THERE IS NOTHING WE CAN DO

My family and I have been lucky enough to have the opportunity to travel to various countries, meet different people and learn about their cultures.  Nonetheless, in every region we constantly hear over and over the same phrase: “Sorry, we can not do it” or “There is nothing we can do about it." 

Funny but every time I hear this phrase "There is nothing we can do about it," I get mad and my blood boils; I become a pressure cooker... My wife and kids always tell me to relax and to have more patience.

Yes I should listen to my kids and be more tolerant; However I always tell them, to be patient is completely different than to be passive.

Patience is the level of endurance one can take before negativity. It is also used to refer to the character trait of being committed.

Passive is accepting or allowing what happens or what others do, without active response or resistance.    

Passiveness is something that Nesrin and I are entirely against. We persistently preach to our kids not be passive about a situation. If they do not agree with something, they should speak out.

In our lives we have stood up for what we believe is right in numerous circumstances and so often, that our friends believe that we are close to insanity. Ha, ha.

As a society we are taught NOT to react. We are taught to become blind out of fear or “what would people say.”  We are afraid of retaliation!

Individuals are often afraid to speak out about problems or concerns because they are afraid they will make a person, a government, or an organization angry which may result in retaliation or no one will listen to them.

Many times I have not reacted to situations that I believed they were unjust. I did not have the guts, willingness or energy to fight. Until this day, those moments have remained in my memory.

To fight the injustice is the right thing to do, it is like standing up to a bully at school. 

Often I listen to parents talking about their child’s situation at school; how they get pushed around or are made fun of and simply dismiss it as something that will pass.

This I completely disagree with; it never just goes away.  It can result into 2 things: one, kids learn to be submissive and second they stay scared forever, their self-esteem gets bruised because they did not confront their abuser.

- I remember when I was in kindergarten an older kid snatched a peach from my hand; a fruit that I had been saving for my brother. This event bothered me forever. How can this big guy steal from a little kid?

For the next few years I watched him walking through school all puffed up, being abusive and taking advantage of other kids. I thought, "It is not right and somebody should do something about him."

Lucky me, one day during recess I was able to collect my debt. We were in 2nd or 3rd grade when my archenemy stole the ball from us… this time I was not going to let it pass. I ran, jumped and clutched onto his legs. To my surprise he fell on his arm that had a cast. He got up crying and asked me, “Why would you do that?” I responded, “Why would you take our ball?”

All my classmates were so proud of me; I was their superhero!

- Something that we constantly talk to our kids about is PRIDE. Pride gives you the confidence to rebel against injustice.  We teach our kids to be straightforward and have conviction in their beliefs…  

"Nothing we can do" is the WRONG mind set.  There is always something that we can do!

"A passive person is a person without a soul, without the willingness to live!"  - Mauricio Fraga-Rosenfeld

“Patience is not passive, on the contrary it is concentrated strength.”  - Bruce Lee
                                                              

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