Quote of the month: "When you celebrate the human spirit, you 
heal and enrich your own spirit." - Geela 

The other day I purchased a reference book that lists hundreds 
of calendar of events and special dates such as holidays.  To 
my surprise, I discovered that while there was a special day for 
practically everything under the sun, there was nothing about 
celebrating the human spirit, which is supposed to be so central 
to our existence.  I wondered if that was due to a narrow focus 
on one sliver of our lives and therefore the inability to see the 
big picture of life itself, or was it symptomatic of something 
much deeper.  For some people, it's too overwhelming to think 
beyond the "one day at a time" mentality - which reminds me of 
a bumper sticker I once saw which read: "Did you know that one 
nuclear bomb could ruin your whole day?"  

In a time where chaos is the order of the day and insanity is the
rule rather than the exception, designating a special National 
Day of Appreciation For The Human Spirit can actually be highly 
beneficial and a welcome relief for everyone, and not so much 
out of a sense of sentimentality, but rather out of necessity. 
It's a fact that a free and thriving society is dependent on 
co-existence, cooperation, acceptance of differences and a solid 
spiritual foundation.  Therefore, promoting positive concepts 
such as social awareness, a culture of peace and harmony, 
honoring of all living things, integrity and a wholesome values 
system, should not be viewed as a luxury but rather as a 
necessity.  

In a fast-paced society that's driven by a mentality of "more is 
better," extreme stress and lack of fulfillment are inevitable.  
 It's the effect caused by the pursuit of materialism, which is 
the by-product of the American Dream, which is perpetuated by 
the media and business advertisers that try to convince us that 
we must have a certain life style in order to be happy and 
fulfilled.  In the process of pursuing more stuff, we knowingly, 
or unknowingly, lose that part of our being that is able to 
experience real joy and fulfillment.  Sure, we have more "toys," 
but they only produce artificial joy.  We've all heard the 
expression "you can't take it with you," so what good does it 
do when there is less and less free time to do what's really 
important in life, like connecting with family and friends and 
making a meaningful difference in people's lives.  Sooner or 
later it becomes evident that no amount of money or trophies 
can fill the void created by a malnourished spirit.    

The real danger becomes even more obvious when extreme (and 
continual) stress collides with a lack of a solid spiritual 
foundation.  We then experience a sense of loss in practically 
every facet of our lives; from loss of clarity and productivity 
to a lack of security and direction.  But most importantly, we 
experience diminished joy of life, sense of fulfillment and 
family harmony.  

There is another good reason for creating a National Day of 
Appreciation For The Human Spirit.  It would help us gain 
perspective and reflect on what's really important in life and 
on our true identity, which is beyond all artificial boundaries 
such as religion, race and color.  These things function as 
divisive, rather then uniting forces that ultimately lead to 
hostility and wars both on the individual and global scale.  
Instead, on such a day the focus would become to celebrate 
the human spirit, and excellence in its truest form which is 
characterized by kindness, acceptance of differences (by 
recognizing that peace is not so much unity in similarity but 
rather unity in diversity), and the honoring of all living 
things.  

On that particular day, everyone's focus would be on 
accomplishing the most outstanding humanitarian work that could 
contribute to a positive future for all.  Efforts of people with 
high vision and courage, who can offer innovative solutions to 
the growing problems of our society, would be supported by 
influential people and the media, who would be providing them 
with the proper platform to share their ideas in order to 
accelerate the process by which change can be affected.   For 
one day even the media would exhibit altruistic actions by doing 
what's best for the community and ignore their ratings, with TV 
shows and programming that celebrate human excellence while 
promoting positive concepts that contribute to a positive 
future.  The result would be to restore balance, a sense of 
well-being, a sense of community and a real sense of security.  
Now that's real "fair and balanced news." 

Imagine coming together just for one day to recognize and 
celebrate both the human spirit and human excellence, with a 
sense of genuine acceptance for our differences.  Suddenly we 
would discover and appreciate the simple pleasures of life, 
such as making new friendships.  But the benefits wouldn't end 
there since it's a fact that true prosperity (from health to 
wealth) is a by-product of living in harmony with universal 
laws.  Perhaps then we could also see less senseless violence 
in our schools and on our streets.  Perhaps then our kids would 
once again gain a sense of direction and hope in an increasingly 
violent and the competitive world.  Perhaps then we'd see leaders
in government and business who exhibit the power of love (rather 
than the love of power), doing what's in the best interest of 
the community rather then what's politically correct.  

Celebrating a National Day of Appreciation For The Human 
Spirit would also help restore balance in our hectic lives by 
simplifying things and reexamining our obsession with "more 
is better."  It would also inspire us to reconnect with our 
spiritual roots and nurture our malnourished spirits by 
recognizing that as spiritual beings experiencing the human 
experience (and not the other way around), we can't really 
experience a life of meaning with purpose and real joy and 
fulfillment without the element of giving (making a meaningful 
difference in people's lives).  Perhaps having such a day would 
stimulate a shift in the American culture from "He with the most 
toys lives" to "He with the most joy lives" making it possible 
for everyone to achieve the American Dream, in its truest form, 
which is based on perspiration, innovation, risk and reward - 
where the focus would be on a wholesome values system, strong 
work ethic, integrity and community.  

However, for a goal to be achieved it has to be tangible and 
real enough, otherwise it functions like a picture on the wall 
(it's nice but not attainable).  Car dealers, for instance, 
encourage potential customers to take a test drive for that 
very reason, because it works.  Likewise, for positive concepts 
to stimulate transformation, it must first feel "real" and be 
experienced at least on some level, particularly for many who 
have never experienced those concepts and falsely believe that 
they are unattainable. That's why celebrating a National Day of 
Appreciation For Human Spirit can provide a golden opportunity 
for the mind to be stretched to a new dimension, and as such 
the mind can never go back to its original state.

But why wait for some artificial date to motivate you to do the 
right thing anyway?  As long as you let your conscious guide 
you, you know you can never go wrong.  So go ahead and be the 
change you wish to see in the world today and, who knows, 
perhaps through inner change we can finally experience an 
outer change as well.  Now that's good news for the heart too.   

Copyright © 2004, Geela
Author of "The American Dream"
http://www.Geela.com