Yesterday was Martin Luther King Jr. birthday. A day marked in most states as a holiday to celebrate a man who’s vision and words turned a nation, inspired, pushed the passing of legislation, forced a nation to look at itself, it’s racism, its inequality, and in the end he gave is his life knowing changed required authenticity at the cost of great sacrifice. Truth has conditions and consequences in a world that is divisive by nature to extract power and uphold it’s privilege at the expense of others. He had more than a dream. He saw the big picture. He knew what needed to be done.
“I have been to the mountain….” link below: https://m.afscme.org/union/history/mlk/ive-been-to-the-mountaintop-by-dr-martin-luther-king-jr
His final speech. The one he gave right before a bullet ripped through him. Still gives me chills. That speech was the movitvation of a vision and the recognition that one serves the greater good. One risks everything. The great sacrifice for magic you might never see yet you know is the truth that is behind the veil of ignorance and fear. The speech was his alignment with Divinity in that hour and his grace to accept the path without doubt. Do the thing that needs to be done. Do the next right thing. Not because it will make you something great. You do it because it is kind, compassionate…. it brings the world into balance… makes it right with the universe.
In that speech his words transcended the internal struggle over life and death. He understood the true value of living. The miracle of it. The true power it contains and the inherent risk of sacrifice. The gamble for the greater good. Death no longer the feared obejctive. He freed himself and left us a lot think about and a lot to do.
I am grateful to have lived in a time graced by his vision and willingness to take action for a better world. It is men and women like him that have pushed me to see beyond the fog of the every day accpetable indignities that many people live with, the externalized accepted trends of racism and oppression, a corrupt government, and the entanglement of unjust laws that keep people living in conditions that are not reflective of a civil society.
The fight is never over. Power and greed are not easily resolved and in their cunningly abusive nature they are constantly divising ways to undo the great sacrifices of Martin Luther king Jr. and those who would follow in his foot steps to continue civil rights work.
Each generation has to carry the baton of resistance, and fight to keep the world fair and just. It is more than showing up at a gathering, posting on social media, or the acknowledgment of his greatness. It is through our actions that this man’s life is renewed, remembered, respected and celebrated.
None of us is free until we are all free
“…. the realization of eternity contained in each moment. With each breath it is the awareness that life and death are the same and the value of our human-ness is measured by service to humanity, the earth and universe…” Dr.Adhi
Shaman @ Large 