RISING ABOVE

    The most celebrated rising in this part of the planet and at this time of year is that of Jesus Christ, depicted here by Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640), painted in 1611,1612.

    One of the most admired behaviors throughout history is that of rising above one's circumstances, and doing it with dignity rather than with revenge. Here are some of my favorites of the western world.

    Hinmatoowyalahtqit, or popularly known as Chief Joseph (1840-1904), led his Wallowa band of the Nez Perce in 1877 on a 1,170 mile run from the U.S. Army, refusing to give up their Oregon homeland for a forced relocation to Idaho. What was truly remarkable was Chief Joseph's continuing humanitarian attitude even in the aftermath of this horrible treatment of his people. Though the quotations of his philosophies that we often read are edited for Anglo consumption, these thoughts and attitudes from him really did exist.

beadwork portrait by Marcus Amerman of New Mexico

    Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948) could have led a comfortable life as a lawyer, but instead fought for the rights of immigrant Indians living in South Africa from 1894-1915. Upon returning to his native India, during the 1930's he famously led India's people out from under British colonial rule. He advocated for peace and human dignity for the rest of his life.

    Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel (b. 1928) initially tried to live a "normal" life after surviving the Holocaust. But after 10 years he began writing about those experiences, and eventually became a world renowned writer, lecturer, and advocate.

    A Catholic Sister of Albanian heritage, Mother Teresa (1910-1997) felt a calling in 1946 that she could not ignore. She began caring for the poorest of the poor in Calcutta, India, in their times of sickness and dying. The facts that she had no funding and these people were the "untouchables" did not stop her. Eventually her Missionaries of Charity came to serve poor people throughout the world.

by Hanaa Medhat of Egypt

    Cesar Chavez (1927-1993) was born in Arizona into a family of farm workers. After the family was forced to migrate to California to work in the fields, Cesar did a brief stint in the military, then returned to the fields until 1952. He began to advocate for the rights and working conditions of the migrant workers, eventually forming the United Farm Workers Union. Californians had never before been forced to think about the human cost of how their luscious fruits and vegetables got to the table.

illustrated by Robert Rodriguez of California

    A most unlikely hero, actor/comedian Danny Thomas (1912-1991) could have just rested on his laurels as a very successful TV star and producer in the 1960's. Born in Michigan to immigrant Lebanese parents, during his "starving artist" career phase he vowed to someday build a shrine to St. Jude, patron saint of lost causes. The eventual result was the world renowned St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, which serves seriously ill children no matter what their family's financial situation. The research there has helped significantly advance the survival rates in childhood cancer patients.

    Sometimes rising above comes in a single moment to a common person. One such moment that always brings me to tears was when in January of 1982 a commercial jet crashed into the frozen Potomac River near our nation's capital. People on the shore of the river watched as a survivor of the crash was near drowning in the freezing water. Passerby Lenny Skutnik peeled off his jacket and furiously swam out to the woman as she was going under, all seen on live TV.

    People who have quietly risen above are all around us. By looking at my own mother in her later life, you never would have imagined her childhood in the 1920's and 30's on a poverty stricken Indian reservation in South Dakota. I recently read that during the Great Depression there were reports of people starving to death on that reservation.

    Perseverance beyond war, poverty, prejudice, and evil will always continue. As Spring conquers Winter, we celebrate this.