Sin of Omission

I graduated last Friday.
Our principal gave a speech which is modified after Jim Ryan's commencement speech at Harvard this year.
Jim Ryan is the 11th dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
In short, Jim Ryan preached about the sin of omission; it is wrong to not do anything.

When was the last time I stood up against a teacher's inappropriate comment?
When was the last time I gave my friend an honest piece of advice?
When was the last time I argue/debate about something I believe in?
In becoming a better person, some people deviate from the original course of staying good at heart.
Some focus more on being a likeable person who doesn't offend anyone. Often these people are guilty of the sin of omission because they tend to take a neutral, mild stance on everything.
Some slowly forget that sincerity is all it takes to become a better person.
Just be yourself, speak for yourself.
Some people are not meant to be on par with you. If they don't agree on your viewpoint, so be it, at least you have done your part in challenging their perspectives.
Agreeing to whatever others say so as to please them, especially when you are a differing view is a reflection of one's cowardice. So is remaining silent when something is not right. Omission will make you a shadow of everyone.

Listening to Jim Ryan's speech, I was reminded a lot of instances where I let events to take its natural course.
When I am faced with difficulties that I feel I can't overcome on my own, I often resolve to leaving the matters aside.
By doing so, I committed the sin of omission.
While I could have done something to change the outcome, I decided not to.
While I could have prevented something bad from happening, I chose to regret later on.
Like committing a crime, failing to act is also a choice.
Many times, omission is an act of escapism because one refuses to confront the difficulties.
It is easy to tell yourself that "it doesn't matter and life will go on the same".
However, one's initiative might change another's life positively in ways one can't imagine.
It is choosing to devote that is difficult and commendable.

However, it is not possible for one to react to everything because there are so many things under the Sun that we can interfere in.
So what decides which to omit? The question remains.
Life is full of events and possibilities. They slip away when you are not watching.
The analogy used in Jim Ryan's speech is "tugs at your sleeve that are easy to ignore."
It can be as trivial as a call from a friend at midnight while you are half-asleep.
You can choose to let your phone vibrate until it dies off or you can wake up and pick it up.
The answered call can turn out to be a turning point in one's life. You never know.
I guess the question "what to omit?" can be answered by our heart and our spontaneity.  

"In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."
This is a powerful quote by Martin Luther King.
If you don't stand for something, you will fall for anything.
Try telling the fat friends of yours to start exercising.
Try telling your teacher that he/she is too judgemental about student X.
Try telling your colleagues that they are being too inefficient.
Also, suggest ways to improve, voice your opinion.

See what needs doing and do without being told.