The Eve of Change

How does one feel on the eve of CHANGE?

OVERWHELMED! I would so love to put in words the abundance of emotions I am experiencing at this time. Having an African-American as President has always been almost a joke of some sort, not a funny one, but a joke nonetheless. I recall several movies where African-Americans were depicted as President-Morgan Freeman and Tiny "Zeus/Deboe" Lester come to mind. As an African-American, I don't even think that I realistically expected American to elect "one of us" as President. There is just too much prejudice, fear, racism, and discrimination that still exists for my fellow Americans to make such a choice. That was always my feeling on the matter, and then comes Obama...

This man is so intelligent, so unflappable, so brilliant, so friggin' cool that it's absolutely undeniable! He says what we want to hear. He says what we need to hear. He says what we don't want to hear, and we accept it, for we know that he has the country's best interest in mind. I have watched and admired him since he took center stage at the Democratic National Convention some years ago. His poignant speech, rhythmic voice, and powerful message shook me to my core at that time. There were talks of a possible Presidential bid at that time, and I was certainly all for it.

To be quite honest, I was excited when Jesse Jackson ran for President when I was a little girl. I wore a green and white button on my coat every day that said, "Run, Jesse, Run". I was even excited when Al Sharpton threw his hat in the ring some years later. I was pleased and proud at his performance at a major televised debate where he brought the plight of African-Americans to CNN, raw and uncut. I appreciated him for that. It was needed. He didn't say what he needed to say to get on the ticket, but he spoke about us honestly and unapologetically, and Iliked that.

And then here comes Obama...

Cool as a fan on high, this man empowers you to feel that you are responsible for change...YOU are the only one who can make change occur. This is a hefty charge, but Obama reminds us that it is possible and that we should assume some responsibility for our situations. The more we put into our communities, schools, economy, etc. the more we can get out of it. And, I am so up for this charge.

Tonight, my prayers will be for a better me, a better family, a better community, a better country, a better world, a better today, a better tomorrow. I will pray for the well-being of a nation torn apart by things that don't seem to matter so much right now because I truly believe that we can make change occur.

Let us get behind Obama, be responsible, be proactive and not reactive, be encouraged and not discouraged, let us be optimistic and not pessimistic. let us pray and not curse, let us work and not rest...let us be the agents of change I know we are fully capable of being.

Peace, Balance, and Blessings,

Sheronda-Rae

Friends

Recently, a good friend of mine, had an unfortunate incident occur which really tested her relationship with one of her very best and oldest friends. In an effort not to fully disclose the details of the event, I will just say that my good friend (let's call her Jill for the sake of clarity) really needed her friend (referred to as Mary) to step in and prevent her from making a horrible mistake. Instead, Mary didn't help Jill who was in dire need of help, and Jill made a life-changing, devastating mistake...

Jill is very upset because she felt as her friend should have been there for her, but wasn't. When she called to ask me how I felt about the situation, I told her that I do believe that friends have a responsility to one another. The trick is being clear on exactly what these responsibilities entail.

I have had many friends in my lifetime. I have also had many good, good friends, or BFF's as they are referred to these days. My responsiblity to them was, is, and will always be to always have their best interest in mind. There is self-sacrifice involved with a true friendship. You find yourself caring for another person wholeheartedly. In true friendship, the sacrifice you make often go unnoticed, for that is just a part of the friendship, right?

When I was married (I have been divorced for about 6 or 7 years...I can never remember to be fully honest) my husband and I had friends. Some of them I lost in the settlement; I guess they found it too difficult to be Switzerland between two factors that were definitley in all-out war at the time. That really hurt me because I loved them and I thought we were to be friends for the long-haul. It was during this time that I realized that in order to see where someone is coming from, you have to know what your friendship means to them. They didn't see me as a lifelong friend...just a temporary one, or a friend as long as I was married...I really can't say...

What I can say is that I continue to have many friends and these relationships mean many different things to me. I am thankful for my social circle. I have learned that my friends are not all perfect, have individual skill sets, and can always be expected to be themselves.

I'm not sure where I'm going with all of this, and I had hope to provide some type of profound conclusion, but I can't, so I will just end it here...

I'm working on a blog called "Discovery and Recovery"...look for it soon.

Peace and Balance,

SherondaRae