Shaken To The Core: Standing Up For Whats Right For The Sake of MakingThe World A Better Place

The other day when my husband and I were hiking in one of my favorite parks nearby we passed a section of fence around one of the fields that was crumbling. The beams were knocked down for several sections in a row and one pillar was damaged while this one looked half-destroyed. All that stood remaining from the cracked concrete pillar were two metal rods. Even though the top had been pummeled away somehow and the rest of the stone cracked down to the core, the two rods, the so-called backbone and foundation of the pillar, were standing and would remain standing. It struck me walking by how odd it looked to see everything stripped away bare, leaving exposed the true nature of something. Just as this seemingly indestructible pillar we too are susceptible to cracking and crumbling under immense amount of pressure. No matter how hard things knock at you though, no matter how much things try to tear you down, your true self will always be there. The real you, your true self and identity. People in this life will try to attack you and peck away piece by piece, but no one can every change you. Don't be discouraged, even if they pick away at the surface the real you is still there underneath, indestructible. This past week at work combined with other previous experiences that have come up has been really hard on me. Understanding hate is something that will always elude me. I've learned the pain of having true hate directed meaningfully right at you. It was a terrible feeling that I am still trying to shake, but I am getting through it. We have to remember that, if we hold on to our true selves we can make it through anything. Not only that but we can build ourselves back up again from even nothing because we have the only thing we need to start anew - a foundation. Today I had to tell my best friend from college, someone who has been like a brother to me for over ten years, that one of his family members was no longer allowed over because of the fact that I could not deal with blatant racism especially directed towards my husband in our own home. I had been holding on to it for a week and a half because I dreaded the conversation but he took it really well, apologized, accepted my request that she not come back and even went as far as to discuss it with her to some extent later privately. I was surprised he didn't get mad and hang up or scream at me, and I felt so relieved after having finally said something that it felt like a weight off my chest. Like I could almost breathe again. I had stood up for something, and I felt proud because I did so calmly but firmly. At this point in my life, being almost thirty years old, I won't tolerate hate around me anymore and I will make sure to do my best to put an end to it. Standing up for what it right makes the world a better place and it makes you a better person, it's like standing up for joy. Defending joy from those things that thrive in it's dark absence. Next time you feel yourself shaken take hold of your roots and hold on, hold on to yourself and don't let go. Hold on to joy and don't let go. Hold on to love and don't let go. Don't be afraid to stand up for what you believe in, for someone else, for yourself - it's ok to take a stand against the things in this world we wish we could change. Can you imagine what would happen if more people did? A revolution.