Martin Luther King Day 2010 *

Time has certainly flown by for many-- It seems like only yesterday I was watching Dr. Martin Luther King on TV, giving his passionate, "I Have A Dream," speech, live & on the spot.

Looking back at those hectic, historic times of the 1960's, even then, living through it, it zoomed by quite rapidly, as does life today.

The dream shall never die, as we continue to carry it with us in our hearts, minds, thoughts & deeds. We have certainly come a long, long, way, but those steps, that journey was only a beginning. When the time comes that we no longer need to legislate, common decent treatment of one another, such as basic human rights, only then--- "We'll know we have made it, we'll know darn well." *

So until that day, we'll "continue to continue", & not pretend that all is right with the world & remember our potential-- to take that moment of thought seriously, & from there, do the right thing. Yes, at times it won't be easy, but "we can, can, work it out." * Martin Luther King, in the spirit keeping with Henry David Thoreau & Gandhi, brought nonviolent resistance to the fore front of America.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. , may the life you have given, for the cause of equal rights, world peace & justice, be forever remembered & acted upon for generations to come. May you rest in peace, as our Creator has taught, though we are but human, we are capable of greatness, by acts of kindness & the courage to speak up when we have been wronged. For when we muster the courage to speak up as honestly & as plainly as we can, we help not only ourselves, but share this awareness & perspective with the other, who may not, until that moment, have even been aware of their effect on an other's world. Courage comes in all shapes, forms, colors & tones, as does music, the "universal language". One of the earliest of lessons taught to me some 55 years ago, is to, "stop, look, & listen." Yes, a good first lesson on the long journey to peace, & to think that too was taught in song.

{The quoting of the lines from the included *song, were inspired by a PBS documentary I was watching last week, when I heard a familiar song after so many years. It was of course originally done by The Pointer Sisters, probably in the 1970's. The documentary is entitled, "Young At Heart". "Young At Heart" is about a community chorus & their director. They are from N. Hampton, Ma. This chorus has an excellent, punchy & unique sound, of which their talent has taken them all over the world, including Prince Albert Hall in London. In their travels they have performed to "sold out" audiences, the average age of a chorus member is 72. I therefore remain, "forever, hopeful", as music has the power to keep us, "forever young", as it has been known to provide motivation & comfort during massive population movements of social change, historically & to also heal many an individual heart along the way, on life's personal journey. Hospice is just one social change movement, that has always known this.}

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*{Today is our son's 24th Birthday, prayers for health, & happiness, on this special day, as are thoughts & prayers for the above noted essay.

*Amen*