I had no intention of writing a blog so soon after my last one, but when I watched a piece on this morning’s CBS News Sunday Morning show about Ta-Nehisi Coates, the black author of “Between The World and Me,” I felt I was being given an opportunity to share with others the insight I experienced as a result of something Ta-Nehisi shared about an exchange he had with Toni Morrison before she died this past year.
In that exchange, she compared his writing and the message of his book with those of James Baldwin, another widely celebrated black author. Ta-Nehisi told the CBS News correspondent interviewing him that he felt humbled and, more importantly, felt compelled to achieve even more in his writing and speaking out so that he didn’t make a liar out of Toni Morrison.
And from that I realized just how important it is for all of us to voice our appreciation and support for others when they step out in faith and “do what they have come here to do and BE!” And it made me even more grateful for those who take the extra time to let me know how they appreciate my efforts to serve others through the writing of my booklets and blogs, etc. And these moments do serve to energize me to “keep on keepin’ on.”
I guess because I know what it feels like to receive a kind word or even just an acknowledgment of emails and other mailings I send out, I try to remember to also let others know when they’ve touched my heart or done something in a manner or consciousness that is exceptional and uplifting.
Let’s face it, in this present time where we are still being encouraged to distance ourselves from others and don’t yet have the opportunity to see, hug and touch others, we all can benefit from someone taking the time to reach out to us or to speak those kinder words that we may think and feel but too often fail to act upon.
So, just know that we all have the capacity and opportunity to lift up others from any sense of isolation or loneliness they may be experiencing in these times, and we can do that by voicing our praise and appreciation, even if it’s just to let them know you miss seeing them or having a conversation with them, a way of letting them know they matter. And we also know there’s a great payoff when we do…we feel better about ourselves, that we’ve made a tiny bit of difference in someone else’s life. And all we have to do is pause, breathe, connect with our own heart space, and then take the action we are guided to take. It’s a very ancient motto, from the nineties I think, “You make a difference!” And you can and do!
Love & Light, Steve