Honoring the King

"Like an unchecked cancer, hate corrodes the personality and eats away its vital unity. Hate destroys a man's sense of values and his objectivity. It causes him to describe the beautiful as ugly and the ugly as beautiful, and to confuse the true with the false and the false with the true." —Martin Luther King, Jr.

It's Martin Luther King Jr. Day, so I wanted to reflect on his life and teachings just a little bit today...

I want to first make a request.

Stop for a moment this week to notice something. Notice the subtety in which we judge, separate and segregate ourselves from one another. Not only on the level of race, but in all other areas where we separate from our fellow human being. Get clear and honest about your internal workings. Don't judge them, but be compassionate and tender with yourself. We all have judgements, we all separate ourselves from one another. Although it's only in the awareness of our behavior that we get the opportunity to make a change. We get the chance to love people around us a bit more deeply. We get to see beauty in those that we might have previously overlooked.

Look for judgements this week. Look for your own prejudices. Just notice them, study yourself, and become aware.

Who do you judge, even on subtle levels?
• African Americans?
• People with disabilities?
• Elderly people?
• Overweight people?
• People of the opposite sex?
• Homosexuals?
• Teenagers?
• Blondes?
• Minimum wage workers?
• Famous people?
• Men?
• Women?

What subtle stories arise throughout your day that takes you away from loving someone? Talking to someone? Smiling at someone?

I've had many humbling moments in my life that have taught me some great lessons. What you see on the outside — the wrinkles on a face, the color of the skin, the accent of one's voice, or the money in a person's pocket — often rarely dictates what resides on the inside.

I had an Algerian boyfriend who was working at a fast food restaurant, only to realize that he'd been a doctor in his home country and was only here to support his family. I have the most lovely African-American man who delivers my groceries along with his son, both of whom run businesses on the side and are some of the brightest, most personable, politically aware folks I come in contact with. I had a good friend who was deaf and homeless, and he happens to give the best bear-hugs on the planet. I have a 96 year old friend who's bound to a wheelchair, but is quick as a whip, has lived the most amazing life and is fully self-supportive. I have a sister with Down's Syndrome who is one of the funniest and most perceptive people you'd ever want to meet. And I have the sweetest boyfriend who looks like he jumped right out of an 80's hard rock video, yet has been a practicing lawyer for the past 12 years.

So walk down the street tomorrow...

Listen to the stories in your mind as the rainbow of humans cross your path...
Feel the closeness to some.
And the distance with others.

What are the stories? Are they even true? How could you love someone just a little bit more today? How could you become a little more compassionate?

Smile at a homeless person. Compliment a stranger. Pay for someone else's bill at a restaurant. Hold the door. Make a call. Take some time. TAKE AN ACTION!

Do you want more love in your life? Then go out and give it. BE the love you want to see in the world.

©2007 Stephanie McWilliams