Attitude

The struggle is real.

And so is the solution.

Every pageant contestant can tell us about how they value world peace. It's a simple cause to advocate because it is of universal concern - excepting, of course the fanatics out there.

We're thinking globally, but want for ways to act locally.

And let's think very locally --- very micro.

I was washing dishes this morning when I felt like I needed a sandblaster to clean one plate. With each revolution of my hand, I grumbled. I complained. I cursed the stuck-on bits of food.

I noticed that it felt like I was massaging my plate.

The motion of my hand changed as the context of this chore changed. I became mindful. I became relaxed. I became. I was the focused Karate Kid of dish washing.

The work is going to always need to be done. I learned a great deal about how an attitude can change things.

Maybe instead of let there be peace on Earth...

Let there be a global attitude adjustment, and let it begin with me. [Smile]

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Peace be with you!

Fakih and Brandy bring the Christmas!

This video clip made my morning when I first saw it on my Facebook page.  Thank you Fakih and Brandy for such a festive rendition of an great Christmas tune!  I am sharing this in the hopes that it does go viral.  The world needs this double shot of cheer.  Pass it on :-)

Big brother is waiting...

This Saturday evening was much more loaded with anticipation for an only child who attended kindergarten down the block and lived alone with two loving parents. His father was out to sea and his grandmother flew down from Ohio. Having moved from his birth state of California, Florida was a stable new home for him and there were no major upheavals in his early life save the passing of his maternal grandmother. As his own mother grew in size and great with child, he was puzzled by this impending arrival. He was astonished that there was somebody growing inside this magical oven. He rubbed his mother's tummy in hope of feeling a kick or a nudge from the newest Meeks. The day came on a Monday when his mother was spirited away to hospital and he pondered the scene of the delivery. He was going to be a big brother. He was going to be an elder in his own home with lessons and joys to share with this bright, new sibling. The brand new girl came into the house much smaller than I had anticipated, as I announced to my mother and grandmother that she was too small to play with yet! New life entered my home and, suddenly my home became our home. My parents became our parents. My world became our world. Ashlee Ja'Near Meeks meant an expansion in my world and growth in my spirit. Thirty-three years later, I think back to that weekend of waiting. Thirty-three years later, I remember the door opening. Thirty-three years later, I am still a boy who is proud to be a big brother. I love you! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Young Hollywood

"I AM big. It's the PICTURES that got small." - Norma Desmond, Sunset Boulevard

When I took film making class at the University of North Florida, I made it a mission of mine to see as many classic films that I could find. Hollywood's magical machine had a way of telling stories once upon a time. Although a little worn around the edges from competing with new media, the motion picture is still the art form that surpasses the rest in defining our popular culture. The past is prologue in our lives and Hollywood provides us with a parable in honoring those who came before us. Before there was a Steven Spielberg, there was a D.W. Griffith. Before there was a Natalie Portman, there was a Gloria Swanson. Before there was a Brad Pitt, there was a Montgomery Clift. Our heritage is the legacy of those who blazed a path for us. Yes, Hollywood is preoccupied with youth. Yes, the youthful demographics are what prompt filmmakers to be fickle and flighty in who they package to be the next star. What will never change is the work after which we pattern our new plots and stories. You might ask me what in the world does a fantasy world have to do with the one we live in today. I would answer that we and the entertainment industry have a great deal in common. We can ill afford to discard our past for the sake of embracing the future. The Bible cautions us to honor our fathers and our mothers for we can live a long life from such respect. This, metaphysically, does not mean that being nice to our parents will extend our life expectancy. It means that by recognizing our elders in the flow of life, we understand that longevity is not a vice but a virtue. The picture was big for me when I was a youth and listened to my church elders. I scarcely knew who they were and I always wanted to know what they knew because they were a fountainhead of wisdom that would help me on my journey. One woman comes to mind when I think about my times in Grenson Hall - our fellowship hall - after our Sunday worship services. One woman of advanced age was a faithful attendee of our church. She had a faded tattoo on her arm that she extended to me in friendship. We always exchanged pleasantries and conversation as I staffed the doughnut table that was our YOU fundraiser to support our local, regional and international functions. She, like Rev. Bonnie Grenson, always wanted to take home a small treat for dessert. In return for her doughnut or cookie, she always placed her love offering in the YOU basket and she always paid me back with a smile I left for college and, when I returned, she was no longer there. I learned that she had made her transition. That is not the only thing I discovered about my late friend. Ann was a survivor of the Holocaust. That explained her faded tattoo. She chose a spiritual path in Unity that I trust helped her with her transition. I miss her because I could have learned a lot more from her, but I appreciate the influence that Ann had in my life. The pictures in our world only get small because we allow them to. We must open our eyes to the big picture that we are all big and that our presence must never shrink in the infinite Light, Power and Glory of God. And, when I am in the twilight of my own years in this mortal world, I hope that I will be honored even a fraction of the way I honored Ann and many of my brothers and sisters like her.

"The stars are ageless, aren't they?" - Norma Desmond, Sunset Boulevard