{"id":3637,"date":"2020-11-23T19:57:00","date_gmt":"2020-11-23T19:57:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/?p=3637"},"modified":"2025-05-11T19:59:08","modified_gmt":"2025-05-11T19:59:08","slug":"the-power-within","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/2020\/11\/23\/the-power-within\/","title":{"rendered":"The Power Within"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It has been said that life has treated me harshly and sometimes I have complained in my heart because many pleasures of human experience have been withheld from me.  If much has been denied me, much, very much, has been given me. <\/em> Helen Keller (The Miracle Worker)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ll never forget standing on the corner of Sunset and Vine in L.A. twenty-seven years ago with Barbara, one of the first black female record producers (Black Orchid) in the country.  Not only was she stunning, but she was so sharp intellectually; self-taught-entertainment-industry savvy; treated her staff as equals, family, and a total team; studied African American history (learning something new about our phenomenal ancestry every day); and never hesitated in her conversations to give God the glory. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou know, Brenda . . . when I leave this side of the dirt, I\u2019m glad I lived with a clue<\/em> . . . the ultimate weapon available for us all!  It\u2019s simply about never taking anything for granted and always giving thanks for what we have, and for the miracles too!  I\u2019ve had plenty . . . ya\u2019 know, the kind of blessings that take your breath away when you think it\u2019s all over and done . . . nail in the coffin!  Gratitude<\/em><\/strong> for the beauty of the world and life itself . . . even for the bad stuff . . . resulted in lessons making me even more thankful.  That\u2019s it!!\u201d  My youngest daughter was 12 at the time.  Neither of us forgot the wisdom Barbara imparted that day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Probably in the NOW . . . more than any other time in most of our lives . . . our hearts and souls are laboring extra shifts, fighting to keep the \u2018darkness\u2019 from attacking our being and of those we love.  And like so many, we have tired of the uncertainty, realizing all too well that faith and fear cannot stand side by side in the same room.  As I write this article on November 6th<\/sup> when no decision of the presidency has been declared, I pace – I cry – and yes, I am in panic mode . . . so much concern for people of color . . . especially for our front line medical and voting poll workers; our children; parents; and educators.  I think my tears are more about the insane mentality of a voting citizenship who failed to remember the atrocities of the past 4 years (personally affecting their ethnicities), and what is at stake . . . if!!?  I\u2019m praying as I finish my final edit that we might have a victory.  One could feel the late Congressman John Robert Lewis and Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg\u2019s spirits with us.  We did it!  It\u2019s a good day! Compassionate, wise thinking Americans voted their hearts and saved democracy!        <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A prediction came out today.  COVID19 cases (possibly along with the flu influenza) could triple by January.  My children live in L.A. where it was rumored the National Guard had just arrived.  Eric Trump has just called for war.<\/em>  Every child does not have an adult to sit beside them to help to navigate on-line learning . . . not if the student\u2019s parents want to keep a roof over their family\u2019s heads and food on the table.  Sadly, children of color, in most cases, are getting further and further behind and may not be prepared to compete in the global marketplace.  So much support is needed for our teachers who have families and responsibilities in the \u2018new normal\u2019, as well.  Educators should be so commended, and those of us who can should want to step up and help them once it is safe to do so. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have been melancholy about the upcoming Thanksgiving (virtual) holiday.  So many wonderful childhood memories of fighting over the black olives, and not realizing there was another pan of Mama\u2019s steaming, hot-buttered, homemade rolls on their way to the dinner table.  Those were years of frolicking fun . . . love, safety, intellectual enrichment and inspiration by great educators and pioneers of the Civil Rights Movement . . . while being guided by \u201cThe Green Book\u201d if our parents (like mine) decided to travel across the country by car.   It was the time when my favorite extended family members (who died so young) broke bread together, surrounded in so much happiness and \u201cthanksgiving\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year, it is indeed imperative not to be selfish and jeopardize the health and well-being of those we care about . . . those who could leave the gathering and carry the virus to others.  BUT, what we can do is to remember that Thanksgiving is a special day set aside to recognize our blessings . . . those we understand and those that might not be apparent until later down the road.  We can certainly make Thanksgiving a little more meaningful even if it\u2019s looking at the screen of our computers by Zoom.  One of my childhood friend\u2019s family just finished Part I of a family reunion of over 40 family members, some not knowing others existed.  This was so important for the future generations of their lineage and sounded like so much fun.  A safe family gathering as they begin to plan for Part II after the holidays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Allow me to share a few of my simple gratitude<\/em> clues . . .  the kind of special gifts having no dollar sign attached, but so invaluable, especially in the \u201cAge of Corona\u201d and increasing racial divide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n