"[The world has] historically looked at security in a traditional and maybe too narrow way: demobilizing the belligerents, trying to reintegrate the ex-combatants — a military approach to security. But we need to look at other indicators of real human security. Are girls returning to school? Are women safe in their communities? Is civil society occupying some space? Because that is the test — security of the people, not just whether warring factions have laid down their arms". Louise Arbour, President of International Crisis Group, 18 Nov 2009

I chose this quote not only because I really liked it, but because it really sparked me to think about many things. Not only about peace & conflict resolution and how security should be measured by more than simply laying down arms, but how lucky we are not to be in a conflict zone. It made me think not only how dangerous it is to have such narrow focus and how much can be lost by forgetting to look at the bigger picture. But more than that, it reminds me of the importance of listening, observing the reality and being compassionate even to the smallest things.

It also reminds me how complex the global issues we are all working on are – children, health, human rights, peace… There are no magic bullets, there are no magic formulas. The problems at times seem so daunting and so intractable that it is easy to become overwhelmed by them. So what can we do? I always believe that we cannot give up, that’s for sure. If you choose not to do anything now, you will indeed never get to where you want to get; if you give up today, you might not have the trouble of trying, but you also won’t have the glories of achieving your goal; if you choose not to start today, you cannot expect to be there in 10 years. If nothing is done, if the humming bird is not trying to put up the fire and setting an example for others to do the same, we cannot expect things to be better in the future.

Does it sound crazy that I thought of all that just by reading a simple quote? Well, I heard once a quote which said that being crazy is expecting to get a different result when you are doing the same thing. Let’s not be crazy. We can and we must do our share. As small as it can be, we should always try. Listen to others – try to understand how they think. Explore different perspectives – put yourself in other people’s shoes and you will be amazed at how much you can learn from others. Be compassionate. Try your best. Be your best…