Martin Luther King - A Look at the People who Make CHANGE

"I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal'."

There is an old spiritual saying that we will all live as each race and gender before graduating from the earth school.  I suppose if people back in the day realized that, maybe they would have taken racial segregation more seriously.

No race, color or gender should have to endure struggle to gain the simple human rights every person should have.  Today celebrates the anniversary of a man that took it upon himself to stand up for those rights. Martin Luther King Jr was one of the many who chose to stand up to injustice and fight for what was right, not for what was popular during that time.

If we look back in our history, we'll find many of the people that did make change were those under oppression.  Many of these same people, made change peacefully and with dignity.  There is something they realized, something we should all realize when it comes to the human race.  Our goal should not ever be to intimidate, or control another, rather act with dignity and kindness.  The old saying from Jesus to treat one another they way you would like to be treated.  Yet somehow even among a man and a woman, a father or a mother, there seems to be a struggle for control.  A dominating ego that needs to be fed and it is in these areas of our life that we all must succumb to the true knowing that the responsibility and fault lie with those who seek to render another submissive.  To make another small, instead of trying to be tall themselves.

Who are these people then that make true change?  I believe they come from a place of hurt.  Michael Jackson, Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela all endured hurt and struggle at the hands of others.  People who hurt, who are ostracized, who are criticized, who are abused, know how it feels.  They are sensitive to the treatment of others because they themselves know how much it hurts.  These are the sensitives that make change for the rest of us.  Those that instead of choosing to be the victim, stand up knowing what is right for all people, not just for themselves.  They include the welfare of others, instead of trying to condemn them.  These people we have tortured turn around and heal us.

Many people in the spiritual communities have had the same experiences.  Many have sought self help because of what they have gone through.  May we all choose to see that there is nothing "wrong" with us then.  That the people who have thrown the stones don't take responsibility for themselves.  They look to others to put down, manipulate and intimidate to feel powerful.  When we can take responsibility for our actions and thoughts, we can rise above the situation just as Martin Luther King did.  He didn't waddle in the belief that he was less then because he was told he was.  He rose above it in his knowingness that he and the people like him were so much more.

When faced with opposition in my life, even writing this blog, I have often gone back to some very wise words from Martin Luther King himself.  He said "On some positions cowardice asks the question "is it safe?".  Expediency asks the question "Is it political?" And vanity comes along and asks the question "Is it popular?" But conscience asks the question "Is it right?" And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor political, nor popular, but he must do it because Conscience tells him it is right."

If you ever find yourself being oppressed in any way, even thinking about yourself the way someone else wants you to think about yourself, remember and repeat these basic fundamentals:

"You is kind,
You is smart,
You is important"

Sometimes those all important words don't come from who we need them to come from.  But they can come from someone; you.