Kill Kony and another “ evil ” man will fill the power-void left behind ; a man even more determined than Kony to succeed where he failed . Punish Kony and his self-esteem will take yet another hit , making it that much more likely that he will commit even worse atrocities in the future . Ignore Kony and he will keep on keeping on … But openly and courageously extend Kony acts of Compassion , and he will have no choice but to re-awaken to who he truly IS underneath all that “ evil ” — to the pure , happy , loving being he was in his own early childhood .
Now , even though I have successfully utilized this method literally thousands of times over the past eight years of my own life , and even though it has always worked , I humbly admit that it indeed might not “ work ” on Joseph Kony . So , if punishing him is counterproductive , and Forgiving him might fail , what are we to do for the children ? Fortunately , the answer is an easy one — START RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE !
There are thousands of children in your own neighborhood desperately in need of Kindness — there are thousands of children right nearby who are desperately yearning to be Cared for ; to be given a smile , to be listened to , to be played with for even five minutes . And the best ting is , you don ’ t need to cross the ocean and invade another country to do something for these children . They are your own kids — they are your neighbor ’ s kids — they are the kids you pass on the street on the way to work .
I know , it ’ s so much easier to simply sit at home and get ticked off at people like Joseph Kony ; to ask our inept governmental “ leaders ” to do something about it because Kony is too far away for us to be of any real assistance … Of course , the children in our own neighborhoods are hurting just as badly , and they are just as worthy of Love as those suffering in Uganda .
Yes , it is indeed difficult to face our innate fear of intimacy and DO SOMETHING for children — to volunteer at a local Boys / Girls Club , to extend warmth to our own kids , to smile and maybe give a compliment to a child we meet in a store or on the street . And yet it remains most true that we CAN be the change we want to see . Indeed , if we truly want things to get better for our children , we are going to have to be that change .
Compassion is a verb … … got Compassion ?
“ I would hunt in the night for the face of my fear and take it home to tea .” ~ Louise Cloutier
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