We're Just Ordinary People
Inspired this week by both Wael Ghonim, the Google executive who helped organize Egypt’s initial protest and Paulo Coelho, the author of The Witch of Portobello, I have come to rest on the idea of belief in the minds of ordinary people.
Ordinary: Of common everyday kind
If you consider what has happened in Egypt, about the change that is being created from the effort stemming from one ordinary man propelled into leadership; by the belief of ordinary men and women in his same cause allowing them to act and demonstrate as their hearts dictate, it’s quite a remarkable feat. Such conviction should not ever be dismissed, especially in today’s time when everyone’s head is down attentive to their glowing electronic gadgets. Texting. Gaming. Phoning. Mapping. Searching. Whatever. It’s only be the belief in themselves and their cause that lead to Egypt’s change and their activities, spurring it on as they were inspired by the illustrated possibility following the decommissioning of Tunisia’s government.
Conviction: firmness of belief or opinion
Again consider for a moment the energy behind belief and how it can fuel the human mind to contemplate incredible things and attempt phenomenal feats. Our history lessons prove that convictions have sparked major global historical events as shown by an Indian lawyer, a runaway slave, an Argentinean doctor, a Massachusetts teacher, etc. Yet here we are, stuffing ourselves daily with phantom doubts and insecurities fed to us by those who not only mean us the least amount of good but also in the name of love.
The Witch of Portobello: A novel by Paulo Coelho
I recently moved an hour away from my job and now spend the majority of my drive listening to audio books to keep my mind engaged. For the last two months I’ve heard: Hannibal Rising by Thomas Harris; The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry; A Mercy and Tar Baby by Toni Morrison; Cinnamon Kiss and The Wave by Walter Mosley; The #1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith and The Witch of Portobello by Paulo Coelho.
The Witch of Portobello begins in a way that makes me cringe a bit. I usually avoid reading novels that clearly try to relay a message to a reader under the veil of a story. However, this novel, though the veil is remarkably transparent, is engaging still because of its provocation of an examination my own personal philosophies and laws. I wasn’t allowed to be a spectator of the story and I’m forced to stare down the path of my own way of existing in the world and the possibility of change and strength and growth… if I only believe.
