A Phoenix Rising... From the Ashes

My wife and I talked over lunch about the Presidential Inauguration Ceremony and its effects on us personally and on societies local and global.  What she said struck me so powerfully that I had to quote her:

"This is the opposite--this is the antithesis--of 9/11.  What I mean is that what I felt that morning, the thought that history was changing, that American history would be marked pre-9/11 and post-9/11; and that the way the world and all Americans see this country would shift in some amazing--and even scary--ways.  This day is the opposite of that, in a way.  It's...like a phoenix rising from the ashes."

I formally invite DJ Jay Smooth to expound on the thought (and no, I don't agree with each of his points, but the overwhelming theme is on target):

Why I'm Happy, Why I'm Not Satisfied

We have permission to be happy while maintaining our practical perspective.  America has signed a treaty with her children, a promise to learn from the cornucopia of our past blunders by walking in Dr. Martin Luther King's--and, for that matter, my mother's--dream to live as humanly and as humanely as we REALLY can in our country's grand area.  Our problems are far from over in many ways, but we--America--are walking our talk again.

Let freedom ring.  Keep walking your talk.  Love somebody just because God loves him or her as much as He loves you.  Talk about tough topics with people--instead of setting people up to look like racists because they don't understand your perspective or your culture.  Open your mind enough to see another human's perspective, and you might change your mind about a few things.  The work IS a part of the dream, believe it or not...

God bless you.  Vaya con Dios.  Salaam 'Alaykum (السلام عليكم).

If I have misspelled or misused the beautiful words of your parent language, forgive me and correct me.  It's my pleasure to learn.  That, as it turns out, is another part of THE DREAM.

New (Old) Music Monday: Kim Burrell x Walter Hawkins

Solomon, the man listed in the Bible as the world's wisest man, wrote in Lamentations that "time and chance happen to all" of us on this beautiful planet Earth--and my life has shown it. Name a catastrophe, tragedy, conflict, problem, attack, threat, or fear at random, and I will easily raise my hand like a schoolchild roughly 95 percent of the time to announce, as Dr. Dre would say, "Been there, done that."

Am I alone? Hardly. Each of us has a list tucked away in mind, a list that carries memories of near misses and impossible escapes, of crippling sickness and miraculous recovery, of troubling hurts and remarkable forgiveness. Life AIN'T always easy (Mom, don't beat me), but doesn't if feel great to live it? Monday is the day when I feel ready to skip sunrise, sleep late (if I can sleep at all) and pretend that the world will stop for my laziness, but my thoughts have no effect on nature and how God makes it work.

The weekend had some scary moments, but my family survived and are alive and whole. My mother's mother is still here despite her memory's fight to leave her. My brother and his family are in one of the hottest places on this side of the globe and managing to keep cool, safe, and fit like personal trainers. My wife still loves even the ugliest parts of me, and I still love the way her everything sounds, feels, looks, and smells. Life is full of the unexpected, but none of life's woes can top the good things in my life.

Be grateful for your good things. Why don't you take a moment to share a few right here? I would love to hear them.