We are because we have more chances to explore.
Openness brings us to new possibilities. To new interactions.
And we become more apt to dare. To defy existing notions. To invent.
Creativity calls for risk taking.
Freedom opens the door to taking such risks.
Every person is endowed with a variety of potentials.
Freedom is an invitation to develop them.
Yet not every person chooses that path.
Many succumb to fear, freedom’s mortal enemy.
If there is a god, then freedom and creativity bring us close to him or her.
Every human being has to fight the darkness that comes with fear.
The darkness that whispers to us, ‘don’t question, accept, be quiet, don’t follow your intuitions.’
Of course, sometimes fear makes sense and saves our lives. But we have to tell the difference.
We don’t have to be loud to dare but we have to take risks and small steps count, too.
A small step today. Perhaps a larger one tomorrow.
But take steps we must, for otherwise are lives have no chance of attaining meaning.
The meaning of our existences blossoms from our taking risks.
Dare in your chosen fields. Dare in the sciences, in the arts, in your jobs, in your relationships, but dare to create!
Dare politically, too. Political protests are acts of creation.
Political systems that restrict us demean us. They rip from our souls our chance to enhance our personal meaning.
Leaders that tell us what to think do violence to our essence.
We are born to be free and yet in our world today – now 8 billion of us – a large portion live in bondage.
In bondage to people who think they are better than the rest.
In Iran, the governing mullahs think they have God’s ear, and the rest of the population better follow what they say.
In Russia today, a poll reports that 79% of the population approves of Putin.
That’s 79% of Russians who have chosen not to dare.
In China, Xi Jinping tells the rest of the Chinese that his ‘sublime’ thought is the essence of their lives. ‘Just follow me. I’ve done the thinking for you.’
There’s something very sad about going through life and not having dared.
When our time comes to die, it will be easier if we’ve dared. Easier to smile.
Others will remember us well. Perhaps, even find inspiration in the lives we lived.
So dear Iranians, courageous protesters, thank you for your daring.
And dear Russians, dare to replace the man who calls himself your leader.
And dear Chinese, dare to challenge Xi Jinping.
Small steps count. They, too, are acts of creation.
Fellow Americans, dare to keep and improve our democracy.
And thank you, Ukrainians, for the inspiration you have become to the world.
Winds of freedom are blowing from your efforts.
Oscar Valdes 