Dr. William A.
Petit Jr., right, survived the 2007 attack in which his daughters, Hayley and
Michaela, and his wife, Jennifer Hawke-Petit, were killed.
Credits:
Muldoon
Photography, via Associated Press
·
By Maggie
DellaRoc...,
One thing that
Dr. William Petit told me about was the true meaning of courage. As he re-lives
the nightmare from the loss of his family in the
When I
spoke to Dr. William A. Petit, Jr. back in April of 2009, Dr. Petit touched my
heart when he defined the meaning of courage. In his own words; - "I suspect that there are many definitions -
like the one that my youngest daughter had on her Facebook page, "You must be
the change you wish to see in the world.- M.
Gandhi. I start and then stop and then re-start nearly every day
since July 23, 2007. I hope that courage is not the lack of fear -
but the ability to move forward in spite of your fears. In moving forward
you then can do as Gandhi suggested and try to be the
change." - Dr. William A. Petit, Jr.
Through so many
humanitarian efforts and beliefs, it takes courage to help one another
too. That is where the word ENCOURAGE comes in. If we can encourage
someone, no matter what it is, we are actually giving the gift of Courage; a
gift that they know will empower their hearts, minds and souls. We are living in
a world of unjustifiable meaning, but how can anything be justified, explained
or understood. Many say they "understand", but do they? It takes COURAGE
to understand. It takes COURAGE to justify the unjustifiable. It
takes COURAGE to explain how we truly feel inside when we are faced with the
unexpected. In today's society, we live by routine. But it is ok to break
our routine once and a while and take the moment to listen to the words that
silence gives to us. If for one day, everyone can take the time and listen
to the silence, they will hear that time well spent by their choice, will bring
an attitude of love.
Life presents us
with challenges, detours, and stumbling blocks as we live each and every
day. Wherever there's an obstacle, that we must rise above, COURAGE helps
us overcome it with an Attitude of Love. Sometimes we may feel ourselves
misguided and fully "out of sync". But when we have courage; courage makes
us think. Courage brings to us a fresh new day, a chance for a new
beginning, better than the day before. Every day is a new experience, but
there is one thing to keep in mind. By having the gift of COURAGE, we can
make a difference too many, no matter if the trials, trivia’s and unexpected are
Big or Small.
As Dr. William
Petit once again goes through another trial reliving the day he lost his family
through a vicious act of cruelty, my prayers are with him as with thousands
around the world. Nobody deserves cruelty, especially the acts of the men who
invaded Dr. Petit’s home and murdered his family.
To a Man of
courage: This Column is in Dedication to Dr. William A. Petit,
Jr.
Dr. William
Petit Re-lives Another Trial of The Cheshire Home
Invasion | September 21,
2011