Looking for the Bright Spots
I heard Henry Musoma speak recently about how the “3 H’s” — humor, humility and humanity” are the guiding principles of his life. Dr. Musoma is a professor and gained some national notoriety when he babysat during one of his classes. A student called him before class to let him know that she couldn’t make it because the childcare for her baby had fallen through. Dr. Musoma encouraged her to bring the baby to class, and when the child began to get fussy he intervened by doing what is natural to parents- picking the baby up and carrying it to create calm. A student captured this on camera and it went viral on social media. A small act of kindness that made a big impression on all who saw it.
Helping a young single mother with a baby is a great example of humanity, which is one of Dr. Musoma’s principles. It has been a couple of months since I heard him speak, but the memory of it has resurfaced given all of the turmoil of recent days. Although I am disheartened by all of the bad news, I do focus on all of the very uplifting stories of people working together that we are also seeing. Most people want to be helpful, united, caring and supportive. There are unfortunately those who are divisive and want to tear down- but if we focus on caring and humanity as Dr. Musoma did, we have an opportunity to make the world a better place, if we keep our eyes open for the moments as he did in that class. There are, of course, people who have lived this in a big way such as Dr. Martin Luther King and Mother Teresa- but Dr. Musoma is a great example that we can live out our humanity in small ways every day.
Humility is key in this time of troubles. I have friends with views across the political landscape — and sometimes it is challenging to really see how someone can see the world so differently. That is playing out across our world today. Humility doesn’t mean that we have no standards or don’t have conviction about what us true or false or right or wrong. It does mean that we can listen, and be open to not being entirely correct on everything we think. I am helped by having people I love and respect with wildly different views than I have. I know they aren’t stupid or evil. Maybe they are confused- or maybe I am not seeing things clearly. Both are possible. As long as we are alive we have an opportunity to learn.
Humor is the one thing we all need right now. My oldest son was telling me last night that there has been a surge in popularity around the globe- since the pandemic began- of people watching comedy. Apparently there are also more comedians from different races, ethnic groups, political persuasions and religions which also seems like a good sign. I don’t really watch comedy but I am a fan of laughter for sure. I also think that we all need to learn to not take ourselves so seriously and to look for the joy that still exists in our world. It is most certainly there if we seek it.
