“He who stands for nothing will fall for anything”

~Alexander Hamilton~

Marla started out the day thinking, “I can take on new goals, maybe this close to the new year a good resolution or two would be good”. Not a bad a idea. Maybe now with things getting a bit better she could actually breath a sigh of relief. Maybe.

But her hopes were dashed when she stepped out to walk the dog and grab the paper. Another big corporation is planning to attach fees just for paying your bill. Verizon slaps customers with new fees just as we face a new year. Wasn’t it just sixty days ago that the bank slapped on fees? And what about the credit companies? Aren’t they getting greedy too? Marla’s head was spinning, she was tired. Every day for that past three years a burdened dark cloud has set over her as the Recession deepened. She thought that with the new year she could make a fresh start but now it is obvious that her days will be filled with financial worries as the new year begins.

She thought about it over breakfast. Just a simple cup of coffee with a bowl of Raisin Bran seemed to help to clear her head. She started thinking of her project she was working on about Japanese Internment camps during WWII. What struck her about this project was the Japanese-American community found that under the most dire of circumstances as a citizen they relied on gamon. What was mistaken for weakness was perseverance, a quiet determination so that they could get through that horrible experience. And she knew enough to know that yes, they did endure and were released. Gradually rebuilding their lives focusing on what they could do instead of the overwhelming negative experience. It would take decades before the government would offer an apology and a financial recompense. So these citizens just kept on with perseverance.

After she laid the paper down and thought about it Marla too, decided it was time for a inner strength. She needed to have conviction. Things she could believe in, things she could do to make a difference in her own life as well as have a positive affect around her. If it had not been for the economy faltering she may not have found herself affected so negatively by all the anger around her. The only way really to start anew is with conviction and now Marla thought, “with reliance on gamon surely I can turn my own disillusionment into endurance”.

She rushed to grab her laptop to start writing down her ideas. “What is important to me”, she thought. As the thoughts began rushing through her fingers they started to take form. One thing she knew is that she couldn’t control the economy but, she could control her conviction in things she believed in. She wrote things down that were important to her. The list began with, child abuse awareness, animal abuse awareness, hunger and the homeless. These are things she could at least support and find ways to create awareness. What she had learned about the Japanese-Americans during the internment period was they did not start anger groups nor did they incite mob action. Okay she wrote, “broad generalization” because someone was not just going to persevere. But on the whole they really tried.

So after finishing writing down her ideas and finishing her cup of coffee to clear her head Marla decided that yes, the new year will be better. My new resolution this year she said aloud is, “to practice gamon and have conviction”. And so with that settled off she went to start the day.

Fall seven times, stand up eight.

~Japanese Proverb~