let's wake up and change the world

No one sits with him, he doesn't fit in / But we feel like we do when we make fun of him / Cause you want to belong, do you go along? / Cause his pain is the price paid for you to belong / It's not like you hate him or want him to die / But maybe he goes home and thinks suicide / Or he comes back to school with a gun at his side / And a kindness from you might have saved his life

Heroes are made when you make a choice

No one talks to her, she feels so alone / She's in too much pain to survive on her own / The hurt she can't handle overflows to a knife / She writes on her arm, wants to give up her life / Each day she goes on is a day that she's brave / Fighting the lie that giving up is the way / Each moment of courage her own life she saves / When she throws the pills out a hearo is made

Heroes are made when you make a choice

No one talks to him about how he lives / He thinks that the choices he makes are just his / Doesn't know he's the leader with the way he behaves / And others willl follow the choices he's made / He lives on the edge, he's old enough to decide / His brother who wants to be him is just nine / He can do what he wants because it's his right / The choices he makes change a nine-year-old's life

Heroes are made when you make a choice

Little Mikey D. was the one in class who everyday got brutally harassed / This went on for years until he decided that never again would he shed another tear / So he walked through the door, grabbed a four-four out of his father's dresser drawer / And said I can't take life no more / And like that life can be lost / But this ain't even about that / All of us just sat back and watched it happen / Thinkin' it's not my responsibility to solve a problem that isn't even about me / This is our problem / This is just one of the daily scenarios which we choose to close our eyes / Instead of doin' the right thing / If we make a choice and be the voice for those who won't speak up for themselves / How many lives would be saved, changed, and rearranged? / Now it's our time to pick a side / So don't keep walkin' by / Not wantin' to intervene / Cause you wanna exist and never be seen / So let's wake up and change the world / Our time is now

You could be a hero (Our time is now) / Heroes do what's right / You could be a hero (Our time is now) / You might save a life / You could be a hero, You could join the fight (Our time is now) / For what's right, for what's right

These song lyrics are from, Hero, by Superchic[k]. It has been on repeat in my house and my car. I've been thinking about how easy it is turn aside from the hurt and pain in this world; to escape in books, or movies, or music, or friendships. And yet we don't really leave it behind. It's prevalent in everything we encounter in life - be it the written, spoken, or unspoken words. It's at work, at home, in our families and friends, on facebook and MySpace, in music and books, on TV and the internet - everywhere you look, and yet we repeatedly turn away. Do we really think that if we don't look too closely that it won't affect us? That it won't touch our lives? But it has, whether through our own pain or that of someone we care for. How many times are we going to turn away before we realize that we can't turn away?

I've been thinking of my brother, David; how his life and death have marked not only my life, but especially the lives of my younger siblings. I think of the lines about the older brother's choices altering the life of his younger brother, and it reminds me that the choices I make don't just impact me, they shift the lives of those around me - especially those who look up to me. I want to live my life honorably, looking directly into the pain and standing my ground to find the peace and joy that lay just beyond my sight. To be a positive influence on the lives of those around me. To stop taking the easy way out by disconnecting from the world. To be a hero - if only to myself.

marquee

So...it's been a while since I've posted anything, but this sign at the church down the street caught my eye:

Narrow mind and wide mouth do not mix.

It's simple, straightforward, and has sparked my mind to travel down multiple avenues in response to the truth of this statement. I don't by any means think this is limited to religious views, but rather that it applies to all areas of life. Just wanted to share and see if any ideas percolate in your mind. :)