Today was a day where I felt proud of some of the people that I share this Earth with and also felt disgusted about some of the people I share this Earth with. Shall we start with the good? (Because as the Rock says, “You know I like my dessert before dinner.”)
The good in one word? BatKid. It’s been all over the internet but let me share it with you in case you missed it: the Make-A-Wish Foundation granted Miles Scott’s wish, a 5-year-old in remission from leukemia. Miles wanted to be Batman. So San Francisco turned into Gotham City for the day, complete with a breaking news that there’s a damsel in distress, the Joker needs apprehending and Penguin was up to his usual ways. Then the call went out to the public to participate–and boy did they show up! Remember how crazy San Francisco got when the Giants won the World Series? Apparently that’s equates to the number of people who showed up to make this little boy’s dream come true. It’s an incredible story that truly demonstrates the power of kindness and what a group of people is capable of doing if we unite for a good reason.
Now, onto the disgust. Well, it wasn’t just disgust. There was also sadness and shock involved here as well. I went and saw, “12 Years a Slave” tonight. Whoa. That movie is intense. And deep. It was extremely realistic, it tugged at your heart strings and it seemed like the theater stayed dark for longer than usual at the end of the movie–for the sole purpose of giving people a chance to wipe away their tears before they had to show their face. When you think about how people treated each other during that time, or even how some people are still being treated today in some parts of the world, it makes you sick to your stomach. How can a person be treated as property? How can one human being act that way towards another? It’s a really good movie but one that leaves you feeling grateful for the freedom that we have today, but also conscious of people and our attitudes towards each other.
It’s a weird world we live in. It’s not all rainbows and butterflies, but it’s not all doom and gloom either. Right when you think the world is a happy place, you get handed a reality check and come crashing down. When you decide that it’s all doom and gloom, something happens that changes your attitude and puts the pep back into your step. Bottom line–with the good, comes the bad, but you get to choose how you will react.I’m going to try to choose to look for the good things, address and stand up for the injustices I see and commit to progress and making a positive difference, even if it’s just one thing at a time. What will you choose?
