Somebody pinch me! I thank God I have lived to see the day that Dr. King’s riveting prophecy has come to fruition: “…He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people will get to the promised land.”
We as Americans have so much to be grateful for! Barack Obama’s election as the first African-American president is truly monumental and divinely ordained. Just as the ancient Hebrews were set free from 430 years of oppression, African-Americans have been vindicated approximately 400 years since their ancestors set foot in chains on American soil in 1619. Who but God could change the hearts and minds of the ancestors of former slave owners and slaves? America is now approaching the day when all men and women will be judged by the content of their character, and not the color of their skin, gender or nationality.
Yes, change has come to America and the world. As President Obama says, “change comes from the bottom up.” Barack has given us the vision, but we must carry out the mission. We can do so by starting with ourselves, our families, schools, churches, temples, and synagogues. Let us start by finding solutions to the following questions: How can we individually and collectively make this a better world? How can we as Americans conserve energy, our natural resources and protect our families? How can we be the change that we want to see in our life? How can we become our brother’s keeper?
Yes, I know we are in a recession, but how can we take our lemons and make lemonade out of them? Remember, this is the country where fairy tales can come true! Only in America can you have an Obama, an Oprah, a Chris Gardner or an Andrew Carnegie. We must use what’s in our hands like they did. By that I mean we must use our latent and dominant gifts, talents and skills. All of them started out at the bottom, but they developed a strong work ethic, a “yes I can” attitude and persisted until their gifts and talents were realized.
George Bernard Shaw once said, “Some men see things as they are and say 'why'? Others dream things that never were and say 'why not'?" A Native American elder offered advice that is applicable to many individuals as he described his own inner struggles: Inside of me there are two dogs. One of the dogs is mean and evil. The other dog is good. The mean dog fights the good dog all the time. "When asked which dog wins, he reflected for a moment and replied, "The one I feed the most."
Which dog are you feeding? What dream do you respond to, - the one that says, “I think a can,” like The Little Engine That Could©, or are you feeding the evil dog in you that says fairy tales can’t come true? The choice is yours.
Again, congratulations President Barack Obama and all the dreamers that say, “Yes we can!”
C. Joyce Farrar-Rosemon
www.womensempowermentseminars.com
Posted By: C. Joyce Farrar-Rosemon
Tuesday, January 20th 2009 at 8:15PM
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