Barack Obama & Spirits of Change

Barack Obama channeled the spirits of change: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Whitney Young, Jr., Farrakhan, Nelson Mandela, Booker T. Washington, Frederick Douglas, James Farmer, Nat Turner, Marcus Garvey, Malcolm X, A. Phillip Randolph, Stokely Carmichael, Harry Belafonte, Dick Gregory, Roy Wilkins, Rosa Parks, John Lewis, Medgar Evers, W. E. B. DuBois and many others who have fought for change with voices and life so others may benefit.

Barack Obama's acceptance speech as the Democratic Nominee for the presidency was another powerful speech. The only thing missing was outright passion. Restrained for the sake of seeming presidential. Something we demand yet when presidents don't show emotion during times of our choosing we berate them. We want politicians to be like us but not like us.

Anyway, Barack Obama channeled the spirits of change and now it's up to you and me, individuals acting as individuals on behalf of others. We cannot be the change we want to see in the world without the spirit of change as our heartbeat and thoughtbeat.

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acceptance speech, Barack Obama, individuals, passion, thoughts

Serenity Serene

I love nature-soft sounds. I'm adrift. Deep breaths lift me into the space above dancing grasses and waving trees. The evening wind tickles the garden and brushes me playfully. Insects announce the changing of guarding lights and that rain is almost ready. The moisture-laced aroma wakens memories like the smell of baking bread. Sprinkles drizzle through colander clouds streaking the soft pale blue. I love the exchange of emptying and filling, hunger slowly fed, sinking into rest, and dusk driven flowers awakening to accent the dimming light and to feed creatures of the night.

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nature, gardening, love, serene, serenity

Shakespeare: Nothing Compares to You

Don't compare yourself to Shakespeare. That's what I was told but why not? Who should I compare myself to? Perhaps someone who doesn't embrace their gifts. Would that satisfy those who find it incredulous that one less esteemed, or so it seems, would consider any similarity with one of great esteem?

Relax. I don't want to be William Shakespeare and I don't want to write or create like him. What I want is breathing room to let creativity take shape unencumbered and to let creativity unencumber shapes already taken. We all have a measure of talent and attributes that help or hinder. What makes the difference? Why don't opportunities, their type or their absence always lead to obvious outcomes? For these and other reasons I compare myself to everyone well-known, lesser known, on point, near the point and off point.

I can't be Shakespeare, although we have more in common than in contrast. Thankfully there's a third component: divine differences that make it possible for nothing to compare to you, me or Shakespeare.

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creativity, gift, opportunity, Shakespeare, talent

Eco-Conscious Feet

All this talk about the ecology is wonderful. We are beginning to accept responsibility for our planet whose declining health has come at our hands . Hopefully talk will give rise to sustainable practices that increase understanding and appreciation. I'm half-afraid we are simply “Eco” prefixing: attaching quick (pre) fixes to programs as appeasements to the fad of the moment.

We'll know we're serious about eco-mindfulness when individuals, businesses, schools, not-for profits and governments are doing more each year. It will be confirmed when the human race is a race to see who can do the least to harm the earth. We'll know we've achieved Eco-Consciousness when our efforts are internalized and coordinated. Eco-points will then be a part of every mission statement, not just appended programs.

By the way, many of us were ecologically-minded when Eco wasn't cool. There was no word for it we were just trying to use and not misuse what was so abundantly and freely given. We had the whole world in our hands. This is the kind of power we still have. If we use this power to do something by doing less, the ecology will cure itself.

In other words, the ecology doesn't need our pseudo-superior intelligence to fix a GD thing. It will breathe better if we simply keep our big funky footprints to ourselves.

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appreciation, earth, ecology, footprints, superior intelligence

Success is a process

Life Sentences #4

Success creates belief in everyone except the dreamer. The dreamer's belief creates success.

A slow process is better than no process.

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belief, dreamer, life sentences, process, success