Daily THOUGHT #71 "Huge Decisions"

"All of your ideas are there for a reason...You just have to learn how to order your steps!"

Happy Monday everybody! How are you this fine November day...? I am doing pretty well, I just got back from New Orleans...about 5 hours ago, 0_o ...right! I'm extremely rested though and for the first time in a long time I'm mentally motivated. So many times we come up with the brightest ideas, but we have trouble figuring out how to make it over those unseen and the extremely large visible hurdles. "The THOUGHT of having patience is something that will temporarily be beneficial to you and your mental psyche, but is that not just another way of one having to wait to accomplish or receive something?" That's how I look at it.

Ever since I have started assisting at J.O. Johnson High School, it has been nothing less than entertaining. There is something that works me up hysterically every evening =^). None the less though, the most important thing I have been exposed to is the current high school society. Reggie what do you mean by high school society? Well my friend it's simple...The environment, the atmosphere, the kids, the parents, events, activities, opportunities and actions in the realm of a high school, all contribute to forming the high school society. The world, America especially, is comprised of so many micro societies. One who is able to adjust in a sporadic form of exposure is indeed crafty, but is that serving any purpose?

Sometimes we will be faced with challenges that will indeed make us desire to leave an environment entirely all together. Because of our personal views, pressure buttons ( or things that work our temper), energies from those certain irritating people and the speed of progress and purpose or lack there of maybe..."We be ready to go". I like to believe that everyone is placed in every situation for a reason. Any of my regular viewers know that this perception is very dear to me. What we have to realize as citizens, is which role do we play? In life there is the initiator, the receiver, the disputer, the supporter and the non-partisan that will budge based on sufficient persuasion. With each decision, it is important that each of those people be in consideration of the other in order to move forward in a positive direction.

It's amazing to me how life will present a person with an opportunity to really shine, be successful and well known by the people. When this opportunity arrives, one of three things will happen. Either a person will turn down the opportunity and travel in a different directional path all together, a person will either find a way to get everything done while involving others...or finally, a person will take total advantage of this opportunity but in a self-righteous manner...Not saying that it is wrong to turn down things that come your way, because sometimes that's the best decision...but for a person to be the opposite of selfless when a break through chance comes about, then one's character is truly defined.

As we examine our talents and intelligence, it becomes rather easy for us to know what it is that we need to be doing in the world. The thing that we must always reflect on is how we got there. Someone took the time to prepare us for the future of our endeavors or some situation gave us the motivation to pursue our ideas. How will you face the challenge of being in life's mirror? When you see your chance to be a bridge builder for another individual what actions will you take? Too often we don't think about the aftermath of a situation and how it will be beneficial or non-beneficial, simply because we become socially indecisive. When we allow the idea of being approved by others to enter our brain, it is then when we begin to loose focus with the task at hand. How many times has this happened in your life?

Something they used to say in the church all the time, back at home, was "Time is winding up...Will you be ready?" Take a second and ask yourself that. Each day we have to decide if we will get out of the bed or sleep a little while longer. We have the choice of breakfast or not eating anything at all the entire day. We see missed calls and messages, we have an opportunity to return those or disregard them as if they don't even exist...and at some point in life you will be faced with the decision of determining, realizing and understanding what time has in store for you! When this decision comes you will more than likely be faced with the choice of doing something that you really enjoy and will get you all the materialistic things and exposure you could never even imagine or doing something that you love deep down inside, that may not have the best benefits right off, but because you are genuinely being of great contribution to others...Doors will open and you will be amazed on levels never expected. Go back and read this again and think about that.

I am so blessed to see things when I see them. Now, as one of my twitter followers told me, everything that I want to do is in my hands. My effort, enthusiasm and faith will determine if I'll get there and how long it will take. We are faced with "Huge Decisions" everyday...Don't let this be something that slows you down from daily progress. Look at the challenge as nothing but a workout. In the early stages, when you go workout the idea is to push yourself to the limit of not being able to go anymore. From this point you will be able to increase the workout regime as well the intensity level. Look at life's decisions the same way. With an open mind and belief in prosperity, tasks that one day seemed to be the most difficult ever will be nothing to handle. As I work on this myself, I encourage you to procrastinate less and take action more. From now on, look that those "Huge Decisions" in the eye and let them know who is in control. Consider the effect it will have on others and watch how positive things will be in your life. Have a great week! Speak to someone you don't know. Peace!

-rjhii

Sunday Reflection #7 "COMING HOME"



"The glory of life alone should be enough for one to Spring Forward..."


