When We All Get Together ...

What a day of rejoicing it will be!

The most Wonderful Things Happen on the Way to Peace ... people unite in solidarity, problems get solved, and questions are answered. In the midst of this wonderful place where wonderful things happen, people walk their talk and make a difference. Oh, what a day of rejoicing it will be when people can actually believe in that most Wonderful Thing! called peace. The truth is that it is what we believe does become the change we wish to see. For some, you have to see it to believe it, but for visionaries such as our ancestors, Harriet Tubman and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., they had to first Believe. My friend, Audria Scott Williams, a modern-day visionary--believes. That is why she spearheaded the 13 Moonwalk 4 Peace and why she joined community leaders, activists and others in a walk around Houston. For several days, the mantra was "pass the peace so that peace can increase."

     I believe the children are our future. But, as one of my mentors helped us to understand (thanks, DeLloyd Parker), actually we are our children's future and unless we start believing that we can create a brighter future, it won't--can't happen. In Houston, David DeFabo took two young Houstonians under his wing and gave them cameras. David and Kayla took their jobs seriously as they participated in the Houston walk through Third Ward. The idea for this initiative is called "Through the Eyes of a Child" and for the rest of the walk (through 11-11-11), children across the country will be photographing their communities and showing the world the best and sometimes the worst of what they are inheriting. This is also about preparation. The children learn that they have ideas and can use their gifts and talents for the good.
     Many know that communities around the U.S. are struggling in a variety of ways. Unemployment is high. Housing is expensive and too many homes have been foreclosed on. There are such disparities between the poor and the rich that the middle class is suffering more than ever before. Yes, too many are falling through the different cracks of society because we have not figured it out. However, much of our problems can be solved if we'd put our heads together. Problems are being solved in certain pockets of the Houston community and we are seeing families that do more than survive, but thrive.

     One such community organization is Shape Community Center. Like its name, its mission is to shape lives and build communities because they believe that "strong families make a strong nation." There are so many ways that problems are being solved, and so many ways that people are working together. So, where are these stories? How do we learn to take what is constructive and replicate it in other communities?
     In Atlanta during the first two weeks of this new decade, Audri and I, along with friends and colleagues in Houston, Texas proved that that communities can unite. And in the midst of these events in Houston, Texas, my friend Sister Mama Sonya came up with an idea: A Bus Walk to Atlanta, Georgia on 11-11-11! You gotta believe it to see it. She saw it. And now we have, too. It is catching, after all.
     So, this is just a tease. We've got a plan and are working to make it more and more of a reality. We know that we have all been on this journey to meet one another in an explosion of peacemaking like never before. Ready for the ride? Stay tune and we'll tell you more.
     Peace. Peacemaking is a reality.

In The Beginning ...

If I'd Only Known ...

I'd still have been fearless. I still will have laughed at this moment because I would have still had the innocence and now I know,  I wouldn't have changed a thing. Knowing that I would lose my granddaughter who never got to laugh and play like this, I understand now that she was a gift, and it breaks my heart still. For the short time we had her, Melliah was, no is, my heart and I miss her. But, to hear myself say, "I wouldn't change a thing ..." she comes to my mind first. Would I want my mother back now? Would I have liked to make other decisions than the ones I've made? Of course I would. But, the question is whether or not I would change anything and the answer is no!
     The truth is that there is never just one alternative. Had Melliah lived, perhaps there would have been other danger, other tragedies since she was a preemie. I might not have Taliek, her brother who is six. Who knows? What we do know is now--the present.
     Recently, I talked with Dr. Virgil Wood about getting older. He is almost 80 (I think I can tell this). His life was spent sharing the Gospel, but also standing against injustices. He lived through the Civil Rights Movement and I know others have not. He stands there as the voice of our past, lighting the way to our future--in the present. And when I asked how he stayed so young, he confided that he talked with God about that same thing. Getting older is difficult. You're slower. There are pains. Tell me about it. Still, he said that God gave him one promise and has kept it. Give us this day!
     If you are here. You've been given this day. It is the only promise kept. Tomorrow is not promised. So, why do we procrastinate? Why do we think that it will get done eventually? This is the day. So, I'm not making New Year Resolutions. Why bother. I'm gonna work this day and make a difference each and every day that the promise is given. If I open my eyes in the morning. This is the promise. I'll put my feet on the ground and start walking (working). And if I don't open my eyes the next, well, I'm hoping that if my children are able, my friends rise that morning and even my enemies (the ones I meant to make friends, but didn't have time before I left), that they will champion the causes of the day and go for it. I'm hoping that if You who are reading this and opened your eyes this morning, in this New Year, that you will make a effort to make this day worthwhile--for the world.
     Peace!

Think Peace Media and Communications Network is growing into a full-fledged 24-hour internet station. Currently, we are using social media networks, but the plan is to have a regular lineup of shows that will encourage people to critically think peace for the children of the world.