True Reality

True Reality

In my perfect world there

Would be only sunshine and rain

Rain to help things grow and sun

To make all things new again

There would never be a sign of war

And hate wouldn’t have evolved

There would have been no sign of drugs

And no need for gangs to be dissolved

Our streets they would be safe

For our children all the time

And I would watch over your children

As you watched over mine

There would be no need for debate

About ending a long war

And no reason to explain what

We were even fighting it for

No weapons of mass destruction

No threat of nuclear attack

No talk of man made supremacy

And what other groups may lack

There would have been no trail of tears

And slavery would only be in books

No segregated water fountains

And no disapproving looks

Women always could have voted

And we all started on even ground

We didn’t hold each other back

And no bias could be found

We all looked at one another as equals

As God has from that start

We didn’t try to kill each other with words

Or tear one another apart

There was no unlawful imprisonment

And the jails aren’t over run

We don’t have racial profiling

Be patient I’m almost done...

But like in your world...there is God

Whom we turn to as day is done

Whose will is as constant

As the rising and setting of the sun

I wonder sometimes why

If we say we believe in Gods will

Why we are selling drugs to children

And becoming more violent still

We still make excuses for

Attacking our fellow man

Fighting over boundaries

Killing people over land

We still point a finger when

We think someone else is doing wrong

Yet turn a blind when it’s us

Different day...same song

I wonder if we will ever

Even want to get it right

And start seeing who we really are

And start using our clear sight

How many children will the world

Bury in one day

Because of wars their parents waged

Instead of letting kids just play

How many people will we hold back

From the path that God has set

For some selfish goal that we

Are certain must be met

I pray that there will come a day

That my perfect world will be

Nothing I had to dream of

But our TRUE REALITY

Giving Thanks

Giving Thanks

  Today I want to give thanks for the experiences of this past year. Some have been happy and some have been sad...but all have been necessary. This year my sister passed away...and while I definitely feel her absence...which makes me sad. I also felt blessed by her presence...for which I will forever be grateful. Life has a way of giving you just what you need...even though we might want more or feel like we actually have less. I am a better person for just having known her...and fortunate enough to have loved her. My sister loved me unconditionally, as I did her. And while I am still saddened by her death...I am elated that God loved me so much that He sent her to me...even if our time was brief.

  This year was a time of awareness...the world had become more aware of the trauma caused by the famine in the Horn of Africa. While this has been an ongoing problem, which has now become dire..., at least now we can no longer claim ignorance. We must acknowledge the ongoing problem and the obligation that we have to try and help...our fellow man. I have seen online videos and statements....as well as, online petitions to create awareness of this devastating problem. I pray that this dreadful condition...improves over the coming year. The only way to improve...however is to bring and keep this issue in the light; as people, it is our job to bring awareness to the fact that our fellow man is starving to death.

  In 2011, several states created racial profiling laws; and while I found this to be sad and disheartening...I still have hope that we will eventually do the right thing. It is my prayer that in the coming year we will be able to look at all the injustices and learn from our own mistakes. I hope that we will soon learn that not only are we no better or superior to anyone or anything else; but that there is no way for anyone to fix what has already happened. All that we may hope for in the near future is that we can move ahead and start treating other people as we would like to be treated...even if we aren’t being done so right now. I believe that we have the ability to rise above our differences and uplift ourselves by uplifting our fellow man. We have the chance to rise above any and all adversity...using our unique characteristics as means to connect. In 2012, I pray that we will understand that racial profiling, legal or not, is a huge step backward...and is no better than making our fellow man sit at the back of the bus.

  I want to thank Troy Davis...posthumously, while the light and awareness you helped spread did not save your life...I believe that it will help others. I hope that people may understand, because of your voice beyond the grave...that killing is wrong...no matter whom the assailant is. I also wish peace to the families of those touched by this case and the thousands before it. Let us not dwell on the errors of man...but learn from it so that we can build upon the fact that loving one another is all we need to do.

