Upside Quote of the Day....
"You must be the change you wish to see in the world."
- Mahatma Gandhi
April 29, 2007
March 01, 2007
Take the No-Complaint Challenge
I recently read an article about where Reverend Will Bowen, a pastor of the Christ Church Unity in Kansas City, Missouri asked his congregation to make a 21-day promise not to complain. Then, he gave each person who was willing to participate a purple bracelet to serve as a reminder of their commitment. If they failed and complained, the bracelet was to be switched to the other hand and the 21-day pledge began over. Reverend Bowen summed it up well by saying that at least there's "a lot less ear pollution."
I challenge you to take the 21-day no complaint challenge. Make a pledge to yourself that for the next three weeks you will not criticize, gossip, use sarcasm, complain, whine, or mope about anything. I guarantee you that your life will be the better for it!
Visit them at http://www.ccunitykc.org and help them create a complaint-free world!
January 15, 2007
I Have a Dream...
Martin Luther King, Jr., was a Baptist minister who pushed for racial equality in the 1950's and the 1960's. On August 28, 1963, MLK Jr. organized a march in Washington, DC. He gave his "I Have a Dream" speech standing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. We celebrate his legacy today and recall his powerful talk which is credited with mobilizing supporters of desegregation and prompting the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
If you've never seen the words to Martin Luther King's glorious "I Have a Dream" speech, here they are......
"I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.
Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.
But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.
In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check — a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quick sands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.
It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.
But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.
We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny and their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.
As we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied, as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We can never be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.
I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.
Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.
I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.
I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.
This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring."
And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!
Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!
Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California!
But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!
Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.
And when this happens, When we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!""
December 25, 2006
Merry Christmas!
After over a decade of work in Federal law enforcement, I can truly appreciate the men and women who work in professions that don't close on December 25th. My mother is a nurse and she gave up many family Christmases to help others. I, too, worked on Christmas, as did my husband, which is why we choose to visit Jim's place of work on Christmas day. We bring food, smiles and a caring heart.
The greatest part about being there is seeing everyone come together to make a difference in a way that isn't like other work days. I find it difficult to explain because it isn't something tangible. We also didn't see anyone complaining about being there, either. It's just another sacrifice they make because they believe in their work and know they are making a difference.
Upside thoughts and Christmas blessings to everyone working today! You truly do make a difference!
December 09, 2006
Leaving a Legacy
When I was asked to speak at graduation for ITT Technical Institute, I was truly honored. To me, a graduation ceremony is more than the receipt of an academic degree or diploma marking the completion of studies. Graduation is the beginning of a new chapter in a persons life -- one with unlimited possibilities.
At least once a week, I can be heard saying to someone that education is also the great equalizer -- that which knows no boundries of race, sex, religion or nationality. It has the power to change someone's life for the better and can never be taken away.
I receive emails and letters about my motivational speeches and how they have inspired an individual to recognize the possibilities in their life but I knew this was going to be different. I told the graduates that while I wasn't qualified to talk about the future of technology or what career opportunities there will be in the field of electronics, Information Technology or Drafting and Design, I was qualified to talk about leadership. I shared the importance of having a mission statement to provide direction in life and challenged them to make it meaningful.
In the middle of my speech, I said the following, "You are the only one with your life. You may meet other people along your journey with your degree, however, there is only one person that can see what you see, feel what you feel and do what you can do the way you do it. No one else has your very special life." This is true for all of us. What will be the legacy you leave?
November 29, 2006
The Grinch
It's still November but Jim and I decided we were going to get a jump on Christmas preparation. We watched two movies and have already listened to countless Christmas CD's to get us in the spirit. As the Grinch said last night, however, Christmas isn't about packages, boxes and bows. Christmas is a season to give. As a Catholic Christian, Christmas is about the birth of Jesus. The preparation for the season starts from within. The list of what I am grateful for and the celebration of Thanks~Giving serve as an introduction to the Christmas season. It is now that I can ask myself, with all that I have, how am I going to make a difference this holiday season?
November 26, 2006
Upside Quote of the Day...
Time is limited, so I better wake up every morning fresh and know that I have just one chance to live this particular day right, and to string my days together into a life of action and purpose."
Lance Armstrong (1971 - ) U.S. cyclist, 7-time winner of the Tour de France and cancer survivor
November 07, 2006
Cast Your Vote Today
November 7th -- Election day -- a chance to make a difference. More often than not, my clients share with me that the reason why they started their company or applied for a particlar job was the chance to make a difference. It really doesn't matter whether they're mortgage brokers, chiropractors, engineers or photographers. The overwhelming desire to be a positive influence and "make a difference" occurs when, as Abraham Maslow says, all of our physical & emotional needs have been met and we long for self-actualization. Typically, "making a difference" occurs over time. However, voting is a tool that helps shape policy issues like education, judiciary rights, Social Security, economics and the environment.
Although when I was growing up I was taught to never talk politics or religion, I often violate that "suggestion". I worked for the Federal government for over a decade because I believe in the United States of America. I believe in a system of checks and balances and the ability to speak out. Educate yourself and urge others to vote.
There are plenty of skeptics and nay-sayers who do not believe that November 7th is any different than any other day of the year. (I was shocked recently have found out that only 30% of all of individuals eligible to vote in my town have actually registered to vote!) And, yet, thousands of people who have gone before me have fought for my freedom and personal right to vote. In their honor, I cast my vote.
p.s. Today is my 2nd wedding anniversay! I am grateful for my amazingly wonderful husband, Jim!