“come unto Me all who are weary and I will give you rest.
bring what hurts, bring your scars,
bring the load that you carry and I will give you rest.”
so often we write our pain.
we perform the things that would normally be too emotional for us to say.
and that’s beautiful because the stage is a safe place to loose the demons.
it’s like if we turn agony in to art,
maybe the things that break our hearts won’t have to hurt so much.
or at least the pain can be spread amongst all of us.
but why are we all so sad?
i know there’s another unjust war raging across the sea.
i know that even this far after the movements we’re still fighting for equality.
i know the economy’s caving and everybody’s money is tight.
i know there are countless things that we just can’t seem to get right.
but why?
it’s either been seven thousand or a few million years
since men were introduced to the earth.
all this and i wonder why we weren’t taught to behave first.
they say things will never get that much better.
men will always raise fists against each other.
people will always be greedy
reinforcing the fact that there will always be needy people under bridges and in third-world countries.
some will always ignore boundaries.
but why?
i am standing here before you
with more love in my heart than i could ever hope for you to see.
and i’m telling you: stop asking why and be the one
who actually does the work to make the change instead of just promising a change will come.
go back to school;
get the degree that will help you get that job that benefits the community.
pick up double shifts at the restaurant
until you can take the financial burden off of your family.
give your life willingly so that others are free to pursue their dreams.
go to law school; not because you want to
but so that there will be compassionate people working in our government buildings.
focus on the helpless and misguided rather than doing everything for yourself.
take the initiative instead of pointing blame at someone else.
michael jackson said,
“there are ways to get there if you care enough for the living.”
don’t ask why bad things happen.
the answer’s not even worth giving.
it won’t change anything.
but ask your God and ask yourself,
“what can i, one person in a broken world, do to help?”
and i promise you, the answer will come
on the wings of an angel sent to guard and protect the one committed to the solution rather than the problem.
i’m sorry to say it, dear heart,
but if all you ever write about is pain then maybe you’re not doing enough.
“in the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” – john 16:33.
Showing posts with label change. Show all posts
Showing posts with label change. Show all posts
Friday, July 24, 2009
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
change
"i'm starting with the man in the mirror
i'm asking him to change his ways
and no message could have been any clearer
if you want to make the world a better place
take a look at yourself and then make a change"
-michael jackson
"yes we can heal this nation
yes we can repair this world"
-barack obama
why is that people rarely come together for anything other than death? michael jackson's memorial was beautiful. watching everyone on cnn and on facebook updating their statuses and showing love was great. it made me think about how the last time i saw anything that beautiful, that unifying, was at the hand of president obama (his inauguration, election night when he won, his landmark speeches). but prior to the election year, i rarely saw people joining hands with people they had never met and had almost nothing in common with. "bliss was it in that dawn to be alive, but to be young was very heaven" (william wordsworth).
this all means even more to me right now. i have recently felt my heartstrings connected to the state of oklahoma, as if i belong here. as if i have red dirt running through my veins and a tornado wreaking havoc inside my ribcage. over the last week, it had begun to look like oklahoma is a state that has yet to fall instep with the mantra of "united we stand, divided we fall." state representative sally kern has written a proclamation blaming the president, homosexuals, and debauchers for our economic crisis. she claims that a return to morality and religion is the key to turning the financial tide. and she defames america as an immoral nation.
i am not in denial. bad things happen everywhere, including the u.s., including oklahoma, but pointing fingers has never solved problems. and as a person who believes that, above all else, Jesus was a representative of love, it kills me to see people standing in Christ's name singing "God bless america" while villifying people's freedom of sexuality. it broke my heart to watch people proclaim division and animosity and then sing our "star-spangled banner."
i believe in the united states of america. i believe that when people unite themselves around a cause, there is nothing they cannot accomplish. it is true that the rule of the majority can sometimes yield unfavorable results, but that is why this is the "home of the brave" not just the "land of the free." we must take responsibility for the causes we rally behind. and we must never forget that freedom always comes at a price.
i guess i'm just hoping that people continue to think globally, to think about others as well as themselves, and realize that the good things we want are waiting for us to make them happen. someone else needs to stand up and be the one so that one can become two, two can become four, four can become forty, and forty can become the majority.
but today, let's all start with the man in the mirror.
