ClydeStyle

Category: Progress

  • Spring Forward

    One way to look at this weekend is to say that we have lost an hour or we had to repay the hour we stole in the fall.

    Benjamin Franklin came up with this idea of manipulating time in order to have more daylight. The point was it would give us another hour of light for productivity.

    We’re using the light, but the productivity part is questionable.

    I would like to borrow Ben’s concept of “springing forward” to make a point. Many are suffer with and from a troubled past. If we are not constantly reminding ourselves about what we’ve done wrong, there’s always someone else ready to take this job over for us.

    We are unable to move forward because we are stuck in the past. It’s hard to move ahead when you’re constantly looking back. We all need to consider the idea of “springing forward” to a better place than where we are today. To not be complacent or content with mediocrity, but be the best we can be.

    The Apostle Paul instructs us this way: “… forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead, press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 3:13,14).

    This is our springing forward! This is our time to let go of bad things from the past and press toward the mark today.

    Don’t allow the circumstances of the past to dictate what your future looks like.

    Spring forward my friend!

  • How about your life?

    Are you enjoying life?

    This is a simple “yes” or “no” question that you should be able to answer immediately.

    This question is so relevant to the perspective of the person answering. We could assume that a six year old who got everything he wanted for Christmas would probably answer in the affirmative. While a family living in their mini van because a bank took their home of 22 years and sold it for less than half of what they owed may simply answer this question with a look — a look of disgust, a look of betrayal and a look of hopelessness.

    We as a country were once proud to say we were the land of the free and the home of the brave. We bragged about how our ancestors migrated here in search of a better life. Many have benefited for what those ancestors accomplished.

    We became spoiled with all of the benefits most of us had. Then we went from spoiled to arrogant. Some began to acted like they created the benefits instead of just merely being a recipient of them.

    Some got greedy and now spend their days trying to make it difficult for others to come here seeking a better life. And all of that negative energy makes life enjoyable for no one.

    For the little kid who takes his ball and heads home from the playground angry because he didn’t get his way, he will only be sad to get home and find there is no one to play with. The folks he left at the playground are without a ball now, so they can’t play either.

    No one wins in this scenario. Not the playground dwellers nor the ball keeper.

    It seems that the ancestors knew how to play ball and get along with everyone on the playground. When more people came to play, they created more playground equipment and more games and everyone enjoyed.

    Now, there is only a small percent of ball keepers with attitudes and a host of playground dwellers who are hopeless. There is nothing being created so there’s no growth and no one is happy.

    It is not what we have or have acquired that makes us happy for happiness is much deeper than that. What we do, even the decisions we make and how we feel about the results of those decisions are the real source of happiness and will lead to an enjoyable life.

    So if you spent your time screwing people over for a profit or getting ahead on the backs of others, that may make you rich, but you’re no where near happiness for happiness cannot be acquired this way.

    But if you are spending this life enhancing the lives of the people around you, making a positive difference in the area you dwell and taking advantage of the opportunities God places before you, I already know how you would answer the opening question. Those around you know how you would answer. Now we have to reach those who still haven’t gotten it.

  • Another year

    It seems that the older we get, the faster the years go by.

    We were just ushering in 2011 and now it’s over. The end of the year becomes a time where we are able to reflect on the things that happened and make changes if needed.

    It’s a time where we should be deciding to end bad relationships because the year has revealed to us that there is no benefit in them.

    It’s time to take control over the things that this year has shown us are out of control.

    It’s time to rededicate our lives to the people who matter the most to us.

    It’s time to talk to God about purpose, plan and repentance.

    It’s time for us to make sure that we don’t miss out on the real important things in life because we’re too busy chasing the superficial things.

    Don’t let 2012 come and go without you experiencing the things that matter most. Make sure you seize every moment to love someone, admire things God created like sunsets and rainbows and mentor someone that needs you — what God has hidden in these types of relationships make life worth living.

    And finally, do the best you can to eliminate stress, the Western culture diet and revenge out of your life. All three of these things can kill you.

    Lord thank you for allowing us to see another year. Grant us the courage to make the most of it and honor and glorify your name in it.Amen!

