Liberty

I dressed up as Frederick Douglass for a Black History Month celebration at Audubon Montessori Elementary School. I teased my hair and used chalk to create gray streaks all over my hair. I wore a black church suit and a white blouse. I was sharp. I memorized and delivered lines from Douglass' famous speech, "What, to the slave, is the Fourth of July" with passion. I guess you can say I have always been a bit dramatic.

Here I was, this nine year old child in a room full of people who did not look me, spewing out lines about injustice, black oppression, and the hypocrisy of America. Douglass delivered his speech in 1852. This is before the Civil War was fought and won. This was before the Emancipation Proclamation. This was before our so-called "Liberty." Here we are in 2017 and unfortunately his words still ring true. We are slaves to poverty. We are slaves to an unjust legal system. We are slaves to a prison pipeline. We are slaves to capitalism. We are still slaves. 

What, to the American slave, is your Fourth of July? I answer: a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelly to which he is the constant victim. To him, your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your denunciations of tyrants, brass fronted impudence; your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanksgivings, with all your religious parade, and solemnity, are, to him, mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy—a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages. There is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices, more shocking and bloody, than are the people of these United States, at this very hour.

Better

Better usually comes after you have endured the worst. You don't really appreciate the sunshine until it rains. Life is full of constant dichotomies of better and worse, good and bad. We can not ignore the ebb and flow of it all. Struggle has a purpose. Pain is a part of the process, and you will be better for it. The goal is to come out better. Anything of value is refined. Gold is purified. Oil is pressed. Pain is one of the tools that produces passion. Stop fighting the process. You're being refined. So, you can be better, not bitter. 

Destination

You should always have a destination in mind. A place that you would like to end up. A goal. Some destinations can be short term goals, and some can be long term goals. Goals give your life direction. They give your life meaning. Purpose. Insight. What do you want to accomplish today? What do you want to experience this month? Where would you like to travel this year? All of these are destinations. Create your own adventure. Experience all that life has to offer. Pick a destination and make steps towards that journey. 

"The bottom line is: We must be working on arriving at the destination for which we were put on this planet."- Yehuda Berg
 

Domino Effect

Have you ever placed dominos in a row and knocked them down? The result is a domino effect or a chain reaction which causes one event to set off a chain of similar events. I've always enjoyed watching dominos fall in intricate designs. I could only imagine the patience it took the designer to arrange each piece in a specific location and order to achieve the desired result. There is no room for happenstance. Every placement is deliberate. Every move is calculated. There is no room for error. Imagine your life. Every obstacle and circumstance is strategically placed in a specific order to achieve a predesigned result. Every moment is arranged to cause a chain reaction to propel the next domino into motion. The end result is an intricate design called destiny. 

Alliance

History is full of alliances between countries. The interesting thing about an alliance is that they are formed before a crisis arises. In other words, two parties agree to support one another before things go awry. Who is in your support group? Who can you depend on in the time of need? Who is in your village? Who do you have an alliance with? The time to plan for a crisis is before it occurs. We are typically reactive instead of proactive. Now is the time to plan. Put your affairs in order. Identify a beneficiary, and an executor. Create new alliances and revisit old ones before its too late. 

Freedom

Many things have been said about freedom, liberty, and justice for all. Freedom is a word that invokes passion and patriotism. It also incites painful memories for those who journey after this particular pursuit of happiness. Freedom isn't free. It is usually the bottom line cost of wars that politicians finance with our loved one's lives. Memorial Day is about remembering those who died while serving in the armed forces. There are so many people who died without any pomp and circumstance, or a 21 gun salute. Today, I salute all the unknown soldiers who gave their lives fighting for freedom they never experienced. Today, I salute all the slaves who picked up arms in hopes of not being enslaved. Today, I salute all the nameless heroes who sacrificed their lives, so that I might experience the freedoms I take for granted. Today, I salute all the soldiers that value freedom above their own existence. Thank you for sacrifice. Happy Memorial Day!

Smile

If you do nothing else after you read this, smile at someone. Smiles are contagious. You never know how far a hello and a smile can go. It could brighten someone's otherwise gloomy day. You could encourage someone to keep moving forward without ever saying a word. More than that, it can work wonders for you. You may be in need of a pick me up. You may need a little joy in your life. Look in the mirror and smile. Tell yourself, "good morning." Just know that...“Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing."-Mother Teresa