A Space for Empowerment

I found this letter that I wrote right after Obama was elected. Reading this, I felt hopeful, again, for a moment…among the shootings and hatred and sexual violence, I found a ray of hope within this letter. My prayer is that it will bring a moment of peace to you…as you continue to stretch into your own space of empowerment.

Dear Mr. Obama,

Today I am writing to thank you for placing a mirror before our eyes. I think sometimes, the ooze of cynicism has to squish between the toes and trickle into the eyes before one really beholds the truth of the matter. And we see clearly as we wipe away the gunk. It’s like beholding a sunrise. The light is. In a moment, the darkness is not, replaced by the warm and crystal clear hue of a promise on the horizon.

You speak of hope. You speak of change. You speak of being your brother (or sister’s keeper)…and I wonder, as always, at the wonder you have placed before us…of the lines that you have crept over…of the way that your message began as a mustard seed and grew into a mountain…forever radiant with the vivacious oranginess of hope.

Within ten years to rid ourselves of our addiction to foreign oil?  How glorious. The earth is real to you. For you, your sister and brother go beyond the human and right into the animal and the earth. You understand the value of a blade of grass, just as much as you see the dignity of an African-American voting, for the first time, for you, a fellow African-American.

But, Mr. Obama, you are so much more than a package, a color, a gender. For me, you represent the dream of all that is possible. The content of character that Mr. King spoke of in his own historic journey.  Progress, not perfection.  Hope, not fear.  That the value of a man, a woman, a mountain, a nation will be judged by all that is worthy…

Call to Action: Discover what brings you hope and do it!