  2011 was the year that American troops came home from Afghanistan...and while too much life was lost...on both sides.... I know we are relieved to have our sons, daughters, fathers and mothers back on our soil. But let us not be so overjoyed that we forget the many lives lost. I pray we spend more time giving unsolicited hugs to the children of that war...once time has escaped us...there is no way to back track; but we can begin new...today.

  My thoughts and prayers are with those people still at war...all over the globe; those children of God fighting for their rights to exist...and I ask that we no longer turn a deaf ear to their plight. Let us remember how hard it was for us knowing that our family members, our neighbors...our fellow man were fighting and may not return...and pray for those families that still live with that turmoil today. Let us show compassion and empathy with the orphans born as a result of the wage of war...not forgetting that it is our children that pay that price.

  Let us remember in the coming year, the sacrifices that the women in our lives have made. Please join me in shining light on anyone and everyone who believes they have the right to do harm to any one of them. Please help me bring awareness to the fact that millions of women are beaten, abused (physically and verbally), raped, and even killed every year...a senseless and vile act. But even sadder than the fact that it happens...is the fact that it usually happens at the hand of someone they love and trust. I pray God reminds us to be respectful and kind to one another everyday...because we are breeding this behavior in our young children who sit and watch idly. I pray for the soldiers in this fight...the women and girls that are affected by this travesty every single day. With love, perhaps we can put an end to this war, as well. 

Lastly, I want to thank all of those people who did the right thing this year...loved unconditionally without bias. You are the reigning example of what we are all supposed to rise to...your example speaks in leaps and bounds.

  I wish all of you a safe and happy holiday season, and hope you leave room for growth in the coming year. Every day is a lesson. Every thought can maintain peace or create war...let us shine our Creator’s love on all that we touch.

Greatest Love

Greatest Love

  I found the greatest loves of my life when I learned how to love people inside out. I learned that the outer shell was only a peek at the person within. Of course, we must be attracted to something, before seeking the inner being...be it a smile, laugh...or just a sense of humor. However in some rare cases, the inner being will shine through the eyes of those that we may have over looked.

  Whatever brought us to this place seems irrelevant...for now all that matters is that we are here...together. Our inner light is that part of us that connects to others on a higher plain. It is our soul or spirit...our core. I have always been of the belief that our center...or core is the very thing that we started with. Our core comes from God; it is the very loving nature He instilled in us. It is the part of us that allows us to connect to others...similar to how magnets attract one another or how light will attract a moth. It is what brings us together...and sometimes, sadly, tears us apart. The core of us is what hurts when we see another human being in pain. It is the part of us that is moved to protect our environment. Our core is what causes 9000 people to search for an 8 year old autistic boy in Virginia...someone that most did not even know. Our center is the part of us that prompts an illegal immigrant to put his life on the line to save a little girl that he didn’t even know...placing his own citizenship at risk. It is the thing within us that has us get our bone marrow checked to see if we can save the life of one person...which can be a painful process. It is doing the right thing...without a second thought. This is our origin...what every other part of us is based on. This is our purpose under Heaven. And as long as we are listening to our center...our core...our spirit and soul...we are doing Gods work.

  So what happens when we are doing everything else? What happens when we watch someone who is broken down on the side of the road and we just drive past? What happens when we hear someone yell for help and we act like we don’t hear them? What are we thinking when we tell socially acceptable lies...and still teach our children the importance of telling the truth? Why do we make excuses for behavior that we know in our hearts to be wrong? What message are we sending when we punish a murderer by becoming murderers? Where are our hearts when we are telling our law enforcement officers to stop worrying about crimes and just look for people who have a “criminal look”?

