You Can Run, But You Can't Hide

You are likely wondering what is this photo?  I snapped it almost a year ago while eating breakfast out with my family.  Daughter of the year No. 2's coat apparently provided a wonderful shroud under which to hide...from the sun...and play her beloved Nintendo DS.  

Where does this photo lead me?  Well, I guess it leads me to the subject of hiding.  We all know what it is like to hide, whether from someone you don't want to see or something you don't want to face.  However, I was reminded this week how hatred can rear its head and it truly is ugly.  I'm not sure about you, but I was raised to believe in the human spirit and the goodness of other people. This eternal optimist is quite frankly, immensely let down when I learn some people are just pure evil, right to their core.  

I've worked hard as a parent to raise my children to be kind and not harm others.  We've squashed statements that shouldn't be said.  We've used phrases like "use your nice touches" and "we don't hurt our friends" all in an attempt to raise a human being that will, above all else, be kind.  Yet it troubles me where these lessons go when we grow into adulthood.

Daughter of the year No. 2 suddenly began having mysterious stomach issues a few years ago.  They amazingly went away over summer break.  Then, they made a quick return when school started again.  I was calling her doctor, my mother, anyone I could find to get advice on the stomach issue .... and then it came to me.  There was no stomach issue.  She was just fine.  However, there was a bravery issue.  You see, daughter of the year No. 2 is a rule follower (well, most of the time) and she was very bothered by her classmates who fell outside those boundaries.  Instead of going to school and facing these children who were sometimes mean, she would have rather pulled her coat over her head and stayed in bed all day.   

Then came an amazing teacher!  The world's most amazing teacher I think, who taught us all that we need to face these things with bravery.  Hatred will exist and many people will always forget to treat others as they would want to be treated.  I can't change that.  What we can change is how we react to it.  And, the most important thing she taught me is that we can create boundaries to prevent people from hurting us with their hatred.  We don't have to tolerate it.  

The truth is that hatred does and will continue to thrive, regardless of how hard I work against it.  Perhaps that darned eternal optimism leads me to envision a world where it simply doesn't exist.  Where I don't wipe away anyone's tears because they have been hurt.  Where I don't turn on the television and hear about it throughout the world.  I snapped the photo I did because of daughter of the year No. 2's previous tendency to "hide."  To push all bad things aside and not face them.  To not discover the brave person she had inside her the entire time.  What has made me happiest are the steps we have taken this year, both daughter of the year and I, on our path to bravery.  It's certainly a neverending journey.  

Now, when daughter of the year No. 2 hides under her coat, I smile knowing it's just to keep the sunshine off her DS.