123 years ago today, a beautiful baby boy came into the world … Like most other babies, his early days were full of joy and wonder. And as he grew older, like most other children, his days were filled with hope — he wondered about his future; he wondered whether his dreams would become his reality.

Like many children his age, this particular young man reveled in the beauty of nature, played happily with his friends, and even sang in his church choir.

When he was 10, however, the tragic death of his younger brother affected him severely. He became argumentative and morose, and instead of being treated with gentle Kindness, he was instead frequently blasted by his parents (primarily his father) with criticism and denigration.

His downward spiral picked up speed when his dream of becoming an artist was set back by his parents’ refusal to allow him to study that craft — instead sending him to a technical school. Here, the young man performed poorly on purpose, in the hopes that his father would see the futility of the technical schooling and, in his own words, “would finally let me devote myself to my dream.”

And he was not without talent. Indeed, the attached picture is one of his many fine works — works that show an appreciation for the Beauty of life; an appreciation that can only come from a heart that knows what it is to Love.

Alas, this dream did not materialize for our young hero … Indeed, his plummet continued, as he was repeatedly rejected by art schools, his mother then died at age 47, and he finally ended up homeless and alone. At this point, his rebellion turned more extreme — against not only his parents but apparently against humanity itself, a degeneration which eventually landed him in the throes of his country’s growing trend of radical political nationalism.

The rest, as they say, is history …

His name was Adolf Hitler.

Now I’m not going to sit here and attempt to to justify the choices Hitler made in his later life. I think every sentient being with a functioning conscience is aware that many of his adult decisions redefined repugnance.

What I will do, however, is remind all of you that, while an act or two of Kindness probably would not have stopped him from murdering millions once the gas chambers started their killing, and act or two of courageous Kindness shown to him a few years earlier would have done just that.

A kind word from his father encouraging his artwork … A kind word from an art school official instead of a rude rejection … A kind word from a passerby when he was begging for food … A kind word from a stranger when he was mourning his brother or his mother … Any of these courageous acts could have very well turned the tide and opened the door for Hitler to replace the path of murderer with a path of Peace.

Yes, Hitler chose the evil way, and he most certainly paid a terrible price for that choice. And yet he was NOT born “evil”, nor was he an “evil man” … He was simply a man in immense pain who made extremely cowardly and extremely evil decisions.

We like to look at our enemies as “other than” — we like to criticize & gossip about & point the scathing finger at those in our lives who don’t treat us the way we wish to be treated.

Indeed, it’s so much easier to point the one finger out at others than to have the humility to look in the mirror at our own failures.

We too have turned away from the homeless beggar …
We too have ignored friends in need … We too have denigrated politicians from “opposing parties” … We too have expressed fear of those who look & act differently than we … We too have sat back passively watched as our own government continues to commit acts of cruelty and injustice.

And yet, we too are intensely GOOD within — we too can make a HUGE positive difference in the lives of those around us. Indeed, we are fortunate indeed that we are presented every day with the opportunity to stop evil dead in its tracks.

For every “mean person” we meet has the potential to become another Hitler. And yet, when we have the courage to extend to those people the one thing they are so desperately seeking — the Caring Kindness that has been withheld from them for so long, then the “evil” within them will have no choice but to flee — it will have no choice but to let them reawaken to how wonderful it feels to be “nice” and “good” again.

LOVE has the guts to reach out to those least deserving of Love … In this way, we do our part … In this way, we remake “evil” into the change we wish to see.

So, … got LOVE?

“How fortunate for governments that the people they administer don’t think.” ~ Adolf Hitler

“Mankind has grown strong in eternal struggles and it will only perish through eternal peace.” ~ Adolf Hitler

Filed under: Wisdoms from the Journey by Scaughdt