    Happy New Year my friends!

  • Do you believe?

    To believe.

    One of the most powerful things on the planet is man’s ability to believe.

    The bible tells us that whatever a man thinks in his heart defines who he is. If I truly believed I was royalty, then my state of mind would be just that. If I thought I was handsome, then to me I would be handsome.

    Unfortunately it works just as well going the other way — if I thought I was a failure, then I would be. If I thought that I was  worthless, then I would be.

    This also means that our minds can be manipulated into believing anything. In the story “The Emperors New Clothes” the ruler was duped into thinking that his servants had made him fine robes to wear when they had not. Because the emperor was convinced that they did, he went out in public very proud of his new garments.

    You may say that’s just a kids story, but let’s take a look at real life. There are people walking among us who believe that they are losers simply because no one challenges the contrary. Children who grew up in non-supporting homes, feel insecure and unsure of themselves.

    If knowing is really half the battle, then just imagine if people were given the proper support? What if instead of believing what we’ve been told, we examined everything we were told? What if instead of trusting our negative feels, we challenged them with empirical data?

    The point here is simple: Remember where you came from; accept the present; and work hard to impact your future in a positive way.

    Stability is coming!

  • What does Reparations look like?

    In the spirit of Black History Month, I’d love to enter into a serious discussion about reparations. It seems as though this has become a taboo topic, because of the tension it brings with Blacks and Whites. It’s sort of the new racism: If you are for it, then you want to get something for nothing. If you are against it, then you are a racist.

    This should not be.

    Maybe it’s another case that America is not smart enough to really deal with. I mean, as a country, we are already paying reparations to a variety of folks, including Native Americans, Japanese atomic bomb survivors and Holocaust survivors. The word” reparations” simply means “to repair.” This concept brings up the idea of being broken. The idea of pay is just one way; not THE way.

    I am in favor of reparations. But I think we need to be careful what we call reparations. I’m not for cutting a check for every person that had a link to slavery. Actually, I don’t think reparations should even be connected to slavery. You see, there are some things that our government did deliberately to African-Americans. These things had lasting effects that have made it difficult for some to become anything but a permanent underclass.

    There was a missed opportunity for the Bush Administration to redeem itself when the recession started. Consistent with his ideology of tax breaks and stimulus packages, Bush could have ordered reparations be given to the poor in the amount of $30,000 and say that it’s because of slavery. “Poor” would be defined as any African-American who is living in generational poverty (two generations or more). If Bush did this, he would have redeemed himself and the Republican party because he would have literally bought the poor black vote. At the same time,  in 2008, now President Barack Obama spoke against reparations. If we are being honest, we know that the 30k would have ended up right back into the economy in less than 30 days. What a jump start that would have been. It may have even ended the concept of White guilt … or maybe not.

    So here is what I would propose for reparations. What I would like to see happen is to give opportunity, not money. The Federal Housing Administration did not do right by minorities in the 1930s. Low interest rate loans were given to White people to buy nice homes and the loans had nothing to do with their credit. They got those home loans because of the color of their skin. I say we do the same thing today. Identify the disenfranchised of our time and help them into a home that, on their own, they could never get. I don’t mean to give a mansion away to the poor, but I do mean to follow the example of Habitat for Humanity and make that single mom with four kids a homeowner. Literally, grant her a pass on the credit score and give her a loan to have a reasonable mortgage payment not to exceed $400 a month. This house has to be in a suburban area with a better than average school system. This could easily be done. As a country we’ve done it before.

    The second thing I would do is grant 10 years of government paid education (or forgiveness if you have school loans and finished your degree). This would allow any minority who is on welfare and in a dead end career to elevate themselves higher. They would have to put in the work though. They could never be on academic probation and they would have to have a life coach. This would grant those who have had hard lives to get a second chance to fix some of the problems they have had.

    The sad part of all this is that most would not take advantage of it. Nevertheless, it’s something that should be done. It’s finally an opportunity to get ahead with the assistance of your government working in your favor. This is what reparations should look like.

