Today I’m writing about musings that have been passing through my mind. Lately, my attention has been focused on the city of Atlanta. There are a couple of reasons for this. First, it’s where the police shooting of Rayshard Brooks took place at a Wendy’s parking lot, prompting fresh unrest in the city. The second is Ebenezer Baptist Church. Ebenezer is located in Atlanta and is the building where Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered some of his most endurable sermons.
Dr. King made a statement that is as crucial today as it was during the 1960s. He said, “I am convinced that if we are to get on the right side of the world revolution, we as a nation must undergo a radical revolution of values.” His statement led me to remember a delightful event I had the opportunity to be part of in Atlanta in the early 2000s. I was inducted into the Martin Luther King, Jr. Board of Preachers. The event took place at King Chapel at Morehouse College. The experience radiated lots of pomp and circumstance. Back in the dressing room, everyone was putting on their robes and regalia. For me, it was curiously interesting to be in a place full of people who knew they were important and how they got caught up in the importance of it all. One woman did not get caught up in the seeming importance of it all. She had written a book on spiritual values and used it as a basis for teaching kids in Venezuela. We had a pleasant conversation.
Another experience I had was the tour given by the Dean of the Chapel and Professor of Religion. During the trip, he showed us, and explained, the Wall of Fame. The wall included original portraits of people who worked in peace, global citizenship, diversity, and justice on the planet. He explained that their efforts served as the foundation for those who followed them, to further the cause for justice across the globe. The portraits included Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Mary McLeod Bethune, and Martin Luther King, Jr., to name a few.
What each of those members of the Wall of Fame had in common is that they lived by, and stood up for, eternal beliefs and spiritual values that reflect the better angels of our nature. Those portraits remind us that we're going to leave something behind whether we like it or not. When a boat moves through a lake, there is a wake that follows that boat. Similarly there is a vibration and energy pattern we leave behind as well. Many technological advancements are taking place on the planet. It has led to the creation of a high–tech, low–touch society that has created a consciousness of separation and an us-versus-them mentality. Pushed to the background are the qualities of civility, peace, joy, wisdom, and empathy. It seems as though individuals are on this feverish quest to get, to hoard, to have more and sow division between people. Such ways of being are merely the out-picturing of values based on strict materialism. What falls behind are the primary spiritual qualities that are inherent in all of us.
Dr. King appears to be right. Healing what ails our society requires a radical revolution of values. We all have the choice to live from values that emanate from pure Spirit. We all can decide what we will leave behind for others to build on. Let's make it something eternally magnificent.
Peace and Blessings,
James