Have you ever stopped and thought how it was that you got to this extraordinary time in history and not in another? Why was it that you were blessed to live in the incredible world that we have created up to this point? Of course, the world is by no means perfect, but do the bad things outweigh the good things? I would argue that there are so many more reasons to be happy than there are to be sad. We get caught up in our own creation, that we forget how miraculous creation is as a whole. It is so rare to be blessed with a fortunate human existence, when put in the grand scheme of things. You, me, Colby-Sawyer, it’s all just a dot in the existence of earth and of humans. We are small, yes; but to say that because we are small we therefore don’t matter in the grand scheme of earth is simply incorrect. We may be small, but we can have an incredible impact on the earth and an even larger impact on the course of history. We may be small, and represent a tiny piece of the history of earth; but we are currently in complete control of right now at this moment. We are currently in control of the present moment and therefore we control the future. Let’s learn to live a life style that allows us to pass on this world and all of its beauty to those who have yet to enter our realm of existence. To me, this means staying humble, being forgiving, being kind, and giving.

Staying humble is more than acting in a modest way. To be truly humble is to release yourself of greed; to understand what you need, and what you do not. To be humble is to also be gentile hearted and welcoming to all and any who enter your life. To be humble, is to forgive. We often take advantage of the power of forgiveness. Even more so, we forget to even exercise the power to forgive but instead we turn to revenge. Similar to a head-butt, no one wins with revenge; Gandhi once said “An eye for and eye leaves the whole world blind.” If you truly want to make someone learn their lesson, then when they hurt you, forgive them. Let go of your desire to “give them a taste of their own medicine” and instead understand that we all make mistakes. I’m not trying to convince you to take back that person that cheated on you in your last relationship, or to become friends with that person who stabbed you in the back during high school, but instead I would say that you should forgive that person for what they did so they are able to grow from the experience instead of being clouded by the fact that you are mad at them. More times than not, if you let go of a grudge, then the other person will be more likely to do the same, thus allowing you both to grow and learn from the situation. However if the other person does not let it go then so be it and allow them to come to their own realizations, at the least you have allowed yourself to heal and grow within yourself by letting go of the evil and corrupting energy that comes with holding grudges.

Along with humility and forgiveness, comes kindness. Being kind is essential to living a happy life. Being kind is to realize what you need and making sure that everyone has what they need. Being kind is then helping those who don’t have what they need get what it is they need. In Islam, the prophet Mohammed said “Allah is in service to a servant; as long as that servant is serving others.” Now whether you are religious or not, it is hard to dispute that there is a warm feeling that comes with giving that is incredibly inspiring to feel. Whether you believe in a higher power or not, there is something that travels with those who give. An aura of positivity and happiness follows those who give, and becomes infectious when they give to others. If we all have the motivation to give, then we can all adopt that aura of positivity and live in a world that is in harmony with itself, thus leaving the world a more fortunate place than we found it.