No one is going to really save us but US!

Somehow, the Social Inertia that has led to us to think and act like savages and blame all of OUR issues on others has to end. We have to find another object to act against the object in motion. Right now WE are blindly seeking the grace of God without willing to help ourselves. The people you blame for “OUR” issues are not going to save us so giving them the blame solves NOTHING. We have to save our own, starting with our children, one at a time! It is better to be in a position to receive GRACE (on the frontend) than to ask for MERCY (on the backend)!

It shames me that we are perpetually looking to others for the blame for our wrong doing or looking to blame others for our current negative situations. The problem with this is that you cannot get those that you blame to change a thing. Until you begin to look at your issue like it is your issue, nothing happens to mature a solution. I had to learn the very hard way that taking ownership of my issue is the one and true way to master it with a solution. It does not matter where the issue began, it is mine now and only I can fix it. Waiting on the stimuli that caused it to somehow fix it set me into a cycle of nothingness of just that…waiting! Why would the thing that created my problem help me to solve it? That thing will not help you to solve it until it has been reformed and the originators of our racial problems lack reformation or even acknowledgement that they originated the issue. Left on an island an entity will choose to survive or wallow in what it is that got them to that island. I choose to survive and focus on getting off the island. The broken vessel that got me to the island is not going to come to my rescue. Acknowledgement of this fact is the first part to getting to the solution.

Looking to God to supply a magic carpet ride off of this island will lead to a slow and painful hunger followed by an even more delayed death. Take notice that there are resources around you that may suffice for survival or better yet for getting off the island and saving oneself. All you have to do is make sure not to ignore the resources and take a step into the woods to go and get it. The fruit that drops from the trees has to be gathered and the animal has to be hunted if you plan to have nourishment to survive. The ship that gets you off the island will not build itself. If you are dependent upon the ship that got you there (welfare) to supply your needs once a month, it will stop coming ONE DAY. This I promise. Someone is paying for the ship to visit you once a month and they will some day, when you are no longer of use, stop visiting and leave you STRANDED.

Grace is the providence of things that are not deserved. This is sufficient if you are in a position to receive it. Mercy is the lack of what you really deserve. He who does not hunt will not eat. Asking that the mercy of nourishment is endowed upon you is a stretch and a chance that you do not want to worry into. Provide for yourself and grace will remain in the forefront. Waiting on others to provide for you and HOPE that there is mercy behind you and your misdeeds, is a losing proposition eventually.

We owe it to ourselves to take ownership of our issues and to supply answers to out many problems. Then and only then will what we have be enough and our children can follow the path that has been blazed for them, by our own footsteps. This blame that we give to an unseen “spook” is at its end as he will not come back to receive it or reconcile its fruit. We have to fix our own problems, no matter who caused them.

Where you stand dictates what you see

In life it is said that you are either heading into a storm, inside of a storm, or coming out of a storm. There is no prescribed amount of time for either of these parts of your individual life. I think that this is a true statement, at least by the experiences of my personal journey through life. What is more than challenging about this is the perspective at which we stand in the midst of these parts of the journey. Most of this comes from preparation and the understanding of a person as they travel. From the perspective of a person who has planted nothing a storm can be an unwelcome hindrance to continue the busy life of achieving null. For a person who has planted seeds for sowing, a storm can be a necessary giver of life, a sustainer of sorts. A storm can be a reminder that better times are ahead or a gut check to pay attention to where your assistance comes from. You see, the perspective comes from where you are situated and where you stand

physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

Prosperous people are the enemy of those that never really intend to live in the prosperity brought by their own sweat. Prosperous people, to them, are those that have too much, or those that need to give more, or those that are “food” for them to eat. The perspectives of those that live by the sweat of their brow see the prosperous as something totally different. They are to be looked upon as examples of what is to be achieved with hard work, dedication, and diligence. It really depends on where you situate yourself as you take sight of the lives of others.

Taking from others when you are capable of getting your own is a perspective shared by those that stand and view from a negative perspective. Never is there enough from where they stand. They intend to take until there is nothing left to take. Those with this perspective rob from the people that are in REAL need of the generosity and charity of the prosperous.

Standing in a storm and only seeing the rain can mean that your perspective is not allowing you to witness the rainbow or the flowers that will bloom. After the storm passes you only see mud. What a terrible place to be in. One of the most beautiful things about life is that you can change your perspective and view to be able to see more clearly…you just simply have to want to. Sometimes the herd you follow are lemmings and you just haven’t noticed until the cliff is behind you. From one perspective a rose is filled with thorns, and from another it is filled with vivid colors and unbelievable scents to be enjoyed. Where you stand very much dictates what you are able to see.

Martin Luther King was standing at the mountain top in a dream when he wrote a famous speech. From that perspective he seemed to be able to see the future of Black America. He seemed to be able to see much of what is evident in today’s society. He seemed to also foreshadow his not being able to get to a promised land just as Moses was not able to enter into the land he saw from Mt. Nebo that was promised by God. He seemed to enjoy a perspective that was one that could see past the storm. I often wonder what my world would be like had he chose to stand somewhere else.

A child can be a blessing or a curse. A job can be an albatross or a gold coin. A life can be one filled with the joys of overcoming challenges or a pitiful succession of concessions. You can see an approaching storm if you are not prepared or an opportunity  or you can see the beautiful rain given for your seeds to be fed. Remember the earth is fertilized with waste. What smells the most can be a giver of life if you stand in the right place and have the right perspective. A perspective can be one enjoyed or one to run from…..It just depends on where you choose to stand.