A Real Gift

On the first day of Kwanzaa, I was given a great gift. In probably less than 5 minutes, a conversation with a former student became a gift for which I am very grateful. Sometimes what we need comes from places where we don't expect it. This season is a wonderful time to be grateful. Gratitude has a way of creating more gifts. Gifts you would not expect, from places you least expect. I will not tell you what the gift was, but I urge you to open your sense of gratitude and watch the gifts that come. Thank you. I am most grateful on this the second day of Kwanzaa.
Happy Kwanzaa!

Blessed How?

I heard a child in the mall say there were blessed because of the jeans they were able to buy. Why do we teach our children that they are blessed because they have more than someone else or better than someone else. I always wondered why we counted our blessings based on someone else. Am I blessed because I have legs? Does that mean someone without legs is not blessed? When will acknowledge blessings that don't put us in competition with others? We are all blessed. Working or not. Rich or poor. Mercedes or bus. It is not about the what, or is it? Are there not spiritual gifts that cause us to know that we are blessed? Tell me, blessed how?

experience your history

Please take a moment and visit the site www.celebratingelders.blogspot.com.

This site is a project of SIS at Spelman College. The stories of our elders are saved and written by the students who interviewed them. You will enjoy just seeing our elder sister who is now 107. Go, look and be inspired. They would really appreciate your leaving a written comment on the site. Thanks.

It's not my business anyway

I decided that I should read what other people were bloggin about, just so I could keep up with the public's desire for information and discussion. That was a bad idea! Do you realize how many different kinds of writings, discussions, blogs, news articles etc. are out here around issues that don't enhance our lives in any way. Do I need to know who Tiger Woods slept with? Do I care when, where or how they got together? Will I grow spiritually from knowing any of this? Will I make the world a better place because I know this?

I often work with children and they keep up with some of this useless information too. They use this to create some of the categories in their own lives. Should a seven year old girl be calling a seven year old boy her "man", and be exhorting him to only listen to her. To change our world we have to be different and show our children what a different world might be, one that doesn't include who is sleeping with whom.

We have choices, Entertainment Tonight or a good book, beautiful music, or the News, quiet meditation, journal writing, or gossiping . Our spirits want something of value. If we look up and find all the beauty in the world, our desire for the spiritual "junk food" should lessen. Let's help each other in every conversation point to the best we can be. Love ya!