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“Where there is no vision, the people perish” - Proverbs 29:18 Your Success Newsletter - Jan-Feb, 2018 - Published Bi-Monthly
Choosing to take the “High Road” Strength, Compassion, Taking Charge, Expanding One’s Vision, Reflections, Gratitude, Celebrations, Searching for Truth; it’s all in this issue! Surprisingly (and perhaps I should not be surprised), when one persists beyond their own understanding, things often fall into place. I suppose that comes under the category of Faith. Just a few days before Christmas, I had no idea what was going into this issue. The one exception was the always on time (and usually ahead of time) Willie Johnson, who had shared several valuable articles with me weeks ago.
So the grit and determination of people in this issue helped propel me from a challenging 2017 into a hopeful 2018. So often, when we know someone else’s story, we come to be more thankful for our own. I, you, we, are not the only ones who have been challenged during 2017. Many people are in circumstances more challenging than our worse nightmares. Sometimes there is a course of direct action we can take to help others, yet more often there is nothing we can do except pray that they be uplifted in mind, body, and spirit.
Other than Willie’s articles, I had no organized content to share, and was not particularly focused on creating anything. Several pressing issues squeezed into rapidly diminishing time, created a clear and present danger that this issue might be delayed or perhaps skipped. After years of consistent publication, that possibility caused mental turmoil that became an additional distraction to my already distracted mind. Finally with the gratitude of a glass being 1/4 full (thanks to Willie’s efforts), I began to overcome the distraction of the same glass being 3/4 empty.
2017 has been a year filled with divisiveness and harsh rhetoric, fueled from the highest levels by forces of division that understand the weakness of a people divided. Our task, should we understand the playbook of the powerful, is to support, defend, uplift, and encourage one another. Each time we allow ourselves to be victimized by news (real or fake) that feeds the fires of mistrust and hate, we undo the tireless efforts of what has been done to bring us together in peace and harmony.
As I reflected upon the events of November and December, I realized that friends, relatives, associates, and even a few detractors, had given me more than ample content for several issues of the newsletter. The challenge became not what to publish, but what to begrudgingly leave out. Taking advice from the organization Start Strong, Stay Strong (story on Page 2), I began to piece together this issue. Finally, as I sit here on the day after Christmas, just beginning to prepare this cover article, I realize that this challenge was not meant to be easy, and that’s why its called a challenge. But the process of reflecting upon the dreams, the challenges, and the persistence of others (and being blessed that they included me), helped me gain the strength and endurance to share their stories.
As we enter into 2018, I pray that we choose to encourage, enlighten, and empower others; by offering kind words in place of harsh criticisms. When we can find nothing good to say, may we consider the option of silence. As a writer, when I preview the stories I plan to share, I seek a humane and conciliatory posture and tone, in order to “build” a bridge instead of a wall. Together we can make it a HAPPY NEW YEAR! IN THIS ISSUE Pg. Pg. Pg. Pg. Pg. Pg. Pg. Pg.
1 - Choosing to take the “High Road” 2 - Start Strong, Stay Strong 2 - Congratulations CAAO YIF 3 - Congratulations Kaylyn Longmire: KSU Graduate 3 - Toys 4 Tots: Thank You KSU and Other Supporters 4 - Willie Johnson: Be The CEO of You, Inc. 6 - Remembering Veterans Day, Remembering Pearl Harbor 7 - Congratulations: Eleanor Askew, Cindy Weston, Mother Whittenburg, Marion Payne Pg. 8 - Celebrating Dr. King: Pray/Work for Peace, Compassion Pg. 8 - Black History No “Cease Fire” in The War on Wrong