Greetings my people! How are you? I hope that all is well with everyone. I am doing pretty well myself, just bringing closure to an amazing AAMU Homecoming experience. It was so great to be amongst my Bulldog Family. We had a great time and reflected on some amazing memories. Those of you who have been following my blog know that this was the first year that I wasn't marching in the band, so to be in the stands as a fan is a whole different perception. You recognize so much more and you are exposed to things that you never even imagined would happen. I thank God for that opportunity. I met some great people and shared some everlasting memories.

Today I want to focus on "COMING HOME". Any of my MMW members who may read this know the familiar saying that we chant during Homecoming week. This reflection will be quite similar to that, in a sense. As I walked the on campus and downtown Homecoming parade with J.O. Johnson High School, I saw so many signs and so many people that were influential in my current life movement. To observe the entire atmosphere was overwhelming and to feel the energy that was around me was very interesting. God will use some of the most simple things to tell us about life. If you take the time to actually view what he is trying to tell you, you may find yourself discovering the answers to the questions that have had you stumped for sometime now.

So I went to New Orleans this weekend for a gig and let me tell you it has shown me so much. This was a homecoming for the person I rode with, so it's only fitting that I mentioned it. When you go home it gives you an opportunity to reflect upon the teachings and experiences that made you who you are before venturing off into your own patterns. Seeing old faces and visiting old places allows the fire to be re-lit or blown up some more when these connections are made. You never know when you are playing the role of narrator when surrounded by or interacting with other individuals.

He will take the actions on someone else to show us what's going on in our own lives. Yesterday I watched two people walk to the same spot but from different locations. From where I was positioned, I could see the both of them, but they couldn't see each other. When they reached the same spot, the young lady tripped over a wooden frame and fell right into a young man who then was forced into the glass fire extinguisher case that was directly behind him. If he had not been there, at the exact moment that she had arrived, she would have went through the glass case, that's how intense her fall was. Look at God! He actually does this with us all the time

By "COMING HOME", you come to your senses. Whether things are what you want them to be or if the experience is something that you really didn't want to endure, it lets you know how things in life truly are. As we get older we begin to develop different interpretations of the way things should go. As we surround ourselves with various people we begin to indulge in certain activities as well habits that create our lifestyle. Though you may begin at home, in due time you will leave the nest and branch off to your own individual things. When this is done and you return home, you will then compare what you learned there to what you learned wherever you are currently. How does this impact your life? How does this make you viewed amongst the people that you began everything with? What do you do to pay homage to what you've learned from both experiences?

Life has such a funny way of informing us how the world is. Now the hard part is us being able to differentiate a distraction from the enemy and a message from God. As time progresses as it will, things will become more identifiable to you. Once this takes place, you must ensure that you are acting upon what is before you instead of letting opportunities pass you by. It's so simple to be complacent and un-enthused with the matters of the world. It's even easier to allow someone else to deal with situations, that may be difficult, even when you know that you could be of assistance. Why are we so hesitant to act on our intuitions? Why do we feel it's not our responsibility to care and look out for one another?

"COMING HOME" is a mental state of being. When you first enter the earth all you really have is your eyes and a brain that is waiting to absorb like a sponge. Your surroundings create your first impression of how the world will truly be...You have the hardest time trying to get to the people (the birth process), when you get there they smack you (good ole' doctor), isolate you (baby waiting room) and force you to do whatever is wanted (tests and release). A real citizen will be receptive only because this is what one is born into. But, when the time comes for you to lead, observe and welcome others...What will you do?

We are so blessed to have life my people, respect and cherish that for we know not when that simple gift will be taken away from us. Call home from time to time, get up with your friends and other relatives as often as you can and learn to love life for what it is, not what you particularly want it to be. Once we as humans learn to release our personal desires in order to understand the conceptual framework of society our nation and the world as a whole will be so much better off. Pray for others, be selfless and learn to appreciate the idea of having breath. One day we will all go home. Where will your home be? Have a great week, stay positive and speak to someone you don't know. Much love world! Peace...

-rjhii

Daily THOUGHT #70 "All In Time"

"Proper Preparation will eliminate many of the puzzled faces that life can bring..."

Hello there my people! I pray that all is well with everyone. How have you been? I have been pretty well. I know that most of you are like damn, is this guy ever gonna write a blog again? Well I am back. I had to take and educational sabbatical. During this time that I was away, I really had an opportunity to observe the ways of the world and more importantly observe the people that are in my life and those that seem to pass by from time to time. I guess I see things a little different from others simply because I have learned to base the advancement of an idea on the situations that foster around any given environment. You must learn to observe and analyze more than just what you think is before your eyes.

