Turning tragedy into inspiration.

Ah, memories. They can bring us joy, happiness and sometimes, pain and sadness, but they define who we are. For every experience in life, there is a lesson to be learned. We must set aside our anger, fears and doubts and open our eyes and hearts to new possibilities.

There is nothing, in my opinion, more tragic than allowing our moments of strife to beat us down instead of turning those experiences into something positive to benefit others.

I’m going to use John Walsh as an example. You know him as the creator and host of “America’s Most Wanted”. He became a face for human and victims’ rights, after his six year old son, Adam, was abducted and murdered by serial killer, Ottis Toole, in 1981.

We’ve all experienced the grief of losing someone we love, and we all know how devastating it can be but, we can let it cripple us, or we can stand up and fight, and inspire others to do the same.

Since it’s inception in 1988, “America’s Most Wanted” was responsible for the apprehension of over 1000 criminals until it was cancelled by Fox in 2011. Now, in over 20 years you may say a little over 1000 isn’t much considering CBS News claims a murder is committed every 60 seconds but, I like to believe, that is how many people were spared from becoming a part of those statistics.  I like the glass half full scenario.

I realize this is kind of dark for “On the Upside”, but there is an underlying positive message.

Margaret Mead once said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

If we want change, we must learn to unite, rise up and fight for what we believe in.

Are you ready, willing and able to do the same?