Let’s Get Busy Living

“Tomorrow is not promised to anyone… you only have today.” This is what I was taught from my youth as a way to view life in general.  However and most of the time we forget or take for granted what we have.   Believe me… I have been around a while, traveled to a number of countries while in the Navy… and what some people complain about… is nothing.  Just trade your place in America with someone else from another country and you will see.   In many countries around the world it is pretty rough and I don’t think some of us would be able to survive or get accustom to living without all of the modern conveniences.     

So much of what we are accustom to does not exist in other places around the world. The average American enjoys traveling on paved streets, drinking clean water, walking in the park, taking a shower, air conditioning, shopping in a grocery store, a visit to the mall, museum, a nice restaurant, and children attending a nice school, and in house plumbing and… you get the picture.  It is truly a stark contrast in lifestyles and cultures.  Of course that does not mean we live in a perfect country, far from it, and yes, we still have quite a few issues to work on.  We can never turn our heads from the high level of gun violence, poverty, voter suppression, homelessness, joblessness, underemployment, abuse, war on drugs, greed and racism.     

What is truly amazing about people from around the globe is the fact that regardless of where you are from, we all share a common humanity and a desire to have a livable wage job, live in peace, and enjoy life, our families and friends.  However, this is not the case and it seems that we are always chasing after what we desire and not taking the time to enjoy what we have.  For most people this is the greatest dilemma, to always want something that is out there and not really enjoying the present moments and to be thankful.    Dr. Benjamin E. Mays, once the president of Morehouse College (1940-67), Atlanta put it this way …. “It’s not what you keep, but what you give that makes you happy.”  And so here we are, my suggestion is simple… let’s work together to overcome our differences and make our world a better place.  Are you with me?   

Making It Happen

We have all heard it said once and a while that there are a lot of great ideas out there.  Of course that is the problem…“they are out there.” First of all, where is out there? Secondly, who is looking? And finally, what should be done?  These are just a few of the questions that have to be answered.    

Most of us would agree with the assessment that there are a lot of things that need to get done to ensure a better future for the next generations.  This is especially true for those living in urban America.  This includes cleaning up the environment, rebuilding neighborhoods, creating sustainable employment, enlarging political tents, expanding health and wellness initiatives, improving educational institutions and providing better housing.  And this is just a short list. 

If you want to make something happen, even in our modern society, it takes concern people who do not mind leading people with a purpose.  Today, more community based advocates are needed to help in the process to make our communities and streets better and safer.  In most cases there is so much that is out of place that it does not take long to find any issue worth getting involved with.  Of course, one will have to be ready to deal with pushbacks, confrontations and the misunderstanding that come as part of the reality.  When cultural, institutional and business norms are being affected…the heat, temperature and risks just increase.            

We all can agree that in this 21^st century a lot of things need to be done for the wellbeing of our communities and nation… and to get it right.  And of course the sure complexity of our American society, its structures, systems of government on various levels, the board landscape of educational institutions… change and reform is hard to take.   Nicholas Butler Murray, (1863-1947), a former president of Columbia University and Nobel Peace Prize recipient in 1931, offered this insight on leadership… “there are three kinds of people; those who make things happen, those who watch things happen, and those who wonder what happened.”  The question for us today, where does each of us stand? 

Back To Our Future

“Those who don’t know history are destined to repeat it.”  These were the words once spoken by Edmund Burke a noted author, orator, political theorist and philosopher in Great Britain.   Those words are ringing so true today in the 21^st century as never before.  The echoes and legacy from America’s past have reemerged and many of us are appalled at what we see happening.

 

A new generation has emerged with a set of values that is reflective of a pervious era.  Even though we have made progress in many ways in our nation, the overarching results still remain the same.  Today, these remix of values with a modern twist continue to pledge the greatest nation in the world.  There are no more slavery ships, trading blocks, branding irons, or whipping posts, and chains, but the tentacles of that era have reached far into this 21^st century.           

 

In her book, Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome, Joy DeGruy Leary points out that the ongoing legacy of slavery, it’s the physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual traumas that African people endured for hundreds of years.  She further cites that the descendants had to endure on going trauma for another century after the Civil War.  The effects of these long term traumatic experiences of de-humanization and crimes against humanity continue to impart African Americans today.  In defining these experiences she goes on to say that is a condition that exists when a population has experienced multigenerational trauma resulting from centuries of slavery and continue to experience oppression and institutionalized racism.      

 

It seems to me, that in order to move forward in finding some workable solutions to the many problems that exist in African American communities today, there is a need to come to grips with our past, its history, struggles, to talk about it, remember its lessons, a day of atonement… in order words we must learn to “heal our brokenness.” Some have made it out … but the work is far from over… for there are still countless others who are still trapped in a cycle of self-destruction, self-doubt and limited opportunities.  This effort requires all of us to share in helping those who are lost and can’t find their way out.   The time is now… our future awaits.