I just recently celebrated my birthday two Saturday's ago. I was extremely blessed to hear from so many people on my day. It really made me appreciate the things that I have had to endure, because apparently I am vital to someone. What I do here on the earth has made a difference and as long as I live I will continue to do my best at all I do. Amazing how we celebrate our birthday once a year, when in actuality our birth is everyday, well at least to me it is! I feel that each day we have the pleasure of walking God's great creation, is a new day of birth. What does it mean to be born or born again? Well according to Christian religion practices a child is made by a man and born from a woman and to be born again is to be baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I completely agree, but I also feel that there is more than one way to skin a cat.

Each day we gather several thoughts that tend to disappear as we begin to focus on things that at the current time seem to be more important. Next time you get a chance jot down all the ideas that you think of and make a note of the ideas that you totally disregard. Eventually believe it or not, the idea will come back and you will have yet another opportunity to act upon what you previously thought or let it pass by yet again. Humans, though we find several ways to hide our emotions, are some of the most fearful creatures that walk the earth. So many times we act as if there is nothing that we worry about, whereas in actuality our uncertainty of things makes us react the way that we do.

When you put a pitcher of kool-aid in the refrigerator, though it may take a while to cool off, one knows that eventually that beverage will be at a perfect temperature for drinking and a great thirst quencher. Why is it so difficult for us to see that process in our daily life? Well actually that answer is simple...We get so caught up in trying to follow procedures and attempting to comply to the views and opinions of others that we get off track from the destination of our own progression journey. We each must take the time to figure out how we fit our piece into the puzzle of whatever environment we are in and then how long it will take for the task to be completed.

Ever just had a strong feeling on your heart? You just feel as if you know something should be a certain way, but instead of embracing this idea, it then becomes an emotion. "When humans allow ideas to turn into emotions, some driving force is quickly approaching"...remember that! The spiritual and energy realm is now open for business when this happens, everybody will soon have their two cents to contribute. This can be good, but do humans possess the patience, humility and desire enough to acknowledge and understand the concepts of others, let alone attempt to accept them?

As the world turns and the days go by, we have an opportunity to live the life that we desire as well make things better for our fellow man. What are we doing to improve the state of society, other than complaining about it? What are we doing to challenge the wrong doings of the people that lead and govern nation? What are we doing to examine to purpose of true human relations? It is not possible for a country to move forward and be successful if we are not on one accord. We don't always necessarily have to agree with one another, but we do have to be willing to respect the values of others, just as we would want in return. Take a deep breath and then recognize how grateful you are. Attempt to be an inspiration for someone else and walk forward knowing that you have a true purpose in life. Be safe this weekend...

-rjhii

Daily THOUGHT #69 "My Dear Ole Normal"

HAPPY HOMECOMING BULLDOGS!!!

Happy Tuesday everyone! It's Homecoming Week here at Alabama A&M University and I must say that I am very happy to be here! I hope that all is well with everyone. I am doing pretty well today, just dealing with the daily tests of life and observing these signs as the Lord shows them to me daily. Open your eyes for just a little while and I promise he will begin revealing things to you that you never would imagine. See for yourself, don't just take my word for it.

1969 was a very important year. Broadway Joe becomes the first QB to guarantee a Super Bowl win and does it over the heavily favored Colts. America sees the first ATM machine and very fitting for this week, Scooby/Doo airs for the first time...All my MMW Screamin' Demons will understand that importance. And while we are talking about things on "The Hill", this was also the year that Alabama A&M became an official University, retiring the AAMC abbreviation. This was also my Father's freshmen year, how symbolic.

Anyone who has had the privilege of attending a HBCU knows exactly how beneficial it is. I feel that a student here truly learns the way of the world and is able to reflect upon the experiences, in hopes of one day making a difference in the world. We hear so many times people complaining about the way things go, but quite frankly, I believe that all things are for a reason, anyone who knows me knows that I feel like this strongly. The way we are as humans, we always tend to pull all of the negative out of situations rather than observing lessons and finding ways to build bridges. It's so amazing when I look back on all that W. H. Councill did to ensure that minority students would have an opportunity at education, even in one of the most racial regions in the United States. This is indeed powerful.

