Haiku: A Piece Of Advice
“‘Walk a mile in my shoes’ is good advice. Our children will learn to respect others if they are used to imagining themselves in another’s place.” Neil Kurshan
Haiku: A Piece Of Advice – Walk in my shoes … United we stand
@Regrann from @mirthandmotivation – With all the tragic events that have occurred in the last several days, we need to find a path to unity, peace and healing. I believe there are decent, peace seeking people on all sides of the divide with families and dreams of unity … let’s keep hope for constructive change and healing alive. What are your thoughts? @Regrann from @nytimes – A makeshift memorial resides outside of the @dallaspd following yesterday’s sniper attack, which killed 5 officers and wounded 7 others. The attack occurred during a peaceful demonstration against the widely publicized police shootings of #AltonSterling in Louisiana and #PhilandoCastile in Minnesota earlier this week. The latest development in this sequence of events has torn at a nation already deeply divided over questions of policing and race, pivoting from anger and despair over shootings of black men by the police to officers being targeted in apparent retaliation. @brandonthibodeaux took this photo while on #nytassignment in #Dallas. #Regrann – https://www.instagram.com/p/BHsby2qg3cG/
A piece of advice
As above, as is below
Equanimity…
A piece of advice
In the face of tragedy
United we stand…
In light of all the recent tragic events that have occurred in this great nation, I still believe that we need to find a path to unity, peace and healing. When we take a moment to acknowledge the humanity in each other, to respect the rights of each other, we can find common ground in our differences. I live in an area where folks make an effort to see each other first, before deciding how to define one another. Our police force is friendly, helpful and know people by name. I know this is not a universal experience in America but, it can be. It will take sincere effort from decent, peace-seeking people on all sides of the divide to make it happen.
Just as every day people with families have hopes and dreams for racial harmony, many in the forces have the same objective… We must come together and find a path to that door. It is imperative for our collective survival as a nation, to find ways to see, hear, and respect each other. I love Neil Kurshan’s quote above because it is a reminder that before we cast aspersions at one another, before we dehumanize each other, and even before we judge and use violent words and actions against others, we must stop and imagine what it must feel like to “walk a mile in my shoes” … to walk a mile in each others shoes. We must do this because we MUST NOT/CANNOT/SHOULD NOT allow hate to find a permanent home in our hearts and in this great nation. We can bring positive change if we try! Black lives matter. Cops lives matter. ALL lives matter!
READ: Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson
Between The World And Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
“How true Daddy’s words were when he said: all children must look after their own upbringing. Parents can only give good advice or put them on the right paths, but the final forming of a person’s character lies in their own hands. Anne Frank
Haiku: A Piece Of Advice – Walk in my shoes … United we stand
Haiku: A Piece Of Advice – Walk in my shoes … United we stand
A piece of advice
From Dad: Do not be afraid
Give life your topmost…
A piece of advice
From Mom: Conditions will change
Life is to be lived…
Growing up in a household of many kids meant that we had to communicate clearly, ask for what we needed, and help each other out. Whenever we stumbled or allowed fear to stand in the way, my dad would remind us to be bravo, to seize the moment and to not let fear stop us from accomplishing our goals. Even though he wasn’t keen on my idea to move thousands of miles away from home to study in the US, it was his fearlessness in the face of adversity, and his exhortations to all of us kids that inspired me to make such a bold move. Kids learn not only from their parents words but also from their actions.
At some point in our lives, we must seize the moment to fly the coop and strike out on our own. As my mom always said, conditions change, life is about change… and change is constant. When we learn to accept that change happens, even to the best of plans, we can work at being flexible and going with the flow of life; just like the shifting sands of time, things do change and hopefully for the better. When we stop holding on to expectations and tired norms, we will begin to experience the daily miracles that populate our lives; they populate every life. But first, we must be open to living a life of no excuses. Yes, bad things happen to good people. Yes, circumstances change. What can we do about that? We must pick up the pieces and trudge on. Celebrate the wins. Learn from the fails … and keep moving forward.
READ: Family Happiness and Other Stories by Leo Tolstoy
Purple Hibiscus: A Novel by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
More Below!
“To profit from good advice requires more wisdom than to give it.” Wilson Mizner
Haiku: A Piece Of Advice – Walk in my shoes … United we stand
Haiku: A Piece Of Advice – Walk in my shoes … United we stand
A piece of advice
Mentors: Listen to your heart
Follow your calling
A piece of advice
Creation will support YOU
Stay true and trust it
At different points in our life, we meet mentors or teachers who encourage us to follow our heart’s calling. If we listen to the sage advice of the Elders and Master teachers, we will slowly but surely come to understand the vital role we play in shaping and achieving our dreams. If we have big dreams, we need to take bold, positive action and listen to that still small voice that guides us from within. But, we must clear the noise and really listen. We must search our hearts and be clear about how our actions will uplift others, and then we must trust the process.
Trust is a powerful concept and a delicate human emotion, it takes time to build it and a careless act can disrupt it. We grow closer to our goals each time we trust that we are being fully guided on the right path. Seek the counsel of compassionate, informed souls and then go do it. I wish for you, all the good you wish for yourself and others.
READ: Second Class Citizen by Buchi Emecheta
Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed
This post was inspired by a WordPress Prompt: Discover Challenge: A Piece of Advice – This week’s challenge brings out the positive: tell us about a piece of advice you’ve received — and would like to share with others.We invite you to respond in your preferred format: prose, poetry, art, photography, video, audio, or something else. You might tell us about the person who passed on this pearl of wisdom, or about the way in which it has helped you. Or perhaps you’d like to impart your own advice to your readers. We encourage you to interpret the challenge as you see fit — the goal, really, is to inspire each other this week. To help other participants and new fans find your response in the Reader, tag your post #DiscoverWP. Not sure how to add a tag? Learn more.
Positive Motivation Tip: Listen to the wisdom around you, then go inside your heart and reflect on it all.
PHOTO CREDITS/ATTRIBUTIONS: All Photos : Wisdom via Pixabay and Wisdom/Justice via Wikipedia
Until Next Time…
Ask. Believe. Receive. ©
Elizabeth Obih-Frank
Mirth and Motivation
Positive Kismet
When we stop seeing each other as this color or that color, or from that station or this station in life, maybe we finally realize we are all one people. Things need to change for the better in this country. We need more peace and less hatred and violence.
Yes, we need peace and unity! I don’t think humans will ever stop seeing people as what the Creator made them/us. However, what we must ALL do first is respect our differences and all of our rights to be part of the fabric of this nation. WE can build a path to UNITY even as we acknowledge and respect our differences.