Hermano En La Struggle's Epiphany

I got home exhausted tonight. After running faster than Forest on an elliptical machine and showering I drove home ready to relax and listen to the smooth sounds of Lauryn Hill. I don't care what anyone says... she'll always be a Queen in my eyes no matter how the media portrays her. She sang to me as got my food ready and glided from side to side in my cocina. Running 4 miles will give you the munchies more than any illegal substance you could possibly take. The best part is that the high you get from running lasts all day and doesn't impair judgement. It actually opens up your focus and helps blood flow to the brain so that you can come up with clever phrases like...“running faster than Forest”.

After my brief meal I hit up the blog world and prepared to write this entry. Then I noticed the blog of an “Hermano En La Struggle”. He submitted words that expressed what many working for the betterment of the world feel. In it he admits that he has come to the realization that he will never be monetarily rich. But that won't change his mission of helping brothers and sisters the world over because that's what will profit his soul. AMEN AND POWER TO YA HERMANO! After reading his entry I recalled a gift that one of my sisters had given me years ago. It's a small plaque that had one of the most motivational phrases I've ever read. “We make a living by what we get but we make a life by what we give”. OOHHH SNAAAP! My corpus callosum (structure that connects the left and right sides of the brain) trembles at the mere thought of that phrase. Now mind you...this life isn't for everyone. The problem is that some don't see that good can be done one act at a time. Others don't even see the good they do on a daily basis. Some raise their children the right way. Instill respect, honor, and compassion into their seeds. Well guess what...by doing so you've planted a tree that can grow sky high and reflect all that is just. As my “Hermano En La Struggle wrote, all you need to do is one good act at a time. That alone can be revolutionary. If you don't want to do something big well just be nice to people, smile, donate a few hours a month to help out a community org, tutor someone, pick up a coin that someone dropped and say “Here you go sister (or brother)”, don't curse out the person that cut you off and instead pray that he or she is not in such a hurry because his or her loved one is spiritually ascending...you never know what good small acts can do. But they do add up and create a world of difference.

For instance, I work with children. I'm a Youth Worker at a youth center and I also teach workshops at schools and orgs. One of the workshops that I teach on a regular basis takes place once a week at a nearby High School. With this particular workshop I go in and teach ripening fruits how to be Spoken Word Poets. But I don't do just that. I teach the importance of confidence, self-esteem, education, knowledge of self, love, appreciation of history, etc. etc. and especially how to attain all of it. One of the problems of the public educational system is that children are told that education, history, literature and other things are important but we don't adequately explain why. They're just told “Because it is...now do what you are told”. I heard that plenty of times while I was in school.

The other day there was a young talented brother that has yet to see the power he possesses within. Every time I hear him speak I can hear a fire burning within him thats ready to destroy all of the statistical data that's ever predicted his now and tomorrow. He stands and birds fear that he too may have discovered the secret of flight. However, he was having difficulty seeing it. The words of his poem refused to make their exit because they kept being held by something many call nervousness. Something I call the unrealized “Superstar” within. Because we're all “Superstars”...it's just that some have difficulty realizing this. Teens have it worse because of the bombardment of all things they are expected be, sound, act, and look like. T.V. tells them they need to be sexy, inefficient teachers make them feel dumb and Apple tells them they should have an iPod to be “Cool”. When in reality all they need to do...is be. I took my time talking to him. It turns out that the piece he was performing was just too much for him. I let him know that not every piece should be for others to hear or read. Some need to be kept close to the heart because they are the purest expression of what lies within that heart. After a hug and my reminding him that there is nothing he can't do as long as he wants to do it he decided on another piece and seemed relieved. Those extra minutes that I stayed speaking with him made me a bit late to my Youth Center job...but they had a world of effect on a young man that is not only determined but also destined to be what he dreams of being.

My point is...take that extra minute to say “Good Morning”, pay for someone's coffee (or Chai Tea) because their wallet was left at home, remind a youth you know that he or she can become anything he or she can imagine, help a woman get her 5 cats out of the tree (hey it can happen). That my friends is revolutionary. That mis hermanos and sisters is what allows us to “make a life by what we give” (Winston Churchill).