Inauguration 2013 & MLK Jr. Monday

This is just a little peek at my typical breakfast, which hasn't changed any to reflect the importance of today's events. You'd think Inauguration Day, on MLK Jr. Day, would be cause for poached eggs and sauteed spinach and english muffins with organic home-canned jam or something... No. Single pour coffee and peanut butter toast. This is my (cough) "jam" today. You see what I did there? A little breakfast humor? Ok moving right along.

I think today, for me, can be summed up by saying this:

"I have also decided to stick with love, for I know that love is ultimately the only answer  to mankind’s problems. And I’m going to talk about it everywhere I go. I know it isn’t popular to talk about it in some circles today. And I’m not talking about emotional bosh when I talk about love; I’m talking about a strong, demanding love. For I have seen too much hate. I’ve seen too much hate on the faces of sheriffs in the South. I’ve seen hate on the faces of too many Klansmen and too many White Citizens Councilors in the South to want to hate, myself, because every time I see it, I know that it does something to their faces and their personalities, and I say to myself that hate is too great a burden to bear. I have decided to love. If you are seeking the highest good, I think you can find it through love." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

I try to follow this in my own life. I may not always be successful, but it is worth the mental effort to change your negative feelings into positive ones. Hate doesn't hurt the people you hate, it only hurts yourself. It exhausts you, it drains you, it makes you a worse person and the object of your hate is not affected in the slightest way. It doesn't resolve problems, it creates more divisions and moves us, as a humankind, further apart from one another. The best way to make this world better and to make yourself a better person is to show love, and gratitude, and generosity, and compassion, even in the face of those who would try to tear you down. Maybe what our society needs more of is this emotional bosh that people have become embarrassed to express or discuss. Maybe our culture needs more of this "corny" love for one another, to accept one another as equal people, and to work with our differences rather than use them as reasons for staying apart. Maybe we, as a people, need to recognize love as strength and hatred as weakness, rather than the opposite. It takes more bravery and courage and fortitude to turn to love and forgiveness.

"I have decided to love." I hope we can all make this same decision in 2013 and not take the sentiments of this auspicious day for granted. Let's move forward.