r.i.p. michael jackson
i'm asking him to change his ways
and no message could have been any clearer
if you want to make the world a better place
take a look at yourself and then make a change"
-michael jackson
"yes we can heal this nation
yes we can repair this world"
-barack obama
why is that people rarely come together for anything other than death? michael jackson's memorial was beautiful. watching everyone on cnn and on facebook updating their statuses and showing love was great. it made me think about how the last time i saw anything that beautiful, that unifying, was at the hand of president obama (his inauguration, election night when he won, his landmark speeches). but prior to the election year, i rarely saw people joining hands with people they had never met and had almost nothing in common with. "bliss was it in that dawn to be alive, but to be young was very heaven" (william wordsworth).
this all means even more to me right now. i have recently felt my heartstrings connected to the state of oklahoma, as if i belong here. as if i have red dirt running through my veins and a tornado wreaking havoc inside my ribcage. over the last week, it had begun to look like oklahoma is a state that has yet to fall instep with the mantra of "united we stand, divided we fall." state representative sally kern has written a proclamation blaming the president, homosexuals, and debauchers for our economic crisis. she claims that a return to morality and religion is the key to turning the financial tide. and she defames america as an immoral nation.
i am not in denial. bad things happen everywhere, including the u.s., including oklahoma, but pointing fingers has never solved problems. and as a person who believes that, above all else, Jesus was a representative of love, it kills me to see people standing in Christ's name singing "God bless america" while villifying people's freedom of sexuality. it broke my heart to watch people proclaim division and animosity and then sing our "star-spangled banner."
i believe in the united states of america. i believe that when people unite themselves around a cause, there is nothing they cannot accomplish. it is true that the rule of the majority can sometimes yield unfavorable results, but that is why this is the "home of the brave" not just the "land of the free." we must take responsibility for the causes we rally behind. and we must never forget that freedom always comes at a price.
i guess i'm just hoping that people continue to think globally, to think about others as well as themselves, and realize that the good things we want are waiting for us to make them happen. someone else needs to stand up and be the one so that one can become two, two can become four, four can become forty, and forty can become the majority.
but today, let's all start with the man in the mirror.
r.i.p. michael jackson
Friday, May 29, 2009
Obama hires fund-raisers
Check out the article (click on title).
Um, I don't know that I really think that's a problem, not a big enough one to complain about anyway. If these people gave lots of money to the campaign and encouraged others to give lots of money, it could be because they believe in what the President wants to do. It could be because they wanted to buy themselves an ambassadorship, but so what? If these men start doing things that are selfish and not in line with the President's objectives, then we can say he made a bad decision in hiring them. But if they work to further his cause, then there's no problem.
Does it matter if they are career politicians or random other important people? Only if you are a career politician. That's just life.
Um, I don't know that I really think that's a problem, not a big enough one to complain about anyway. If these people gave lots of money to the campaign and encouraged others to give lots of money, it could be because they believe in what the President wants to do. It could be because they wanted to buy themselves an ambassadorship, but so what? If these men start doing things that are selfish and not in line with the President's objectives, then we can say he made a bad decision in hiring them. But if they work to further his cause, then there's no problem.
Does it matter if they are career politicians or random other important people? Only if you are a career politician. That's just life.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Brave New Voice (an homage)
The most powerful lesson I could ever hope to teach
Is the one that shows you there’s no height your dreams can’t reach if you let them.
Human beings are the most destructive
and the most resourceful of all the universe’s things
But I promise you this, new voice,
Someone will hear you if you scream.
Perhaps it will only be your neighbor at first,
But if you show her where you bleed,
She will seek to mother your wound until it seeps into her as well.
And I promise you this, they will hear when two voices scream.
If you tell them you refuse to steal Paco’s culture
Porque su padre no habla ingles
They won’t be able to ignore the noise that you and his whole family make
When you scream
If you tell them love is what we were created to give
And it doesn’t matter if Adam chooses Eve or Steve
Or if all three of them shack up,
All that matters is that they love each other and the world hard enough
to scream
So tell them, new voice,
That you will cover your head even inside their school doors.
You won’t judge them by their gods if they let you worship yours.
Scream until governments no longer turn blind eyes to the men, women, and children dying in the streets.
Scream until your voices reach the corner offices of the tallest Wallstreet buildings.
Scream until one job pays one salary regardless of what organs you carry between your legs,
Until politics becomes about getting work done not about getting words said.
Scream until there are as many programs teaching kids the danger of STDs
As there are corporations selling us sex through our television screens.
Scream until your friends no longer get pulled over simply for driving while black,
Until ghetto children are safe from police attacks.
Scream until gangs are no longer cool and we stop using drugs to escape.
Scream, because, I promise, it’s a nobler way to wade through the pain.