  These may seem like extreme cases, but are they really? Or do we just say that to take attention away from the real issue? How do we have balance when the scales of our lives are so obviously tilted? Native Americans believe that within us we have two wolves...one wolf is positive...loving...caring and compassionate. The other wolf is negativity...adversity...violence...anger and rage. In some Native American culture it is said that the wolf that we feed or cater to the most becomes the winner of our internal struggle.

  This is really the old story of good versus evil. The one that we allow to grow...becomes the victor. But the truth is this...God created all things, ideas and situations. Why would God, who loves us, create something that could eventually lead to our downfall? Some believe that the reasoning is this: He allows us to decide what we want for ourselves. He allows us to make our own noose and decide if we are going to hang ourselves or others. He allows us to make friends or enemies. We are allowed to show compassion or contempt. Why are we allowed to even know of a choice which could cause us or others pain or anguish? Because, we know what the right thing to do is...it is in our core. We have been equipped with the only thing we ever really needed to get by...love. We have always been equipped with the love of our Creator...which arms us with the knowledge that we are supposed to love others also.

  Why is doing the wrong thing so easy for most? Doing what is wrong is easy because it is acceptable and most of the time it is expected. We expect people to cheat, steal and lie to us. We expect people to disrespect us or those around us...so we continually watch for it. We look for deception because we really believe that all people will be tempted to deceive. We expect our fellow man...that was created with the same divine love that we were...to do us some huge disservice. Unfortunately, a lot of the time...we aren’t disappointed.

  Of course, we choose to live this way. We choose to allow people to do the opposite of what we know is right; then we they do this evil...we just nod and smile, as if it is okay. We become complacent. We choose to sit the fence, instead of standing up for anything. And in our complacency...we have failed God. We have said so much...by saying nothing. When our hearts are crying, yet our mouths fall silent and our heads hang in shame...we have betrayed ourselves and Our God.

  The important lesson in all of this is that any injustices that we fall upon silent ears about...are injustices that very well may come back around to destroy us, as well. Never say that any given situation could never happen to you or anyone you know. By now we should all understand that just because we think we have stuffed a wrong in a closet doesn’t mean that is goes unnoticed. God brings everything to light.

  It is our job to defend those who are wronged...no matter who the oppressor may be. It is our job to shine light on those who pray on the defenseless. As people we do our best to stand up for children...and since we were all created from God and are His children...why do we not defend our fellow man? Why do we not stomp our feet and scream to the top of our lungs every time someone is treated with malice?

  War does not create anything...it destroys us all. Do the soldiers of war ever come home feeling happy; and if not, why? War only creates the need for larger cemeteries...larger orphanages...and more wars. And by the way, wars are not only fought with guns. Wars happen at the work place, in our schools and in our neighborhoods. A sharp tongue is worse than an assault weapon. Guns are fired and they kill...where as words can continue to injure and re-injure us. And like in a war...once we have been fired upon...we will retaliate...and it won’t matter if it is justifiable or not.

  Peace starts within us...and once we have it we can share it with the world. We only need to nurture the love that we were created with...and then we give it out to everyone we come into contact with. We smile, greet and acknowledge our fellow man and woman...and with those simple gestures...love blooms. Love is never out of season and you can never have or give too much love. It will feel strange at first...but that is just because we are out of practice. Give love...receive love...Be love.

The Sound of Silence

The Sound of Silence

    The end of humanity does not occur when man does evil…but when man sits and watches…yet does nothing.

    We are armed with all the weapons that we will ever need to defend ourselves, from birth. It is only when we look for outside implements or instrumentation that we actually go against our very purest nature. The very purest part of us is that with which we were created; over time depending on our circumstances and our will to accept that which others find acceptable…we can develop negative or destructive tendencies. This happens when we no longer attempt to communicate…with our very being. We were created with many means in which to communicate…with our mouths, lips, hands, eyes, ears, even our legs and feet…all can communicate what we are thinking and feeling at any given time.

