An Endangered People Movement

It's interesting that there is an "endangered species" movement yet no endangered "people movement " while so many human beings continue to lose their lives in violence around the world.

Part of the problem may be that when there is a global crisis, most of us pull away from the world, instead of working to find a solution--if we want to see change, we have to become that change.

Just like Sergio Vieira de Mello.

Vieira de Mello was the UN representative who was violently killed in Iraq a few months ago. Samantha Power has written a biography about the man who served in Vietnam, Lebanon, Cyprus, Cambodia, Bosnia, Rwanda, Kosovo and East Timor before arriving in Iraq. She recently spoke about the qualities that made Vieira de Mello so special and the urgent need for more people like him in the world today:

1) Adaptability His greatest quality was most likely his ability to adapt to any situation ( another Change Agent--someone who can handle any change...one of us)
2) Dignity He always took the time to examine the ways in which he was thinking about a situation.
3) Detachment He removed himself from the fear and the hype.
4) Humility He remained humble even as he achieved great things.
5) Awareness He was aware of the complexity of each situation that he encountered, yet wasn't paralyzed by difficult changes and the things that needed to be done.

We should each pick one of these characteristics and become more of it in our own lives. The world desperately needs people to navigate the crises and chaos all around us with strength and grace.