Scream until you can say “I’m proud to be an American
Because everyone here is free.
On this ground, we honor and bless the ones who died to give us what we see.
But I proudly stand up for him, for her, for me,
Because we are the generation that realized the ancestors' dreams.
Our flags have stopped waving and we give our allegiance to one thing
The brave voices that got us where we needed to be.”
Is the one that shows you there’s no height your dreams can’t reach if you let them.
Human beings are the most destructive
and the most resourceful of all the universe’s things
But I promise you this, new voice,
Someone will hear you if you scream.
Perhaps it will only be your neighbor at first,
But if you show her where you bleed,
She will seek to mother your wound until it seeps into her as well.
And I promise you this, they will hear when two voices scream.
If you tell them you refuse to steal Paco’s culture
Porque su padre no habla ingles
They won’t be able to ignore the noise that you and his whole family make
When you scream
If you tell them love is what we were created to give
And it doesn’t matter if Adam chooses Eve or Steve
Or if all three of them shack up,
All that matters is that they love each other and the world hard enough
to scream
So tell them, new voice,
That you will cover your head even inside their school doors.
You won’t judge them by their gods if they let you worship yours.
Scream until governments no longer turn blind eyes to the men, women, and children dying in the streets.
Scream until your voices reach the corner offices of the tallest Wallstreet buildings.
Scream until one job pays one salary regardless of what organs you carry between your legs,
Until politics becomes about getting work done not about getting words said.
Scream until there are as many programs teaching kids the danger of STDs
As there are corporations selling us sex through our television screens.
Scream until your friends no longer get pulled over simply for driving while black,
Until ghetto children are safe from police attacks.
Scream until gangs are no longer cool and we stop using drugs to escape.
Scream, because, I promise, it’s a nobler way to wade through the pain.
Scream until you can say “I’m proud to be an American
Because everyone here is free.
On this ground, we honor and bless the ones who died to give us what we see.
But I proudly stand up for him, for her, for me,
Because we are the generation that realized the ancestors' dreams.
Our flags have stopped waving and we give our allegiance to one thing
The brave voices that got us where we needed to be.”
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
13/30 - Invisible (title debateable)
She sits alone
not because she has no one,
but because she's old and no longer fun.
She hangs out with those half her age because they're the only ones around.
She lost her groove a long time ago and it has yet to be found.
She's enchanting because she's real,
not particularly attractive, but her eyes make you feel
and her voice has that appeal.
I wish I had seen her in her prime.
I bet she had a way of making folks laugh all the time.
I bet she had a great smile.
I hate that time can steal that away.
If only we never lost anything when we aged.
If only we always liked how we changed.
Now it's like she's invisible.
People look right through her.
All she wants is to be seen as real.
I feel sorry for her and the way she feels,
but then I remember that my own were invisible for hundreds of years.
This isn't a new tragedy.
Society must find someone to cast out
and they chose those that have aged like her
once they embraced the ones that look like me.
Perhaps we all pay our dues and take our turn
before the world decides we've earned
a place in their minds and eyes.
Then they transfer their blindness to those from other places and times.
I pray that the cycle is breaking
with the collective tolerant breaths we've been taking.
This world must begin changing,
lest this breathing become a massive suffocating.
not because she has no one,
but because she's old and no longer fun.
She hangs out with those half her age because they're the only ones around.
She lost her groove a long time ago and it has yet to be found.
She's enchanting because she's real,
not particularly attractive, but her eyes make you feel
and her voice has that appeal.
I wish I had seen her in her prime.
I bet she had a way of making folks laugh all the time.
I bet she had a great smile.
I hate that time can steal that away.
If only we never lost anything when we aged.
If only we always liked how we changed.
Now it's like she's invisible.
People look right through her.
All she wants is to be seen as real.
I feel sorry for her and the way she feels,
but then I remember that my own were invisible for hundreds of years.
This isn't a new tragedy.
Society must find someone to cast out
and they chose those that have aged like her
once they embraced the ones that look like me.
Perhaps we all pay our dues and take our turn
before the world decides we've earned
a place in their minds and eyes.
Then they transfer their blindness to those from other places and times.
I pray that the cycle is breaking
with the collective tolerant breaths we've been taking.
This world must begin changing,
lest this breathing become a massive suffocating.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Barack Obama for President 2008
I don't see how you can NOT believe in this. If this doesn't give you hope, if it doesn't light a fire underneath you, if it doesn't make you want to trudge through snow to the polling place, then I don't know that I have any business with you (politically speaking).
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