A Message from Harry Potter

"We must try not to sink beneath our anguish, Harry, but battle on." – Albus Dumbledore

With the release of the next Harry Potter movie on July 11, and the final book of the series on July 21, excitement over the boy wizard is reaching feverish levels. I figure I have a decent height advantage over the average 10 year old, so I'm calculating favorable odds for getting my hands on one of the first copies of Deathly Hallows on release day. Look out my young friends – I have a "Licensed Authentic" Harry Potter Magic Wand and I'm not afraid to use it!

There are many profound messages to be found within the pages of the Harry Potter books, but there is one in particular we should consider today. Despite Harry's primary interests in being left alone to study wizarding at Hogwarts; spending time with Ron and Hermione, and lately, with Ginny; and listening to the great wisdom of his beloved Professor Dumbledore, he is continuously confronted with life-threatening challenges to his peaceful existence. Harry may express fear and frustration, but he doesn't whine. He picks up his wand and his invisibility cloak and gets the job done, whatever it may be that day.

This is an important message for us to appreciate. We may just want to do our work and go about our lives unmolested and unencumbered. But anyone who has had to deal with politics and turf wars at the office knows that this is an unrealistic desire. Where there are human beings, there will be conflict. Even the most enlightened workplace is not immune. Perhaps there your colleagues may behave with exemplary kindness and egalitarianism. However, as soon as you have to interact with suppliers and clients, you will face the ordinary and tedious conflicts that arise when one viewpoint challenges another.

There is no sanitary environment that can insulate us from conflict and challenge. The reason is this: we are imperfect. The flaws that exist within each individual will inevitably create conflict when one person comes in contact with another. Even within the walls of a monastery or a convent, where monks and nuns are totally protected from the outside world, conflict arises. Where there are imperfect beings, however spiritually focused, there is imperfection.

It is a futile and depressing exercise to hold out some kind of hope for the absence of challenges when approaching daily life. The solution is to build up inner strength with patience, tolerance and wisdom, so that when our ideal circumstances are threatened, we can face our challenges calmly, bravely and intelligently.

When Voldemort or one of his agents advances into Harry's world, Harry does the only thing he can do: he strategizes and takes action. He holds onto his optimism, his love for his work, his belief in his friends and his unwavering respect for his wise teachers, and carries on. It all comes down to choices. What else could he do? Whine? Quit?? Of course not. Harry is a hero. He is a hero because, while he has extraordinary gifts, he is a lot like us on our better days or at least a lot like we wish we could be. He wants his life to be simpler and more comfortable than it ends up being, but when the challenges come, he gathers his will and he does whatever is necessary to overcome them. He chooses to deal with fatigue, fear and pain, feeling at times inadequate and overwhelmed; he feels all these emotions and physical obstacles, and yet finds it within himself to succeed despite them.

The only truly perfect world exists inside our minds during the few moments we are privileged to meditate each day. In every other moment we can expect conflict when it is least welcome. But like Harry, we must resist the urge to complain, become inert or give up. We need to face our challenges and, because wise people seek to be the heroes of our own lives, prevail – at minimum – over ourselves.

Nicole Grace
June 2007

"It is our choices Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities." – Albus Dumbledore