The Human Spirit

The tragedy of WWII and the Cold War Culture were major themes of my Berlin site-seeing. Visiting the Berlin Wall and Checkpoint Charlie was very nostalgic. I have also visited many monuments and museums and it is there that the sight-seeing begins to transcend into a deeper reflection. 

We visited the Warsaw Uprising Museum this morning. It is a small, interactive museum documenting Polish resistance during the WWII and Communist periods. The many displays present poignant, personal stories of ordinary people doing extraordinary things; many of them were but children assuming the roles of heroes. It's hard to imagine how these men, women and children could do what they did; occupying sewers while maintaining a love for their country and a resilient spirit.

We often talk about character at Molina. It the testing of our character that often defines exactly who we are as a person.  But, our twenty-first century lives in Oak Cliff are quite different from the lives of these Polish people in the midst of the twentieth century. 

How would you respond under such extreme conditions? 

We often complain about very minor conflicts or difficulties in our lives that would be no more than a minor annoyance to the heroic people memorialized in these museums. 

As you walk the halls of Molina, do you see any heroes?  

Could you rise above adversity while hiding in the sewer?  

Here's what I think:

Our character is tested every day and we often don't know how we will respond to each of these minor little quizzes. Sometimes we are disappointed by our responses but maybe it's the sting of this disappointment in ourselves that we might use as an important steppingstone to our true character when that defining moment finds us.  

So, yes.  As I walk the halls of Molina High School, I do see some heroes and I am confident that humanity will surely rise.