Writer’s Note: What I am about to write is maybe a little strange, but this comes as a result of following my instincts and my feelings. And as a blogger, the bottom line for me is that there’s someone out there that will find some value in my ability to go out of my comfort zone to expose my feelings. So, best to you.
The fact: I was reading a comment strain on a popular blog and read a contribution from someone I don’t know who had something pretty negative to say about someone I have looked up to in the business world. Don’t ask me who, I’m not going to say, I don’t believe that’s relevant to the point nor in the spirit of the point I’m trying to make. Just maybe you’ve had a similar experience.
I have to admit, I have gone through my episodes of hero worship, and you know that (if you’ve been following my blog) that Michael Savage helped straighten me out in that arena. But there’s always something in my personality that wants to believe in the best in people. Call me naive, call me whatever, that’s the way it is, but that’s why my reading this person’s comment did hurt, I have to admit.
And so if you’ve resonated with what I’ve just written, maybe this is for you.
Inspiration beyond the darkness. Sunset beyond the Golden Gate (1-5-14). photo by Challen Yee
When a Role Model gets dragged through Mud
When you look up to somebody as a role model, and then you hear some ethical issues that person had in the past you may experience some negative feelings: defensiveness, anger, resentment, disappointment, or other strong negative emotions for either the person who reported the incident or even for the person who you look up to.
My recommendation for you, is don’t stay in that state. It’s non-productive if not outright destructive. It’s better to learn to forgive and release yourself from pain’s destructive effects.
God puts all kinds of people on this Earth with all kinds of lives and backgrounds. None of us are perfect and we all have come from some form of tough circumstances. We go through life yet struggle sometimes with situations where others will get hurt, and maybe it involves differences between our public personas and our inner insecurities.
It’s a reminder to each of us, that even though we are rightfully inspired by the good works of others, we ought not to envy them or put them on a pedestal.
In the Bible, Jonah tried to escape doing what God instructed him to do. Aren’t we all guilty of this crime in one for or another? After some storms, a bunch of mad sailors and a whale ride, and then being vomited out onto a beach, Jonah finally proceeded to do the work to redeem a city of people.
Perhaps more relevant is the story of Moses. If you follow the Bible at all, you might have heard of this man, who God used to help liberate the Jewish people from slavery in Egypt, parted the Red Sea, and had to lead the people around a desert for a generation.
I don’t think that we, if you happen to follow the Bible, hesitate to understand the great role Moses played in God’s plan. (Heck, Charlton Heston played him in Cecil B. Demille’s big movie… That’s some credibility).
As great as Moses was in God’s plan, God did not let Moses enter The Promised Land. Why? Because Moses made some mistakes, he even in state of believing he was freeing the people (as a younger man working in accordance to his own will and not God’s) went and murdered an Egyptian slave driver. Murdered someone. That’s pretty heavy, right?
The point is, God leaves messages for us through the evidence in people’s lives, but it’s not our job to personally judge them but we can personally learn from their mistakes.
If you need a simple proof just think about a piece of music you are really inspired by. It lifts your soul, reminds you of your happy memories, it carries you to a higher place. The music does its magic, and it does it despite any differences you may have with the personal belief system or life mistakes of the performer or the composer.
Role models are important, even learning from their mistakes, our learning processes would be much slower without them. Although you may greatly respect the other person for their work, do not believe yourself inferior to your role model as a human being. You are gifted with a soul and spirit that is capable of achieving great works and that potential given to you by God is the great equalizer among humankind.
Do not envy those who you perceive in a better spot than you or look down on those you perceive as below you, since both suggest insecurity. Achieving this state prepares you for more openness and readiness for growth to be the person you were meant to be. And learning from your role model’s mistakes can be even more valuable than their successes.
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Another tough blog…
I’ll see you… on the next page
Challen Yee