Friday, December 6, 2013

Life is difficult

“Life is difficult. This is a great truth, one of the greatest truths. It is a great truth because once we truly see this truth, we transcend it. Once we truly know that life is difficult – once we truly understand and accept it – then life is no longer difficult. Because once it is accepted, the fact that life is difficult no longer matters.”
~ M. Scott Peck
The world lost a great man yesterday. His death wasn't unexpected. He'd been ill for some time, we all knew this was coming and, frankly, we all die.

What makes Nelson Mandela's death so bittersweet for me is how very few men and women are living now as he had lived his life.

He was a man of peace.
We are a world at war.

He was a man of conviction.
We sell our souls to the highest bidder.

He was a man of courage.
We avoid conflict.

Who is left to inspire us? Personally, I look to the Dalai Lama, to Pope Francis, to Cory Booker even.

It strikes me that all these figures, dead and alive, are men. So who are the women inspiring us today?

Well, there's Oprah. I don't watch her programs, but I love what she's done with her life and how she's influenced so many others.

When you do a Google search for "inspiring women," the names belong to entertainers and politicians. Where are our 21st-century iron-jawed angels? What women – or woman – is standing up for principles, ignoring consequences, making statements?

Who – man or woman – inspires you?

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