have perpetrated in the past we can try to be better tomorrow. Ignoring mistakes only insures that we will keep making them over and over again. it is only through a willingness to keep trying to be better that our true courage shows its power. 

Twenty twenty six was slated to be a celebratory time for the United States of America. Our nation has survived for two hundred fifty years since the brave but imperfect men signed the Declaration of Independence. From that moment many mistake have been made. Ignoring them insures that they will happen again and again. Addressing them with total honestly insures us that tomorrow will be a bit better than the day before. Progress in our individual and national lives has always been incremental. We move slowly forward with deliberation. Breaking everything all at once only creates chaos. Lying to ourselves hides the truths that will set us free. 

If we study history and our personal stories we know that it is in the very moments that were about to break us that we have so often found ourselves. In most cases our journeys have not been alone. Along the pathways we have encountered others who helped us to be our best for a moment or a lifetime. Isolating ourselves from people and situations that frighten us has rarely worked. It is when we come together in a spirit of compromise and good will that we leap forward.

I will be seventy eight years old in November. My life has never been a bed of roses but it has always been filled with people who comforted me in my darkest days. I have moved slowly from the isolation of my childhood to becoming a true citizen of the world. I understand the importance of looking beyond the borders of our homes, our neighborhoods, our states and our nation. Learning about the beautiful tapestry of our differences has shown me that most of us long for the same things no matter how separated in time and space and culture we may be. We are born. We learn from our families. We walk out into the adult world. We do our best to create good lives for ourselves and each other. We have good and bad days. We enjoy success and feel the pain of defeat. We go to bed each night feeling satisfied or broken. With luck we arise the next day and begin our individual hero’s journey once again. 

These are difficult times for so many people throughout the world. At the same moment many of us enjoy living conditions that are better than those experienced by kings of old. Powerful people may try to frighten us and turn us against each other with canned phrases that hold terrible meanings. If we are wise we look beyond the fear mongering and wake up again and again with hopes that the new day will bring us together again regardless of how imperfect each of us may be. We push forward and look for the goodness that lies in the hearts of people throughout the world.