Be aware, be kind

Awareness. So much of our lives is spent becoming aware, or helping others be aware of something. Something important.

Today is AIDS World Awareness Day. Celebrities on Twitter are going silent to raise awareness and money for AIDS research. Governments around the world are making profound statements to encourage understanding and awareness and to promise research will continue to fight the dreaded disease. It's all good.

But Google is raising awareness of something else. Did you know that December 1 is the anniversary of the modern Civil Rights Movement in the United States? Fifty-five years ago Rosa Parks, a 'colored' 42-year-old woman in Montgomery, Alabama, refused to give up her seat to a fellow white passenger on bus #2857.

She didn't plan to be arrested. She didn't plan to start a movement. She was tired after a long day at work and felt it was her right to sit and if it took an overt action to make the point and speak out against oppression, it was time.

Perhaps that is why we have so many days for awareness. The time is always right to do the right thing and we don't know what the right thing is until we know the issues and concerns, and can understand and empathize with the plight of others.

Be aware. Be kind. As Plato said, "Everyone is fighting a hard battle."