What sacrifices would you make in order to help out others? Would you be willing to give up your own opportunities and chances at self manifestation in order to bring justice and possibility to the lives of those who may be quite hopeless? I like to think that those who truly observe their surroundings and analyze their most trying situations would live with great chance of doing so. So many times we look at out life experiences and say why me? I look at them and say thank you! Sure enough I have not always been like this, but now that I am able to see that the future is more important than anything that I am thinking is vital presently. I must use these daily tests and signs in order to help others.

Many people come from various backgrounds, but we all have one thing in common and that is that we can do all things that we truly put our mind to. When I was a freshmen here at AAMU we had to take a course called Survival Skills. Now sure enough they still take it now, but they don't have to do as much as we did. Now this may seem great to the incoming freshmen, but in the eyes of someone who can look back on the past, that might not be as rewarding as they anticipate it to be. We have to truly learn how to adapt to the world all while analyzing out THOUGHTs.

Every THOUGHT that you have is for a reason and is meant to be displayed to the world. Now whether it is for our best interest or not, that is up to you to determine. Great deliberation well help you understand what should be shared and what should be kept. What we have to do is start expressing the THOUGHTs that we know are meant to better mankind and life in general. We have so many glimpses of how things could be in our mind, but do we ever share them with the world?

Live your dream my people and believe in yourself, that you can accomplish whatever it is that you set your heart and mind to. The founder of Alabama A&M University made these truths to be self evident and for that we are grateful. Again Happy Homecoming fellow Normalites. May the true spirit of service be shared with all citizens of the world! Be blessed. Peace!

-rjhii

Daily THOUGHT #68 "Backs to the Wall"

"Even when the image is small, you can still see the goal..."

Hello there my people! How are you? I hope that all is well with everyone. I am doing pretty well. My apologies for the inconsistency with the blogs this week. I should have a new laptop next week, so all of that will be changed. There won't be a World News this week because I want to get these two Daily THOUGHT's out today. I feel like writing about a few things, so I want your focus to be on that. I will however make sure things go back according to plan next week.

Man I love football season. I realized how much I love it two days ago. This was my first game on the Johnson High School Band staff, so I got to witness a lot of things, from the fans, cheerleaders, football team and of course the bands. The energy is so different from collegiate games. In a sense the spirit is more intense on the collegiate level, but the pride seems to be a little more dramatic for the high school fans. You know when you're in high school you really don't worry about what people think of you when you express yourself emotionally or physically, whereas when you get to college people tend to look over there shoulders a little more to see who is watching. I wonder why people do that?

The game went into overtime. Anyone who knows the high school rules is knowledgeable of the ball placement after regulation. The defense definitely has a test in front of them having to defend their goal that close to the end zone. Of course people tend to argue that it balances out, seeing that the number of play options the offense has is slim, but I tend to disagree...it's just a matter of creativity. A lot of times coaches don't get clever with their playbook for several reasons, but whose fault is that? I think it would help prepare students better for college sports if they were challenged more at a younger age, something like teaching a kid a foreign language while they are young.

Imagine your life as a football field. You have an end zone, which represents your sanity, happiness, understanding and lifestyle to protect...all while trying to reach a goal that is 100 yards away. When you stand in one end zone and look to the other that is a long way away, not to mention you have 11 other setbacks that are waiting to prevent you from getting where you need to be (all you football fans, I know you like that writing-comparison humor...corner backs, defensive backs, setbacks, get it?) Anyways, what might these set backs be? Well there is confusion, procrastination, laziness, being unorganized, speedy deadlines, lack of information, other "more important" obligations, lack of resources, untimely incidents, a crumbling society and of course your haters...They are like those people who blitz all the time, you tend to dislike them with a passion. If you don't have a strong enough playbook to contend with this, you are end for a long game my friend.

The enemy will throw all of this at you in order to slow down your progress. You must realize that his ultimate plan is to make you give up and give in. This must not take place or the order and balance of the earth will be thrown off. With you as the the quarter back you must know what your center focus is at the time. Allow your center focus to give you what you need to run the plays of life, the ball is in your hands when this happens what will you do with it. Some offensive coordinators like to run the ball, tire out the defense and go up field piece by piece...hogging the time and beating up on the opponent. This is a great approach, but whoever is running the ball for you better be strong, reliable and able to take a hit. Other coaches enjoy being flashy, creating fancy plays for their receivers to catch the ball in various locations for different distances, they want to beat you with speed. This is great too, but you better have several different plays or the opponent will catch on eventually a stop you in your steps.

