Champaign County's Crucial Challenge

Oscar Smith, Publisher/ May 27,2021

The loss or injury of Police Officers on duty devastates a tight knit local community. Champaign County and the surrounding region is ailing. As Publishers we are honored to provide a community based forum to help residents understand thier role in bringing stability and healing. With God's help, HIP Champaign continues to be at the ready to give our very best.

 While Mandela swam through treacherous, shark-ridden waters, many times against the tide, he knew where he was headed. And he never stopped swimming.

He inspired millions during his lifetime, and will go on to inspire generations to come. We will forever be humbled by a man who could endure so much suffering and adversity, and yet despite it all, go on to change so many minds, and open so many hearts.

He has become the beacon for the concept of resilience, the innate power in each of us to not only endure but persist in the face of hardship and adversity. And while most of us won't face close to the challenges that Mandela himself faced and endured, we all face struggles and stressors of our own, some minor and some major, all of which call into question our own powers to cope. How is it that a man can emerge from 27 years of imprisonment so able to continue to effect change, and to do so with love and forgiveness in his heart?

I'm particularly intrigued by the perfect portrait of key traits of resilience that Mandela's actions and life exemplify.

Emotion Regulation.

Empathy.

Connection.

Self-Efficacy.

Authenticity.

Mandela was driven always by ideals that he was willing to die for. That perhaps made him the most resilient of all. He was, in that sense, the very embodiment of authentic. There is clear evidence that humanity – when it comes together and stands bravely and prays with its heart and sings with its soul – we can overcome the greatest challenges as a community.

HIP CHAMPAIGN'S COMMUNITY CHALLENGES OPEN FORUM