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A spirit that is not afraid

OPINION: Turtle Time

There has been a time in my life where I have questioned what it truly is to be generous. To act in complete selflessness for someone or something, in this case, a noble cause. Is it possible? Or are we to live in constant obscurity from inevitable ego? I’ve witnessed many actions I deem inherently as such in my short lifetime of 18 years, but nothing so blatantly charismatic and tender as the man who directly opposed the social order of traffic midst a sultry summer highway as the deliverer of justice and demigod of goodwill.

On Saturday Aug. 22 around 9:25 am, a turtle finds itself lost in the middle of an unforgiving highway. As cars speed with drivers unaware, the turtle sits still in jeopardy, obviously shocked by the remoteness of the bare, steaming asphalt and the serial hits of cacophony streaming from near-death car to turtle interactions.

But no more does the turtle have to wait unattended, to live in perpetual shellshock. For the savior has come. A man, overall tall and slender with a modest build of chest and thighs, makes an appearance, accompanying him long locks of wavy hair that extends down to his upper nipple. Calm, yet mighty, the man mirrored the position of his vehicle with the turtle from behind, to prevent further risk of danger forcing others to circumvent. He then sprints out of the vehicle and sweeps the turtle to refuge to a nearby lake at the opposite side of the highway. He returns to his vehicle, and drives away, going about his day as if nothing happened.

What seems to an entrained eye as a pointless story that carries little weight is actually a narrative of biblical gravity with inherent, fundamental perfections in the realm of morality. The fact that I am writing about the event further adds to it’s causal worth, how even one practically unnoticeable event has the potential to be noticed, and add on to the positive air for the world. Branching out to our personal sphere, it’s important to keep in mind and reminder ourselves from time to time that our actions, negative and positive big or small, all breeds consequences. We often focus on our big actions, since we can easily analyze at the macroscopic level without effort; therefore, we become distracted, driven inwardly towards an increasing ignorance as we fail to understand the gravity of our seemingly microscopic, negligible actions. We continue to bear pain and to blame things instead of rightly taking full personal responsibility.

Doing the ‘wrong’ thing is inevitable, but that does not mean we should accept them and go about our day justifying with dirty mirrors. We must strive to do the right things, despite the physical magnitude so that greatness of character accrues closer and closer, step-by-step, towards personal perfection. We may or may not be rewarded for our actions externally, but with a more conscious approach to activity, an internal reward always manifests. Let us take example from the stranger that is yet familiar, for his magnanimous character, resides in each and every one of us. You decide; whether to hide or exemplify - get out there and multiply.

Today, Saturday Aug. 22, I see.


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