  • Resolutions should be a way of life

    Of the 50 percent of Americans who make resolutions, 90 percent of them break their resolution by the middle of January.

    It seems that the end of a year gives us a temporary conscience. It bothers us enough to acknowledge that there are things in our lives that need fixing, but nothing about the New Year makes us want to do anything more than admit it and move on.

    We know that there are people who don’t need to be in our lives and there are things we need to just flat out stop doing. Whether that is ending a destructive relationship or maintaining a healthy blood sugar level, we need to be far more serious about this.

    Here is a practical way to keep your resolutions. Don’t do a resolution for a year; do them by the day, hour or even minute.

    A resolution is a way of admitting we’re wrong and need to be better regarding something in our life. Why not make the idea of resolving ourselves a way of life? What would be wrong with keeping the imperfection ever before us – even to the point of letting others know that you recognize the need to change in this area. Then legitimately work on it. Really commit to the change and raising the bar of expectation in your life.

    By doing this daily, I think you will find that those around you will begin to acknowledge a different you. After all, that’s what we all want anyway, right?

  • There are still some who can’t see the dream

    This week we honor a man who dared to buck the system and show the powers that be what they really looked like. A man who said he had a dream and shouted it from the mountain tops. A preacher worthy of a celebration in his honor because of what he stood for, what he taught and what he ultimately died for.

    Some believe that Martin Luther King, Jr., would have been America’s first African-American president had he not been gunned down by an assassin’s bullet. I believe that if that would have happened he would clearly have ended up being America’s fifth assassinated president. I say this because too many people still don’t see the dream.

    We can’t help where we came from and how we were raised, but King’s dream would work much better in another country than it would in ours. Sad, but true. The only thing we as American’s can agree on seems to be “gain” or “gain at someone else’s expense.”

    We profit on everything. If it can be sold and someone can make money, then so be it because, after all, that’s what we all really wanted. Right?

    Dr. King hoped that all children would have an equal opportunity to be educated and earn a living like everyone else. He wanted to see people of different races together in peace and harmony without strife. He wanted to see hate eliminated.

    What actually happened is more people have the opportunity to get into most colleges, but there is still an elite group that exists as gatekeepers. They still hire who they want. There are two places where you will always see mixed races in America together and that is the welfare line and the soup kitchen. And as for hate, it can’t be eliminated as long as love is in need of love.

    I wish there was a better message here. But in the wake of hatred spread throughout our political system, members of Congress getting shot and companies profiting on the sickness of others, clearly there are still folks who don’t get Dr. King’s dream.

  • Turning the page on another year

    2010 is on its way out.

    It ran the course it was supposed to and things happened this year as they were supposed to. So we bid farewell to this year and hopefully look to a brighter 2011.

    I find life to pass like reading the pages of a book. Life is nothing but a book, really. Each day is a page we turn. Some pages we want to linger with and others we want to turn away from right at the start.

    If we could continue this book theme for a moment, I’d like to share some things with you regarding your life.

    Our life is like an open book. We try not to let everyone read us, but sometimes those that are reading, spread the news about what they have read. We try to turn pages and allow our book to be read, and it seems that there are always people who want to turn back to pages that were uncomfortable for you. These people like to remind you of all the bad things written in your book, but they never want to talk about the good stuff.

    There are also people who are jealous of the things written in your book and they take time away from reading their own books to talking negatively about what’s in yours.

    Still there are other people who would have you skip pages in your book and not let you experience every page. Just imagine someone telling you that you were too old for something or someone.

    Not only do we have people reading things into our book, we can sometimes be are own worst enemy. How many mistakes have we repeated? I know I’ve made the same mistakes that have appeared on pages 11, 19, 33, 47, 51 and 69. Some mistakes are hard to shake.

    There are also negative things in our book that we won’t let go of. We want to sit and sulk about something in the past instead of moving forward.

    Turn the page my friend. Allow the new to replace the old and embrace the challenges of the future as you learn from the old things written in your book. So get ready to turn the page on 2010 and don’t be afraid to share your book with others. Your life story may be the only hope they have!

    Welcome, 2011!