When traveling far distances, there needs to be time to fuel up, time to eat, time to go to the restroom, time to site see and of course time to rest. A balanced playbook will allow you to do just that. We find our backs against the wall because we are leaning to one way of doing things more than another and in all situations, that is not necessarily the best thing to do. Offensive programs that have a balance of running and pass plays tend to do way better than an offense that is one dimensional. How is your life? Is it one dimensional or is their variety? We tend to get so closed minded because of society instead of opening the mind of society from being so closed...We should work on that. Now this does not mean that all times will always be great or that you we always be away from the wall if you add variety...but it does mean that you will be able to handle yourself in any situation regardless of the circumstances.

Many teams have come back to win, having to score coming from their own red zone. Are you able to do that? Sure you are, you just have to put your heart and mind to it. When you feel yourself getting pushed backwards that's when you need to stand your strongest. This is when you need to strategize in order to change the cycle of things around you. We have the ability to do so many amazing things, but because of doubt and fear (the evil referees that always cheat) we tend to push ourselves back and never have any forward motion. This is the time to make two things certain...Number 1 we will move forward in life and we will do the things that we need to do in order to be successful and number 2, regardless of how hard life gets, how bad we have to endure or how many people attack us, we will still stand strong and firm and push on until we accomplish the goals set before us. I have faith in you my people. Fulfill your purpose. Have a great weekend! Peace.

-rjhii

Daily THOUGHT #67 "The Wrong One"

"Don't let your life get turned around because you behaved in the wrong manner with the right person..."

Hello there my people! How are you? Happy Thursday. I pray that everyone has had a great week thus far and that you are getting prepared to have an even better weekend. My apologies for those of you who were expecting to read a blog yesterday. The laptop I use at home was stolen Sunday and I didn't have a way to the yard yesterday, so I had no way of writing it. I am just going to do and extra thought between today and tomorrow to even everything out, so just stay tuned. Have any of you caught on to what I was doing this week? Well I will reveal everything this weekend in the World News, so be sure you check it out.

Don't you just hate being the first person that someone sees when they are mad or ticked off about something? Sometimes it doesn't even matter if you are first...if one gets too worked up, they tend to take everything out on anybody they come in contact with. What's quite interesting to me is how when people do get upset, everything else around them seems to irritate them even more. If one is driving, the traffic begins to get on their nerves, if one goes somewhere to eat, please don't let the service be poor or you will never hear the end of that...You try to reach somebody and they don't answer the phone or reply, go ahead and add them to the $#!+ list too (excuse my symbols for all my sensitive readers).

I like to believe that the enemy works just as hard as God does if not harder to lead us in certain directions. I think God takes the best friend approach and the devil takes the evil professor approach. You know how your best friends tend to know everything about you right? Well they always give you advice based on how they know you act, trying to lead you in the best possible direction...but when you are stubborn, they let you learn on your own and then comfort you when you fall on your face! Whereas the enemy will give you all the facts, prepare your for a test and then assess you on material that had nothing to do with what you were learning. Not to mention he's never in during the expected office hours.

We as humans miss out on so much simply because we get distracted or we base our actions on our own agendas. We, at all times, must be mindful of what our true mission and purpose is at all times. I guess it would be smart to figure out what that is first...Do you know? Follow the signs, it's probably directly in your face, you just aren't paying attention. Life works in phases, so be careful that you aren't just going through a phase. I laugh all the time when I think about how my fashion taste and personality developed over the years. Somethings that I wore and did "back in the day" I would never do now...quite hilarious.

Why do we allow material things and the actions of others to get under our skin so much. Do we ever sit down to take a chance and ask: "Is it time for this in my life?" Do we ever analyze the surrounding situations in order to guide us in the direction we need to go? Or do we just rush everything...wake up and hope for the best? Believe it or not, the majority of the people that live in our society just get up and do whatever. We have to break this cycle. We look at the elegance of a young lady, how she should be graceful, elegant and sweet mannered this is what we expect. But when a young lady is using strong profane language, dressing inappropriately and doing things out of good character because of anger how do we respond? What do we say...what should we do?

I would love to see the day where humans actually acted on their intuitions. We make eye contact with so many people, but continue to walk past them. We run into the same people, whom we don't take time to know, all the time but make no effort to find out why we keep doing it. We go places and silence our own characters and personalities just to fit in with our surroundings. When will we understand the respect of individuality? When this day comes so much will be better here in the world.

