I want to express my gratitude. Life is a very complex journey that twists and turns, stop and starts, grinds and sails. I have been so privileged to be blessed with a knowledge that God loves me. He holds me in the palm of His hand when I am broken and bruised. He leads me through the fire that singes my skin and gently soothes the blistering wounds with His matchless power. I've experienced lows and highs while continuing to feel His warm hand at my back still. He never leaves me in the aching pain. He is there in the triumphant victory, but mostly He is my constant strength and the one I lean on completely. He is the Rock of my salvation, and His love shines through my every fiber. My needs are always met. He delights me with the beauties and blessings all around. I fall short and He lifts me. I forget and He inspires. My goal is to see the blessings from great to small each day that maybe I can begin to show my gratitude for the amazing life He has given me. I am overwhelmed that there is so much good that has been specifically tailored for one such as I. I love you Heavenly Father.
I just love you.
Sunday, January 21, 2018
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
To you Chris Rock
I recently read an interview of Chris Rock where he stated he not only blamed the "whites" for slavery but felt that current "whites" should bare the blame for what their "fathers" did. He wanted to know how "whites" felt about Ferguson because he already knew what black people thought. He was very interested to know what "whites" thought about an 18 yr. old "boy" being shot down by a "white" policeman.
Well let's address his first request about taking the blame for the "fathers" actions. Which white people are you referring Mr. Rock? This country has white people from Asia, The Middle East, Australia, Europe, and Canada. How will we divide them into the slave owners and the people who fought slavery from it's inception? What method do you advise I use to separate the white people who participated and the white people who fought to abolish from the beginning, or better yet never participated? What about the mixed white and black (which by the way due to the marvels of modern technology we are finding more "white" people in this country are of African decent)?
Once we have established which group was guilty then we must decide who sold these slaves. So I will invite you to put your finger on a map and play connect the dots. From the east coast of the United States you will draw fingers to France, England, Portugal, Spain, Australia, and a few more nations who participated in this hideous crime but I will left one out! Even though these nations were active participants they could NEVER have been so successful without the FULL cooperation of the very country that sold it's own citizens......AFRICA! So in our investigation we are now obligated to divide the "black" people in this country into the sellers of slaves and the slaves themselves. I'm sure there will be some cross over as genealogy will easily prove connections between the two groups. Hmmm...this is getting kind of murky. I'm don't think there is a definitive way to categorize for optimal blame. There are just too many variables and the data has too many amalgams of individuals who would not only hold blame but require recompense as well. We should move on.
How do "whites" feel about Ferguson? I would pose that "Americans" both white and black have varying degrees of response, but most viewing the evidence would stop referring to Michael Brown as a "boy" due to the fact that at 6'4" and 280lbs he can no longer qualify as a "boy". They (both black and white) would recall that Mr. Brown (due to the irrefutable evidence) robbed a convenience store and then proceeded to walk through traffic causing a hold up with the vehicles on the street. This brought him to the attention of the police man in the vicinity, Officer Wilson. After telling the men to get out of the road an altercation ensued where Mr. Brown attacked the officer through the window of his police cruiser. After getting shot once he fled, but then decided to turn around and attack the pursuing officer who did not fire again until Brown began his second assault. Well Mr. Rock I believe that every American with an active brain would wait to hear the evidence before jumping to riot level anger. A riot that I might add only hurt the very residents of the area. Kind of like shooting yourself in the foot don't you think? Then once evidence is presented every American would have to conclude that the behemoth man (not boy) attacked a police officer not once but twice and was shot accordingly just like any "white" behemoth man in the same situation would have and has been shot. This information is available to the public via the Associated Press Within the time frame of Ferguson there have been 4 shootings of a similar nature in my neck of the woods that I'm aware involving "white" people. No riots but certainly shooting of people who weren't even attacking the officers on the scene. I would hope that in light of the facts Americans would draw the conclusion that although tragic this occurred because Michael Brown broke the law by attacking a police officer.
All of this is well and fine except who bares the responsibility of continuing the racism, of inciting people to become angry based on inaccurate information, of other Americans (who happen to be police officers) being targeted and harmed? I will conclude that it is people like you Mr. Rock. The death of one human is tragic but the unnecessary deaths of thousands more due to irresponsible conjecture is obscene.
