No shell too small

This past weekend was profoundly moving. On Saturday, March 24, I laced up my sneakers and took to the streets of South Beach with students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas and Miami Beach High to spread the message on hope, compassion, reason and love. 

It was a hot day – but something more powerful than the sun was keeping us warm. The energy and the peace coming from the crowd provided comfort for everyone in attendance. 

Although I was probably one of the few (if not only as far as I could tell) Canadians in the crowd, I felt united with the march goers without question. 

What we’re witnessing with the March for Our Lives movement is a powerful discourse premised on intelligence, optimism and heart. And if you think about it, the students we’re hearing from are still young. How is it that they can be so powerful in thought at such a young age? 

Granted, social media is helping enable their reach but more than this – the soul we feel as we hear and read their words ensures resonance.

As I marched in Miami on Saturday, I met the most hopeful of young ladies. All three students explained their ambitions for the world – if we can change how we speak about mental health, wellbeing and safety, then the path we call life will be lighter, they explained. 

I’m not sure about you, but I was blown away. These three students are giving us the courage to look hard at ourselves and question how we’re treating each other.

The March for Our Lives movement feels different because it very much is. However different, though, the fundamentals are not that unfamiliar.

In his latest book Enlightenment Now, Steven Pinker affirms that for two and a half centuries, people have used knowledge to enhance human flourishing. An advocate of reason and knowledge to advance human progress, Pinker asserts that the goal of maximizing human flourishing is a collective effort.

In other words, it is our responsibility to lead and help others lead a fulfilled life – we must always be of service to human ideals: health, happiness, freedom, knowledge, love, richness of experience. Change, however, can only be considered when ideals are “explained and defended in the language and ideas of the current era,” Pinker adds.

The idea of a more compassionate, safe and enriching life for all is being championed and defended by young adults – students – with voices so clear, it hurts. No longer can we ignore the power of a more hopeful tomorrow. Even if we’re miles away from what’s happening, we have a responsibility to change how we speak to each other, how we make each other feel, how we choose to listen to each other, while also balancing how we define what it means to live a meaningful life. 

Ahead of the closing remarks at the Miami Beach march, a student from Marjory Stoneman Douglas took the stage. He recounted his story – he walked his friend to his class on February 14 not realizing at the moment that what he was doing was walking his friend to his death. Despite the grief that followed, the young man explained how he’s found true comfort in reflection of that time. Those 10 minutes are now etched in time as the most precious he’s ever experienced. As he held the door open for his friend, they shared a deep laugh, exchanged smiles and left each other at peace.

Choking back my tears, I thought “this is it”. If we aren’t inspired by what’s being recounted, then I don’t know what can inspire us to defend the beauty of what makes life worth living it.

Peruse your local book store or read the latest thought leadership pieces – we’re all desperately searching for ways to be more hopeful, more positive and happier. What if we started looking at what’s directly in front of us? 

The tragedies we keep learning of shouldn’t be happening. If there can be some semblance of meaning, it’s that we owe it to ourselves to work harder to ensure others around us feel valued and loved.

For me, the Miami march experience was all about reason. And I’m hopeful that reason breeds reason. Pinker does too: “The deliberate use of reason is necessary precisely because our common habits of thoughts are not particularly reasonable.”

It’s about time we’re being nudged a little harder to start focusing on the moments we’re creating for others and ourselves. Be it at home, within our communities, or our workplaces, it’s up to us to guide the experiences we have, the feelings we remember.

I call this piece “No shell too small” because some of the speakers this weekend were as young at 11 years old.

What kind of wisdom can one possibly cultivate at such a young age? Turns out, a lot more than we could ever imagine. The world is a hopeful place.

The ideals of humanism, the art of pursuing the best for all, unite us and regardless of who leads the charge, the charge is being supported by all of us. Even the shortest of exchanges, as we heard from the Marjory Stoneman Douglas student who lost his friend, can change the world forever.

What are we waiting for to make someone in our life feel good? Don’t wait too long. Our moment is fleeting.

Let’s stay grateful – the students we’re hearing from are so brave and courageous and without their persistence, we’d probably all still be stuck on snooze. 

Images below show students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas and me on Saturday, March 17 in Miami. Students were raising generous donations and inviting people to design a ceramic tile of their own with a message of their choice. All tiles will be assembled together to form a memorial wall that will stand at their school.