If you are mad about something...be mad, because sometimes we are mentally or physically tough enough to endure certain life problems, but don't let that interfere with you interactions with other individuals. You never know who you may run into or what they may be able to do to improve your life, how you can improve theirs or how collectively you can change the world. Don't be so caught up in your own understanding that you dismiss the emotions and feelings of others. Don't be so overwhelmed by the actions of humans that you retaliate negatively to those around you. Life was never promised to be simple, easy, fair or always enjoyable, but as long as you make the efforts to keep things positive, positivity will follow you and those who you may come in contact with. Leave the stress alone. Smile my people. Peace!

-rjhii

Daily THOUGHT #66 "Look at Me Now"

MJ said it best...Start with the man in the mirror...

It's Tuesday my people! What's the word? How are you? I am doing pretty well...starting to feel as if this storm that I have been in for quite some time now is beginning to settle. Because of the life path that I have chosen to travel, I know that the storm won't completely die out, but at least I will be able to find comfort in life's daily situations, versus them pulling me down or holding me back. It's almost Wednesday, and you know I like my readers to examine the mid week status...so go ahead and get things done today. Put a little more pep in your step.

I love watching people grow up for some reason. When you meet people and they stay connected with you for a number of years, you are allowed an opportunity to witness the progression or regression of that particular individual. If they are truly important to your life, how they live will effect you also. It's imperative to have friends in your life...people who won't necessarily carry you through a situation, but more so be there as you endure what it is that you go through. Sometimes just the security of someone else being with you is enough to take on the tasks of the world. When you find someone that you know is dependent on your personality, abilities or even just presence, you should offer the same assistance.

We look at how people place things together, either in hopes of self glorification or the benefit of others. Sometimes this is short term related or long haul intended. You examine founders of organizations who put in place a chance for long term relationships and service methods to be constructed and endorsed...whereas you find members of these organizations who attempt to use their rank in order to manifest some self indulgent idea that righteously is only beneficial to the individual. Why is this? Why is it human nature to gain attention in any and every aspect of life? You ever been in a conversation with two or more very competitive people? If you have or have not, the next time when you are, notice how intense things will get. People will start interrupting each other, some will even keep talking as someone else is in mid conversation and of course you will have those that profess that "Oh I already did that...I do that all the time...see when I do that I" and so on.

1966, to me, has a lot of "Look at Me Now" situations. The first acid test is conducted in San Francisco up rooting the Hippie Movement, Robert Weaver becomes the first African American to be appointed to the Presidential Cabinet as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Texas Western, now known as UTEP, with five black starters defeats the national renowned Kentucky Wildcat basketball team opening the door for black recruitment. Gene Cernan completes the second space walk. Caesars palace opens in Las Vegas. The idea of the first video game is constructed and Star Trek debuts. Because of several riots, the U.S. Department of Transportation is created. The AFL-NFL merger is approved by the U.S. Congress creating the NFL as we know today, no to forget the highest scoring game in league history was played this year by the Washington Redskins and New York Giants (35 years before 9/11...NYG scored 41 points 9+11+20+01= 41). Funny how Walt Disney would die and "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" would appear huh? Well at least Kwanzaa's initial celebration took place shortly after.

We look at HUD today and how it really plays no role in the upkeep of our housing, particularly in the urban areas. Why would this department be so poor in action? We examine politicians that come out of Texas and their lack of concern for African Americans, but look at the difference those five blacks made on collegiate sports. Amazingly, I saw a light skinned young man yesterday with a black and whit Kentucky shirt on. This year the NFL season openers included the New York Giants versus the Washington Redskins and also a match up between the Dallas Cowboys (America's Team) and the New York Jets (self explanatory). Disney films are constantly changing the face of the world and we all know that the Grinch is a tradition every winter. What now will effect the future generations? What are we doing to prepare a safer and brighter future for our youth?

Surprisingly a lot of times those type questions are not our concern. We tend to do things with intentions of helping or pleasing ourselves. Eventually we have to realize that actions like this may seem great temporarily, but sooner than imagined it will take it's turn. Some mentioned yesterday that when you become a parent you must engage a selfless attitude. I feel we must be selfless at all times. We are placed in situations to give a message to someone, as well someone is also placed to give a message to us. Let's start working as one that we may be able to progress together. Believe it or not when we open the gates of opportunity anything is possible. When you look at yourself be thankful and know that if you are living, have family and friends and you are doing something you want to do in life...then you are rich beyond measures. The more open you are to the world, the richer you will be! Peace!

-rjhii