Make no mistake racism will always be present in every society as there is a competitive human need to dominate someone and that is accomplished by demeaning the focus group for whatever can be utilized (color of skin, culture, religion, money or lack there of) but you can't obliterate evil. It exists along side good. However, it is our responsibility to keep evil to a minimum. It is our responsibility as a progressive society to stand up and fight evil together. I ask you Mr. Rock, by placing blame and calling for more division through the kinds of comments you make are you fighting the evil? Are you forging bonds between Americans or are you insisting on the division of race to ensure racism? I know that you have achieved immense success in your life and maybe in your mind you would site struggles and obstacles that you overcame to gain this success. I would ask that view all the "white" people who will never achieve your success regardless of their "whiteness". This would lead me to the conclusion that regardless of your race here in America we will all have challenges that we will have to overcome to achieve. We will all have to work and fight through the stumbling blocks to make our way. We are to a point in this country where we need to decide if we want to encourage progression or wallow in the mire of blame. Blame has no productive outcome. It simply stagnates the carrier. I would ask that someone of your status stop contributing to the cesspool of negativism that is stunting our country and preventing progress. It was not people like you who made advances in the fight for Human Rights. Martin Luther King Jr. was not of your ilk. You belong to the Black Panther group that is seen as destructive and regressive. I would ask that you join with those who actually made a difference for the good instead of cancelling out good intentions with poisonous negativity. I would hope that you would feel a responsibility to cultivate progression in the very country that gave you such a lavish life. The same country who bares the stain of slavery. People look to you and when you spew hatred it inspires hatred. It inspires riots and destruction of the very people you claim to want recompense as well as all the people who live along side. So in essence you have a choice whether to build or tear down. I hope you make the right choice as lives depend on it. It's about time that people, all people start collectively taking responsibility for what they say.
Well let's address his first request about taking the blame for the "fathers" actions. Which white people are you referring Mr. Rock? This country has white people from Asia, The Middle East, Australia, Europe, and Canada. How will we divide them into the slave owners and the people who fought slavery from it's inception? What method do you advise I use to separate the white people who participated and the white people who fought to abolish from the beginning, or better yet never participated? What about the mixed white and black (which by the way due to the marvels of modern technology we are finding more "white" people in this country are of African decent)?
Once we have established which group was guilty then we must decide who sold these slaves. So I will invite you to put your finger on a map and play connect the dots. From the east coast of the United States you will draw fingers to France, England, Portugal, Spain, Australia, and a few more nations who participated in this hideous crime but I will left one out! Even though these nations were active participants they could NEVER have been so successful without the FULL cooperation of the very country that sold it's own citizens......AFRICA! So in our investigation we are now obligated to divide the "black" people in this country into the sellers of slaves and the slaves themselves. I'm sure there will be some cross over as genealogy will easily prove connections between the two groups. Hmmm...this is getting kind of murky. I'm don't think there is a definitive way to categorize for optimal blame. There are just too many variables and the data has too many amalgams of individuals who would not only hold blame but require recompense as well. We should move on.
How do "whites" feel about Ferguson? I would pose that "Americans" both white and black have varying degrees of response, but most viewing the evidence would stop referring to Michael Brown as a "boy" due to the fact that at 6'4" and 280lbs he can no longer qualify as a "boy". They (both black and white) would recall that Mr. Brown (due to the irrefutable evidence) robbed a convenience store and then proceeded to walk through traffic causing a hold up with the vehicles on the street. This brought him to the attention of the police man in the vicinity, Officer Wilson. After telling the men to get out of the road an altercation ensued where Mr. Brown attacked the officer through the window of his police cruiser. After getting shot once he fled, but then decided to turn around and attack the pursuing officer who did not fire again until Brown began his second assault. Well Mr. Rock I believe that every American with an active brain would wait to hear the evidence before jumping to riot level anger. A riot that I might add only hurt the very residents of the area. Kind of like shooting yourself in the foot don't you think? Then once evidence is presented every American would have to conclude that the behemoth man (not boy) attacked a police officer not once but twice and was shot accordingly just like any "white" behemoth man in the same situation would have and has been shot. This information is available to the public via the Associated Press Within the time frame of Ferguson there have been 4 shootings of a similar nature in my neck of the woods that I'm aware involving "white" people. No riots but certainly shooting of people who weren't even attacking the officers on the scene. I would hope that in light of the facts Americans would draw the conclusion that although tragic this occurred because Michael Brown broke the law by attacking a police officer.
