Carving Our Own Paths in Life

After attending a college football game at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California many years ago, I got into my car to exit the campus. I couldn’t remember exactly which turns to make to get to the freeway and I had lost sight of the cars in front of me that I could have followed. But I quickly gained confidence that I was going the right way because a long line of cars formed behind me. I trusted my intuition, made a couple of turns, and was heartened to see that the line continued to follow me, further assuring me I was going in the right direction. After a few minutes, though, I drove down a stretch of road that dead-ended in a dense grove of trees. Sheepishly, I made a U-turn and, hunched over my steering wheel, endured the glare of a dozen or more irritated drivers as they passed by me going in the opposite direction on their way to the dead end. Judging by the contorted expressions on their faces, they must have been thinking, or maybe even shouting, what an ignorant dolt I was for leading them in the wrong direction. I got defensive, glared back as best I could, and mumbled that they got what they deserved for being stupid enough to follow me in the first place.

My so-called “leadership” in leading cars down the wrong road was an honest mistake. It was done transparently and without malice. Nor was it an attempt to manipulate others for my own gain. Such is not always the case in the world. Many others have willingly, even gleefully, skipped along behind some so-called leader only to find out, if they’re paying attention, that they’ve been led into a moral, spiritual or intellectual dead end. Is it reasonable to suggest that there are many who too often allow themselves to be lured into stereotyping and tarring others who don’t deserve it or lack the power to defend themselves? It pains me to my very soul when I see innocent people demonized because of their color, ethnicity, economic class or political beliefs in a mean-spirited campaign to diminish them, to de-humanize them, and – as we’ve seen way too many times in history – to murder them so predators can gain from their losses. It’s unconscionable. It’s evil. Eons of human behavior suggests that we’ll never completely prevent this kind of travesty. But we do have the ability to cripple it, even if in small ways, wherever we find it. There are countless examples of courageous heroes, past and present, who, through commitment and resilience, have countered maliciousness and inspired others to shed their yokes and be a blessing to others. Can we be more like them and make a difference?

My blogs aren’t intended to highlight only headline-grabbing struggles, but also the smaller and often overlooked but inspirational crusades by special people whose only desire is to make the world a better place. And while my attention will invariably turn toward much of the darkness of our fellow beings, it’s necessary to do so for us to better appreciate the preciousness of the hope and courage that good people bring into the world. Can we carve our own paths in life? I’m optimistic that we can and, as I said on my Home page, we have the power and God-given responsibility to “bring light into what is often a daunting world.”