By MaRico Tippet
One of my favorite TV shows is NCIS where Mark Harmon plays the character of Leroy Jethro Gibbs. As a Federal Agent, Gibbs has a set of rules that he expects his team to follow as they solve their varied cases. Currently there are 51 rules from Gibbs.
Well, over the last 6 months I have been writing rules for myself that I will pass down to my kids about how to live a congruent life. These rules are meant to be a guidepost or litmus test as I go through this journey we call Life. My Rule #2 is to Question Everything. Do not just accept things as they are presented. Look beyond the surface, ask questions, go deeper, find the real meaning and the impact on you and those around you. This got me to thinking about not only my current circumstances but all that is going on around us. Every day we hear the number of new Covid cases reported. There still is turmoil and riots going on in cities around the country. Many in our community are not working. How will parents be able to work when their kids are home for schooling? All this and some are having health crises not related to COVID.
These are tough times. There is a lot of uncertainty. People are really struggling. But despite all this there is one thing I am certain of: We will get through this! What I am writing here on this day may not console some. But that is okay. Some of us are in the thick of it. It can be hard to zoom out and look at the bigger picture. And there is a bigger picture.
As I was questioning the current state of our community, our country and even the world I was reminded that it is, always has been, and always will be that in times of our greatest adversity we find our inner strength. We learn to lean on each other. This thought led me down a path of hope. One with a vision for our future. What if Covid and the current climate could lead us to unite and bring our communities and our nation together? What if it makes us grow stronger? What if we learn of all the places we are weakest, and we are now able to act and fortify those weaknesses? What if we learn a new way of doing business? What if it’s better than before? What if we make the choice to look at the world from a different lens and take real steps to forge a better future?
With the current economic uncertainties and the limitations due to COVID-19, many people are being forced to find new paths. We must not lose hope, we must not buckle under the current pressures we face. I am reminded of a story about Hellen Keller, losing her sight and hearing as an infant yet she went on to be an acclaimed author, lecturer, and advocate for the handicapped. She was once asked how being deaf and blind impacted her life. Her response was it impacted her life in a positive way because she may have lost her sight but never lost her Vision. Let us not lose our Vision. We will look back in 5, 10, or 15 years from now and read about the great success stories born from the Pandemic of 2020. Will you be among them? The choice is yours!
