There is the perspective about what are the defining characteristics of a human being compared to the other (non human). Some will retreat to the world of the esoteric, others draw from life experience laced with a commonsense perspective.
For over a decade the blogmaster supported by members of his household have been motivated by the importance of keeping HOPE alive in our personal life. It is a simple yet powerful philosophy to abide by – without kindling that flame of hope there is no basis upon which we can hope to innovate and adapt to sustain an acceptable way of life, to realize our dreams.
The imperfection of man given the fallibility strand which helps to define us makes us vulnerable to being overwhelmed with the vicissitudes of life. This will give rise to hopelessness, frustration and a myriad of other susceptibilities. During moments when hope dims some members of the human species are able to fuel recovery from an indomitable spirit that resides in some of us. A flickering flame that always guards the darkness that surrounds us.
Some are critical of Winston Churchill for how he operated in a bygone era with good reason. However for some of us that rely on the power of oral and written communication to awaken the understanding in the audience it serves- his first speech as Prime Minister to the House of Commons on May 13, 1940 supports a valid point.
This extract from Churchill’s speech resonated and served to sway public support for a war that had taken its toll on Britain from the marauding Germans during the second world war:
We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France,
we shall fight on the seas and oceans,
we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be,
we shall fight on the beaches,
we shall fight on the landing grounds,
we shall fight in the fields and in the streets,
we shall fight in the hills;
we shall never surrender, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this Island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God’s good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old.
Barbados is facing one of its most challenging periods. It is an easy task to surrender to the emotions that control hopelessness and despair within us. The capacity to break free from self talk and old behaviours that have served us well up to now require a differential human capacity. The human experience supports a view that a minority element in the population is always charged with finding a way to keep hope alive in the wider group.
There is also the suggestion a human being must be made to believe in something to give purpose to his existence. Some in the BU family will make the predictable interpretation. For some life’s journey is fuelled by transactional thoughts, for others there is the overarching importance of injecting the philosophical to how we guide our lifes.
This is a figurative call to Arms to Barbadians everywhere.
The blogmaster invites you to join the discussion.