Happy New Year!! Have you made your resolutions yet? Have you broken all your resolutions yet? This year, one of my resolutions is to be an active participant for causes I support, not just engaged from the sidelines, where you can often find me, camera and pen in hand, documenting whilst ranting. But if you want to help people, you can't just rant the change you want to see in the world, though, I wholeheartedly believe in the power of words, written or oral, to absolutely change the course of events. But if you don't have that kind of platform for speech, you have to get your hands a little dirty, getting involved with your community, engaged with issues, participating in the process.
No matter what your resolutions are for 2012, who better to remind us of the power of single human than Mohandas Gandhi? Over the course of decades, Gandhi became the figure head of the Indian independence, protesting the brutal colonial occupation and unreasonable taxes levied by Britain. His people called him Mohatma, the great soul, because of his strength in the face of adversity, walking across hundreds of miles, leading strikes and hunger strikes, and enduring years of imprisonment. And when he could do nothing else, Gandhi simply was the change he wished to see in the world. This statue, located in Dupont Circle neighbor, amongst the world's embassies, was, according to the plaque, a gift from the people of India and Indian Americans. Also engraved on the plaque is a quote from Albert Einstein on Gandhi's seventieth birthday: "Generations to come, it may be, will scarce believe that such a one as this ever in flesh and blood walked upon this earth."
I like the head more than the statue. This would have been wonderful as a bust.
ReplyDeleteI no longer make specific goals; living and enjoying life day by day is enough for me. In my business career, I was deeply involved in the goalsetting process and thought it was very important. Not so much now, when I am accountable mostly to myself.
Your goal seems laudable. Good luck.