  For instance I can either speak to you using my mouth…orally creating vibrations which are expressed in words audibly detectable. Or I can just use my lips to mouth the words…with out a sound. Both are forms of communication…but one would actually take active reception. What I mean by that is…the person I am communicating to would really have to pay attention to what I am trying to relay to them. Not only that…but I would have to take my time and make my words easy to receive. Have you ever argued with some one speaking so harshly, and fast that even you can not even remember exactly what you said? Yet the emotion behind the sentiment is never lost…you are angry. However…if you had to take a moment and actually make your words clearly decipherable, due to an inability to yell, or orate any sound at all…then perhaps the communication would not be lost and the emotion would be more even tempered.

  We often we use our bodies as a means of letting other know what we are feeling at the time…often without realizing it. We will point our fingers…which can be interpreted as accusatory or to place blame. We can cross our arms which can be interpreted as I don’t want to hear what you are saying, or I don’t want to disclose something. Of course these things could also mean other things such as pointing when giving direction or folding our arms because we are cold…but again, these are ideas that we are still communicating.

  We can use our legs and feet to position our body in such a way to display our interest or disinterest with what is being said to us. If we sit facing away from someone it clearly states that I am not interested in what you are talking about, or telling me. If I tap my foot it may mean that I am impatient or running out of time. If I stomp my foot it can be out of anger or excitement depending on the dialogue prior.

  But the most important communication tool that we are armed with is our ears.  How carefully do we listen to what is being communicated? If we were asked, could we mirror what we were told or asked? Often, we only hear the first and last thing that is said to us. Which is unfortunate because then we are missing out on the communication.

  We often take these tools of communication for granted. When I was a child …to show us our many blessings my grandmother would blindfold us or have us cover our ears…to show us how carefully we actually listen or watch things. When your vision is impaired in that way…you would be surprised at what we hear that we didn’t hear before…a bird chirping, the snow crunching, footsteps in the distance…and trying to figure out who the footsteps belonged to. We learned that we had to listen carefully to tones and words, because we didn’t have the luxury of seeing a facial expression. When our ears were covered we had to watch things carefully because we couldn’t hear them…or our hearing was impaired to such an extent that it wasn’t clear. We were no longer rushing to say what ever we pleased but actually taking the time to try and read the lips and expressions being communicated to us. Now, of course, the entire purpose of this exercise was not to punish us, but to teach us that we need to take more time with life. We needed to take time to smell the flowers, to watch a sunset, to be more loving and kind with one another.

  Why do we dislike the silent treatment? Because we want to communicate…but often we would rather wage war than take the time to actively listen and participate in a conversation. We would rather lash out than to calmly verbalize what we are thinking and feeling. Words can be like weapons…the can inform us or others…or they can cut like a knife. I can remember, as a child, hearing certain tones and unflattering words that adults used towards one another. They were not speaking to me, no one was calling me names…no one was angry at me. But I absorbed the words…it hurt deep inside of me…it felt like my insides were shaking. I felt violated, like someone had picked up a club and hit me in my stomach. Of course the adults that were doing this made up, they moved on…but I will never forget the feeling it left me with. I was scarred…and even now when I hear certain words I get the same feeling again.

  We, as human beings have the power to create or destroy and we do so everyday. We build up people or we tear them down…every single day. The point being, with that knowledge…which will you choose to do? We have the power to make each day better then the one previous…just by opening our mouths, our minds and our hearts. We can leave loving embraces on the hearts of our fellow man or we can scar them. Keeping in mind very often when we scar people they lash out at others…leaving them scarred, as well. We create a cycle no matter which way we go…but we get to choose which road to take. All that I am suggesting is that we choose that which will help uplift and rejuvenate. If we leave loving kind words…they will resonate in people…and hopefully that will be the trend.

   Does it sound like I am being unrealistic? Talking about love towards our fellow man…I have been told that it does. The thing is this…if being loving towards each other seems like a foreign idea…it is only because we have been living for too long with the idea that we must kill or be killed.