“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” Martin Luther King, Jr.

 

Aloha We-Day Wednesday: Today I invite us to pause, to reflect, to inspire each other. “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” Martin Luther King, Jr.

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On this day in 1929, my hero and silence breaker and non-violent change maker, Martin Luther King, Jr. was born. 

In Boston he met and married Coretta Scott, a young woman of uncommon intellectual and artistic attainments. Two sons and two daughters were born into the family.At the age of thirty-five, Martin Luther King, Jr., was the youngest man to have received the Nobel Peace Prize. When notified of his selection, he announced that he would turn over the prize money of $54,123 to the furtherance of the civil rights movement.

On the evening of April 4, 1968, while standing on the balcony of his motel room in Memphis, Tennessee, where he was to lead a protest march in sympathy with striking garbage workers of that city, he was assassinated. Please follow this link for a more detailed history  

On this day in 1934, my loving and loyal father was born to a militaryfamily on the Chesapeake Coast in Virginia. He died of heart dis-ease at the age of 69. The following is taken from the first draft of my transformational memoir, Moonshot aim high, dive deep, live an extraordinary life 

This book is dedicated to my Dad, an unsung hero in his right. A man growing up in America, to me he represents warmth of heart and poetry of soul. He loved birds and sunrise was his favorite time of the day. I pushed at the stickiness of his torment gingerly with my small hands, and for a time, I was stuck. Unable to let go of the past, my Dad also chased the promise of new beginnings.

To me, his only daughter, he embodied the Albert Camus quote, “In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer. And that makes me happy. For it says that no matter how hard the world pushes against me, within me, there’s something stronger – something better, pushing right back.”

Life being both beautiful and terrifying, he introduced me to both the sunrise as well as the dark night of the soul. Be prepared for anything, he taught me, and this, I now see, can be an incredible “come from” in how I see my life. We can dwell in possibility, that anything could happen, and to be prepared for anything. In the past, for me this perspective was incredibly nerve-wracking. Now, this same truth, is indeed, incredibly liberating; I am responsible for everything.

My father taught me to be prepared for a slight change in temperature, a sudden rain storm, and how to test the brakes on a car. He advised me to quit looking busy for busyness sake, to slow down and smell the roses. Generate warmth, prepare for anything, and know how to slow down effectively, these are the great guidelines that still steer me today. 

My thoughts today, inspired by these two powerful men. 
our lives begin to end…  
when we forget to care
when we forsake our resilient heart 
when we forgo our right to speak up about injustice 

our lives begin to thrive… 
when we forget to seek revenge
when we forgive ourselves and others
when we forgo our right to retaliate with hate 

May we reside in the privilege of nonviolent committed action and break the silence that locks our heart in hate.
My heart is with the movement on ʻOahu today. Kapu Aloha.
Aloha ʻĀina. may it be so.you matter. your relationships matter.  

My best quality of love,  Amy Elizabeth Relational Health Coach

heal your heart, open your mind
cover it with love, transform your world
change in here, ignite out there

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