A Lessening of Self

'People all people 

belong to each other. 

And he who shuts himself away, diminishes himself,

and he who shuts others away, destroys himself.' 

- Dr. Howard Thurman

In this day and age
Where everything we do individually
Affects someone, something elsewhere
Knowingly or unknown to you,
There needs to be a lot less of I's and Me's used in statements
Unless it is a proclamation of a belief in a cause worth fighting for
Unless it is a pledge to do what is right
Unless it is a declaration to fight for the betterment of others
Unless it is for standing up for those who have no voice
Unless it is to get in the way of what is wrong and evil against another
Unless it is to draw attention to issues that affect humanity and our sustenance
Unless it is to remind all from whence we've come, what is and is yet to come for the posterity
That it is not about self but what self can contribute to a WHOLE

I cannot make it on my own and neither can you
One cannot be defined by oneself because we need one another to be
Therefore we all need a lessening of self,
Not only to be selfless but to be humble
And To come to that realization that one cannot achieve by oneself.

We did not wish ourselves into being,
Nor can we claim self sufficiency and independence in our global village
Advanced by inequality in economies and development, outsourcing and cheap labor
'I' has never achieved anything but self-satisfaction
Nothing universally commemorable has ever been done solely for me
The great legacies we have met, discuss and forever will be
Have never been done for the benefit of self but for community
Gandhi, Mandela, Mother Teresa, King to name a few
Not forgetting the less mentioned, unknown soldiers with similar views
Thought Less of Self for us - me and you
Thus to make the change, the right kind of change
That make situations better for all including oneself
Lessen yourself to raise the world higher
To heights once thought unattainable
Lessen oneself to serve and lift the dreams of the world to the point of reality
'May we ever be mindful of all who belong to our community'
And lessen ourselves to successfully rise together above all.


SO..yes it's been a while - senior year is crazy and I hadn't been inspired till some day last week - November 10th to be exact.

This piece was inspired by the annual MLK Jr. Leadership Lecture Series organized by the HGARC at BU. The lecturers were GA Congressman John Robert Lewis and Diane Nash both fighters in the Civil Rights Movement. I was moved by how sacrificial they were - the stories of many young folk back in the days having wills written because they didn't know if they would make it back, and their courage for getting in the way of something that was wrong. Yeah we have heard all abt MLK and stuff but hearing from others who fought just as hard and aren't always the names mentioned brought it back to reality that everyone can do something about the evils that plague our society.
Think about it, what do we sacrifice for today - things to make us fit in the cool crowd, our morals and beliefs to be popular - all for what? Those aren't sacrifices.. that type of lessening of self is a lowering of standards and not of selfless nature.
Oh God help me lessen my self to lift others up and wait for you to raise me up!

I encourage you to all fight for what you are passionate about, don't sit and complain - Get in the way of something that is wrong and try to right it.  If we all stay put and don't take a stand no one else will, cause we will all be waiting for that other person to do something and nothing will get done.              
PS Don't do it to be in the limelight - just do it because it's right!

Enjoy this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMPo4Ptq5sI&feature=related
If you can find the movie 'Soundtrack For A Revolution' to watch you should, it's amazing!