Knowledge and understanding are necessary requirements for any fighter of the just cause.  The more we know, the better we are able to solve problems on the micro and macro levels.  The better we understand helps us to connect more strongly with the parties involved.

If there is one bolting lesson that I have learned in my life, it is that being able to understand my counterparts, strangers, friends and all those around me has diffused every situation, led to exciting adventures, led me to meet new people, and make sense of the kaleidoscope we call life - one small step at a time!

Through our knowledge comes power.  With power comes responsibility.  Once we know, it would be in bad conscious to ignore.  There is much truth to the saying, "ignorance is bliss".  Life would be great out on a beach spending my days drinking Margaritas and sunbathing, but we live in a globalized world, and we are forced to know things whether we want to or not.

We have a responsibility to take action in some form to help make a difference in the world of which we are a part.  Whether it is taking on a cause, recycling, or donating to a charity - different things work better for different people, we must not be armchair revolutionaries!

We live in a precious world, chock full of interesting people, beautiful wildlife, and anything our hearts desire.  Let us take up some of the responsibility to help keep the world special.

Some people are born knowing that they are destined to do great things; others have no clue until they stumble upon it, but each person has it within themselves to make a huge impact.

I challenge each of you to go, and find out your true potential!

I want to tell you all about one specific act, one of the few which I do believe was completely selfless, which was quickly forgotten in the midst of the larger story.  I can not give exact facts, as the news only broadcast the story for a very short period of time, and I was not able to find the story in later searches.

The event occurred during the Chechen takeover of the Russian opera house a few years ago.  In the middle of the crisis, a young Russian woman decided to take it upon herself to attempt to remedy the situation.  She was not involved with security officials, and had no family or friends being held hostage in the opera house.  The girl simply wanted to help and believed that she could work with the involved parties.

She managed to walk right into the opera house, unarmed, with her hands raised.  She attempted to tell the Chechens that she was there to help, however the hostage takers believed that she was working for the Russians, and killed her.  That's the story.

What this girl did, may not have made a difference in the crisis situation at the opera house, but what it did do, was make a difference in my life.  I truly believe that if I saw that story, and it made that strong of an impact on me, then it must have done the same thing for others.  Kinda like the butterfly effect.

What that girl did made me think about what I do in my life to make a difference.  It made me more conscious of my every day actions.

This girl's story may not have been "important" enough to be better covered by the media, but it was so important to me (and I believe others), that I have told the story over and over, in the belief that it will make an impact on more people.  The girl probably had no idea that her death caused an awaking in a girl in the other side of the world (and who knows where else), which has been passed on to others over time.

I do not believe that her death was in vain, and I do believe that her act was selfless.  She made a difference in the lives of so many others, simply by walking into an opera house.