In my opinion, one of the main problems on our prayers is that we are not honest with God. We try to fool God by being all spiritual and “holy”. But what about when life is unfair, when things go wrong or we go through disaster? I believe that we need to be honest, fair and square on telling God, I love you but I am mad.
Even King David was not afraid of telling God how he felt, if he was being a mess he would tell God straight out with no problems… and that’s coming from a man “according to God’s own heart”.
So, if you are going through hell and are mad at something, open up, talk to God, he will not smite you for it, he is a Father that wants to listen and help you out. Be like Mr. Turkey…
Have you heard the term, being “on fire” for something? It usually represents a person who is passionate about something specific. I believe the reason why sometimes we do not achieve our most amazing dreams is because we want them, but are not on fire for them. Maybe there are doubts about ourselves that tell our mind that we are not capable, that we will never accomplish our goals. But that’s when a change needs to happen in the way we approach life and specifically our dreams. We need to see ourselves as capable of achieving all that we set our minds on.
There is much to be said about passionate people. They are the ones that get to the end, the ones that finish the race, the ones that conquer. Take for example someone like Oprah Winfrey, some people may not agree with her on some topics, but you can’t say that the woman is not passionate. At the moment when everything, from race to social class, was against her she rose up and conquered, becoming one of the most recognized people in the world. She set her heart on what she wanted to be, became on fire for it and achieved it.
One of the definitions of passion is a strong or extravagant fondness, enthusiasm or desire for anything. What are you passionate about? What do you want your life to look like? Are you willing to make the necessary changes?
Will you just want it or are you willing to be set on fire?
Just in case you were living under a rock, let me fill you in… Michael Jackson died.
It has been BIG NEWS basically because he was one of the most famous and recognizable people in the world. The whole situation has been plagued with coverage in a very wide diversity of topics. Topics ranging from drug abuse to his final will and for the looks of it these are just the beginning of a lot of media coverage.
I like Michael Jackson’s music and like many I used to make jokes about him. What gets me is that all of a sudden people that would “kill” him with their opinion are raving and going crazy loving on him, or the memories of him. A few weeks ago you wouldn’t have thought twice before joking about him and all of a sudden is taboo. The day before his dead people would describe him as a crazy, bleached, pedophile with a weird nose and after he dies he becomes this figure that we need to have as our role model. That’s the problem when we take deep sides on situations like these, if the game changes we are exposed as hypocrites.
His music was and still is great, his music videos were amazing, way ahead of their time to say the least. But he still was a very troubled person, I cannot judge any of his actions, I am pretty sure that living his life had to be very hard. His title as the King of Pop was well deserved but I find it so interesting how death can totally change a person’s image.
I truly believe that he did not want to be a black person. It’s really not hard to come to this conclusion. Look at one of his photos. His skin is whiter than mine, his hair is dark and straight. His nose, well you have most likely seen it. What made him have that desire to be something totally different? I guess we will never know. But it is funny how for black people that really didn’t matter, he is still the same for them even if for himself he was something different. Was he Black or White? What do you think?
Some people say this is how he would look.
So to end this post in a good note. May his music be remembered, may this and the following generations know him because of his art and not of his outrageous behavior. May his children grow up to be good people and may they share with their father the desire to heal the world. May many artists see in him a hard working example of success been attainable and also as an example of how bad things can go if we don’t choose wisely.
And to not be a hypocrite I am going to share a photo that I saw before he died that I shared with some friends because I thought was funny.
Only in America can you be born a poor black kid and die a rich white woman.
I find it interesting how when life is great and problems are far, we do not think of God but when disaster nears us he is the first one we cry out for. It’s sad that we usually look for him when we are in need but on a day to day basis we forget that our existence is made possible because of him. We are quick to make jokes and funny comments or play around with the idea of his existence and if it is a fact or fiction. But when we are in the middle of a trial, when a loved one is dying, when all hope is lost we look at him.
Not trying to be negative here, at least we look at him in those moments, but what if? What if we set our eyes upon him, what if we revered him as our Creator, what if we lived with the notion that he is at our side? Maybe instead of living our lives laughing at him, we could live laughing with him and experience all that he has for us…
This point is made clear by this song, “Laughing With” by Regina Spektor…
I started writing this post a few days ago, it is based on my favorite Michael Jackson song. Today, the entertainment world was surprised with his death at the age of 50 years.
It’s easy to see and complain about the things that go wrong around us, it is also easy to focus on who we think is responsible for the damages and who would be the right person to fix them. In the last election everyone focused on Obama and how he would bring hope and change… the financial situation is the same if not worse, people keep killing themselves and others and the world keeps being a very, very troubled place. I am not against him, I am against thinking that he is the solution, more than that, I am against us pointing at a person, thinking that everything will be alright because of them.
I truly believe that change starts with us, and I know, this is a topic that has been written about by so many but I think we do not believe it enough. What are we doing to stop the rising number of suicides? What am I doing to feed the homeless?
What would happen if I start loving more? If I start giving more? Thinking more about other’s well being than I think of mine? I believe change would start happening around me, there’s still hope. This song, “Man in the Mirror”, speaks about problems we see every day and how we can be part of their solution.
Need any ideas on how to start changing the world around you? You can start with these…
WorldVision – Relief, development and advocacy organization dedicated to working with children, families and communities to overcome poverty.
Blood: Water Mission – Organization that works to promote clean blood and clean water efforts in Africa, tangibly reducing the impact of the HIV/AIDS pandemic while addressing the underlying issues of poverty, injustice and oppression.
Keep a Child Alive - Keep a Child Alive is dedicated to providing life-saving anti-retroviral treatment, care and support services to children and their families with HIV/AIDS in Africa and the developing world by directly engaging the global public in the fight against AIDS.
Here is a video of the song “Man in the Mirror” followed by the lyrics:
Man In the Mirror – Michael Jackson
Gotta make a change
For once in my life
It’s gonna feel real good
Gonna make a difference
Gonna make it right
As I turned up the collar on
A favorite winter coat
This wind is blowin’ my mind
I see the kids in the street
With not enough to eat
Who am I to be blind
Pretending not to see their needs
A summer’s disregard
A broken bottle top
And a one man’s soul
They follow each other
On the wind ya’ know
‘Cause they got nowhere to go
That’s why I want you to know
I’m starting with the man in the mirror
I’m asking him to change his ways
And no message could have been any clearer
If you wanna make the world a better place
Take a look at yourself and then make a change, yey
I’ve been a victim of
A selfish kinda love
It’s time that I realize
There are some with no home
Not a nickel to loan
Could it be really pretending that they’re not alone
A willow deeply scarred
Somebody’s broken heart
And a washed out dream
They follow the pattern of the wind ya’ see
‘Cause they got no place to be
That’s why I’m starting with me
I’m starting with the man in the mirror
I’m asking him to change his ways
And no message could have been any clearer
If you wanna make the world a better place
Take a look at yourself and then make a change
I’m starting with the man in the mirror
I’m asking him to change his ways
And no message could have been any clearer
If you wanna make the world a better place
Take a look at yourself and then make that change
I’m starting with the man in the mirror
I’m asking him to change his ways, yeah
No message could have been any clearer
If you wanna make the world a better place
Take a look at yourself and then make the change
You gotta get it right, while you got the time
‘Cause when you close your heart
Then you close your mind
No message could have been any clearer
If you wanna make the world a better place
Take a look at yourself then make that change
