Valentines Day

Happy Valentines Day to all the women in my life and in yours. Remember that we never walk alone.

Move Beyond Your Critics

As you go through life, there are going to be obstacles attempting to weigh you down. Those things that try to slow you down, those people that try to stand in the way of your dreams. Take the life of a man named Barry Pincus. Born in Brooklyn in the early 40s, his parents divorced when he was just two years old.

As he grew up he learned to play piano and learned what he could of music. His mother then remarried when he was nearly 13. A man named Willie who drove a beer truck for the Schaefer Brewery. Through his mother's new husband, a new world was opened up. The record collections of jazz and Broadway musicals vastly changed the way Barry viewed his world.

As he grew up, he worked his way through Julliard's School of Music and worked in the mail room at CBS Television. As it is said, to start at the bottom is to start in the mailroom and work your way up. Life probably couldn't get any better for Barry, but keeping his dreams intact there was nothing to keep him down. Even after marriage and an emotional divorce that could set many back, he ventured on.

He started work at composing music and performing at small gigs. Even writing commerical jingles to support himself and feeding his vision. Until he connected with Bette Midler and the two performed with Barry being the musical director. A successful pair was what the two became and Barry gained popularity as well.

Barry Manilow as he is known became famous for his multitude of songs and very successful performing career. He did much of this also in the face of harsh music critics. Many called his music 'sentimental garbage', a tough remark for anyone to face. But Barry persevered in his dreams and remains very popular.

He could have 'folded his cards' many times when others set out to criticize, to place those obstacles in his path. Your life faces many of the same challenges. Believe in your dreams, believe in your visions.

“There is nothing which persevering effort and unceasing and diligent care cannot accomplish.” - Seneca quotes (Roman philosopher, mid-1st century AD)

An Important Belief - In Yourself

Are there things that you believe in? Do you believe that the earth is round, the sky is blue and that birds can fly? Think of those things that you've learned in life and believe in. Your everyday existence is based and influenced by your belief in one thing or another. I know for certain that I can get in my car and drive a certain route and get myself to work. I know that if I pick up and eat what looks like a pretzel but is really a dried pepper will burn the inside of my mouth. At least now I do!

There are many things you can point to and say, "that thing, that knowledge, that reality is something I believe in." My friend Dean Sweetman said once that, "...it is easy to believe that which we can see. But it is difficult to believe in that which requires faith to envision." So what about a cure for that which we deem uncurable? Can you believe in the goodness of others. Maybe you've experienced the goodness in others and therefore believe in it.

Through my life I've seen things happen that were hard to imagine years ago. This type of thing isn't new and unique to me as others older and younger then I am have seen the same things. Think back 20 or 30 years ago, who would have thought the Berlin Wall coming down. There were of course those that had a vision that it would happen. What about the planet Mars landscape becoming a parking lot for exploratory vehicles.

If your answer is yes, you believe in something, real or envisioned, then you can believe in yourself to achieve your own visions. You can have the strength to do the seemingly impossible. Use the same amount of energy in believing in yourself that you give to believing in all of these other things. Your success depends upon believing in oneself.

“Keep your dreams alive. Understand to achieve anything requires faith and belief in yourself, vision, hard work, determination, and dedication. Remember all things are possible for those who believe.” - Gail Devers

Coretta Scott King

Today there are four children that have lost their final parent in death. There are many topics of discussion that could surround the passing of Coretta Scott King. It could be the politics, racial, economic or even personal lives of the Kings. We could talk about the eulogies given or what this means for the future.

But what it still comes down to is that four children lost their final parent in death. Many of us do as will our own children. This is a fact of our human existence.

In the eulogies given, two former U.S. Presidents gave a word to this. Former President Bush noted, "We give thanks for her good life, a life that mattered, a life well lived." While former President Clinton added, "we would have all forgiven her, even honored her, if she had said ... 'I have endured enough dangers, toils and snares. I'm going home to raise my kids. I wish you all well. But instead, she went to Memphis and led that march for those poor, hardworking garbage men."

Our current President, George Bush in his eulogy said, "Coretta had every right to count the cost and step back from the struggle. But she decided that her children needed more than a safe home - they needed an America that upheld their equality and wrote their rights into law."

In all of our struggles in life, Coretta was a mother of four children that endured her pain for the sake of others. Through her she worked to bring something good for others. Servitude to others while overcoming heartbreak in the loss of her husband. I can't say how she personally dealt with the death of Martin, but a strong and giving person she seemed to me.

All of us can garner a lesson in this story of life throwing curves at us. We have expectations and dreams of a marriage lasting forever, the lives of our children and living a successful life. But as death and "lifes happenings" are encountered to challenge us, what we do in the face of those challenges is what makes us successful or not.

And in the final analysis of all these great things that Coretta did with her life, with all of the topics discussed and debated, I have a certain belief that she would list one of these at the top. This would be that she was the mother of four children and that she did everything she could to make life better for them. For a moment let us look past all of the speeches and look upon four children that have lost their mother.

In ending, I have to quote the Rev. Lowery, "after almost 40 years, together at last, together at last, thank God almighty, together at last. Good night, my sister."