All of this is well and fine except who bares the responsibility of continuing the racism, of inciting people to become angry based on inaccurate information, of other Americans (who happen to be police officers) being targeted and harmed? I will conclude that it is people like you Mr. Rock. The death of one human is tragic but the unnecessary deaths of thousands more due to irresponsible conjecture is obscene.
Make no mistake racism will always be present in every society as there is a competitive human need to dominate someone and that is accomplished by demeaning the focus group for whatever can be utilized (color of skin, culture, religion, money or lack there of) but you can't obliterate evil. It exists along side good. However, it is our responsibility to keep evil to a minimum. It is our responsibility as a progressive society to stand up and fight evil together. I ask you Mr. Rock, by placing blame and calling for more division through the kinds of comments you make are you fighting the evil? Are you forging bonds between Americans or are you insisting on the division of race to ensure racism? I know that you have achieved immense success in your life and maybe in your mind you would site struggles and obstacles that you overcame to gain this success. I would ask that view all the "white" people who will never achieve your success regardless of their "whiteness". This would lead me to the conclusion that regardless of your race here in America we will all have challenges that we will have to overcome to achieve. We will all have to work and fight through the stumbling blocks to make our way. We are to a point in this country where we need to decide if we want to encourage progression or wallow in the mire of blame. Blame has no productive outcome. It simply stagnates the carrier. I would ask that someone of your status stop contributing to the cesspool of negativism that is stunting our country and preventing progress. It was not people like you who made advances in the fight for Human Rights. Martin Luther King Jr. was not of your ilk. You belong to the Black Panther group that is seen as destructive and regressive. I would ask that you join with those who actually made a difference for the good instead of cancelling out good intentions with poisonous negativity. I would hope that you would feel a responsibility to cultivate progression in the very country that gave you such a lavish life. The same country who bares the stain of slavery. People look to you and when you spew hatred it inspires hatred. It inspires riots and destruction of the very people you claim to want recompense as well as all the people who live along side. So in essence you have a choice whether to build or tear down. I hope you make the right choice as lives depend on it. It's about time that people, all people start collectively taking responsibility for what they say.
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
A day in the life...: O life lived....
A day in the life...: O life lived....: This season crept up so quickly like a thief in the night, yet it was the smoothest Christmas season I have experienced. There seemed to be...
O life lived....
This season crept up so quickly like a thief in the night, yet it was the smoothest Christmas season I have experienced. There seemed to be a feeling of ease and lack of rush that I have not sensed maybe ever. It could have been that it was easier or maybe I was overshadowed by a death. I recently attended the funeral of a beloved influence in my life. They say we are influenced everyday by even the stranger we acquaint ourselves with, and so I must believe that those placed in our lives from the beginning hold even stronger sway. So it was with Sheila. I lived close to Sister Larsen all my life and our lives connected through church and children my age. Our families were not close but our lives intersected all through my formative years and into my adulthood. Her daughter and I were dear friends and I spent time in their home learning. It was not intentional learning but the kind that occurs while people are unaware. The kind that makes a mind decide things like living a life of good choices will give you peace. That is what I learned from this woman. Good choices bring peace. She lived her life that way. Don't misunderstand... neither Sheila nor myself have lived without pain, disappointment, trial or challenge, but the secret she imparted to me was that you can be happy in spite of those things. You can overcome the frustration and anger. You can surmount the pain and challenge which will open your eyes to the other things happening all around. There was never a time that I didn't encounter this woman without a genuine smile on her face. A smile that said she was completely interested in where and how I had been. Sometimes I was a little taken back at the ability she had to care about me, a person who was not within her daily events, yet she was invested. I never left her without feeling better about myself or the world in general. Sheila had a way of making a difference in the most important way.....person by person. It's a common misconception that to change the world one must create a monumental shift that veers an entire society into another direction. There are many people who have attempted and successfully accomplished this throughout history for good and ill, but then there are the Socrates of the world. The people who created shifts with small questions or insightful behavior on an individual basis which shifted a mind..... a single mind. One person who in the intricate web of their life went on to impart that shift to each and every person they came in contact. Both Socrates and Sheila made people think a little deeper and ask hard questions of themselves. This was what caused the shift. So maybe the trick isn't monumental change but leaving each person a little better for knowing you. Maybe it's not a trick at all but a creed that everyone should strive to live by. Remember that no one leaves you untouched. The influence from the smallest encounter changes us and so maybe this season wasn't easy. Maybe I just put things into perspective and so I owe another debt of gratitude to a woman who once again influenced me for good. Thank you Sheila for a life well lived.
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