Today is the anniversary of the birth of Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. It is a day of reflection and resolve to do all we can to make this a better world, to stand up for the marginalized, and to influence change for the better through non-violent means. Each and every person can make a difference by the seemingly little things they do. Great change is made up of a lot of those 'little' things. You make a difference by every positive thing you do, every smile you give to others, every time you stand up for a friend or stranger. Every time one of us who are privileged (and most of us are in one way or another) reaches out to give hope and help to one who is marginalized , we make this world a better place.

11 years after Dr King was shot down my mother passed away. Her passing was much less sudden and peaceful, but still it was way too soon. Today I remember that passing , 39 years ago on this date. And I pause to remember and reflect on the legacy she left - a legacy of inclusion,  compassion for all , and a quiet stand against bigotry, hate, and prejudice.

Two instances I remember. One was from the church we attended when I was young. The church had sent missionaries to Africa, specifically Cameroon, and had shared the gospel and built churches and helped the people improve their lives over many years. One day one of the native pastors came to visit our church and was sitting in the pews. My mom overheard a few ladies comment that 'why is he here?" dismissively. She thought to herself how can they be so prejudiced . We send missionaries over there , but heaven forbid they come over here to our church. The church was very white. it was a good church overall, but there were still people who hadn't quite got the message that God loved the world not just their little corner of it. They only saw God for the folks that were like them. My mom was conservative but she lived the love of God and knew it was for everyone.

A second example was when I was in college in Arizona. We had neighbors who were very poor - and had not had the advantage of education, yet she showed love to them just like any other. Our school district was always having problems with getting school levies passed to fund improvements. Part of the reason was that included in the school district area was a retirement community (50+) where many had the idea that that since they had raised their kids they shouldn't have to fund anybody else's kids. They didn 't want 'their" taxes raised when it wasn't benefitting them,

My mom was appalled at the selfishness of those folks. She was in her 50s at the time and all 5 of her kids were grown, so she did not have any stake in public education herself. And she could qualify for living in that retirement community. But all her life she had been involved with teaching kids (hers and others) , didn't want to wall herself away from kids, and felt a responsibility to providing help to others. She felt that the community had an obligation to provide a good education for all. And she was so happy when the retirement community (Sun City) was separated from our school district and we could finally get school levies passed to provide for the improvements they despirately needed

Like Dr King her legacy lives on in the hearts and minds and lives of those who knew and loved her. And in even in the lives of those who never knew her, but have been touched by those who did and who were changed by it.
Thanks Mom

new year's

It is a new year and time for new opportunities to make a difference in this world.
A time to resist what and who are wrong , and fiercely support what and who are doing right.
Every day can bring new discoveries and new open doors - every day can be new year's day.
Time for reflection and legacy. Reflect on what has gone before and resolve to build upon the good and resist the bad. To make amends for past misdeeds and faulty thinking.To celebrate when we got it right.
In the midst of our looking back in amazement and regret at what was done by our ancestors, it is good for us also to examine what we are currently doing now that if not corrected will be viewed with regret by our descendants.  The errors in the past often occurred because nobody thought to or had courage to question them. We need to examine our assumptions and current common practices to see if there are errors, hidden prejudices, group labels. We are all capable of indifference and faulty assumptions and just going along to get along. We all have moments of blindness to others' pain.

Let us resolve to be open eyed, open eared, open hearted  to all, not just to those who look, speak, or worship like we do. Let us resolve to remember that we are citizens of one world, not just one country, that everyone on this planet is our brother or sister, and that as John Donne said, "no man is an island' .....Let us resolve to help 'the least of these" and help all rise.

I resolve to share more reflections and legacy tips as we travel through this year.  It is time for us who have been around here a long time to reflect on what we have learned and leave a legacy for those who come after so that we can build a better world.

Hopefully,
Bob