Driven By a Vision: To Win in Unexpected Ways | From Behind the Pen

Image Credit: TheDigitalArtist

No one can see your visions and dreams as clearly as you can. Purpose is the key to creation manifested through vision. -Kym Gordon Moore

When I wrote the above quote over 15 years ago, it was during a time when I felt like the rug was pulled from under me with such great force, that it left me feeling confused and deflated. I thought I had the roadmap of my life outlined to reach the short-term goals I thought were doable to lead me to my long-term dreams, with a little hard work of course. But I learned that sometimes, no matter how carefully orchestrated you put things in order, there will be times when that vehicle derails. Instead of sulking over a shattered glass of spilled milk, I simply poured another glass and shifted my gear to “drive.” That time wasn’t the first and as long as I live it won’t be the last. It just wasn’t my time yet, as I accepted that, and it didn’t stop me from continuing to work at it.

There is power when you have to stop before you resume your journey or trek down a new path. There is power in the ability to empower others. There is power in beating the odds and coming out on top. There is power in deciding to just go for it and do it.

The odds many people overcame that were more extreme than my woes, forced me to stand back, no longer complaining or feeling sorry for myself, and be productive, keeping my eyes on my vision. Yet, had it not been for those challenges and lamentations that I thought were debilitating, I would not have garnered the courage to move forward instead of remaining stagnant or slipping backward.

Our society has conditioned us to go for the big prize, knowing that there is only one prize for the taking. Yet even if you don’t win the big prize or get the type of accolades we see so many others savoring like the finest of champagne money can buy, that should not deter you from being your best or force you to abandon your goals. Just because someone else came out on top, even if you don’t win the way you planned or hoped, you shouldn’t be too hard on yourself because you may have won in so many other unexpected ways.

To win at a specific time you thought you deserved to, may not have been for you. Quite often visions cannot be monetized. Your vision may be altered somewhat because your reward may come by pushing and encouraging others to believe in themselves and never give up. Some visions will come to fruition but you may have to take an alternate route. Your win could very well come through the collective achievements of others, by not focusing on your loss. Others don’t have your vision or determination in their view, so they can’t see what you already saw.

When you start to feel sorry for yourself because it seems like others are barreling ahead toward great things, do not compare yourself or your abilities to them. Just remember, no one can see “your” vision and dreams as clearly as you can. Live with passion. Live with purpose. Focus.

Free Man Think photo and picture

Image Credit: carlosalvarenga

Source: Driven By a Vision: To Win in Unexpected Ways | From Behind the Pen

The Freedom Towns You Need to Know About – The Root

Freedman’s Village, Arlington
Freedman’s Village, Arlington
Photo: Library of Congress

This month in the year 1864, The Senate passed the 13th Amendment to abolish Human slavery in the United States. The House would follow suit the next year, setting the ground work for the emancipation of millions of Black people.  As a result, “Freedmen’s Towns” built by and for formerly enslaved people began emerging all over the country. These all-Black communities, known alternatively as “Freedom Towns” or “All-Black Towns” have slowly been lost to history.

But here’s a list of some Freedom Towns you should know about!

Source: The Freedom Towns You Need to Know About

Open Thread | The Threat Lurking Behind Florida’s November Abortion Vote | 3CHICSPOLITICO

From Slate:

The Giant Threat Lurking Behind Florida’s November Abortion Vote
BY MARK JOSEPH STERN
APRIL 02, 20244:53 PM

The Florida Supreme Court seemed to offer a compromise Monday when it greenlit the state’s six-week abortion ban while simultaneously approving a ballot initiative that would, if enacted, create a constitutional right to reproductive freedom. And indeed, the court’s split decision offers hope that Floridians can reestablish their state as an abortion refuge in the South this November. But an ominous current lurked beneath the rulings: Six of the court’s seven justices appeared to endorse fetal personhood under the state constitution as it stands now, expressing support for—as one justice put it—“the unborn’s competing right to life” over the patient’s right to bodily autonomy. The majority’s rhetoric indicates that if the pro-choice amendment fails this fall, the Florida Supreme Court remains ready to grant fetuses and embryos a constitutional right to life that prohibits the Legislature from legalizing abortion in the future.

There’s no doubt that this court is supremely hostile to abortion. In its first decision on Monday, the conservative supermajority overturned decades of precedent protecting access to abortion under the Florida Constitution’s right to privacy. In 1980 voters enshrined this right, the cornerstone of Roe v. Wade, into the state’s founding charter, with an evident understanding that it would safeguard reproductive autonomy. Yet, by a 6–1 vote, the court gutted the amendment by ignoring historical evidence of its broad original meaning. At the same time, by a 4–3 vote, the court upheld a proposed amendment that would restore an expansive right to abortion access throughout the state. It will require 60 percent support to pass in November.

This second ruling might seem to temper the majority’s hostility toward reproductive freedom. Not quite: Piecing together the fractured opinions, it becomes clear that six justices stand ready to institute fetal personhood under existing state law. The disagreement among this far-right supermajority comes down to tactics, timing, and deference to democracy. Three are prepared to now wield fetal personhood as a sword against any expansion of abortion, even by constitutional amendment. Three are waiting to impose personhood if the upcoming amendment fails and will not weaponize the doctrine today to keep the initiative off the ballot. (All but one of these justices were appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis.) Just a single justice, Jorge Labarga—who dissented from the court’s first decision gutting the right to privacy—declined to board the personhood train.

So, just to be clear. If this Amendment fails, they will hurry in to do Fetal Personhood, and prohibit, in the future, a legislative change.

So,if you know someone in Florida. If you know a Florida Voter, inform them that support for this Amendment is needed. Explain what’s at stake.

And, if they succeed in Florida, you know it won’t just stop with Florida. Other Red States will do the same.

Source: Open Thread | The Threat Lurking Behind Florida’s November Abortion Vote | 3CHICSPOLITICO

désinvolte luciole – Sylvain Lechair / monty guidon.blog

Eh me voilà
me voici
seul
face à
cette infinie
indéfinissable liberté
qui m’étourdit
m’étonne
me submerge
autant qu’elle m’éblouit

et la somme inouïe
des zest
des espoirs
se fracasse en somme
à la solde
surnuméraire
des gestes
des envols
désinvolte luciole
s’offre au regard
dans ce dense soir
aux élans crépusculaires

______
Sylvain Lechair / Monty guidon ~
écrit le 29 mars, publié le 15 avril 2024…

Source: désinvolte luciole – Sylvain Lechair / monty guidon.blog

Songs I Like (26) | beetleypete

In 1981 I was 29 years old. Life was going well, and I was enjoying my job as an EMT in London. I saw the band Japan performing this song on a late-night music TV show, and was instantly captivated by it. Not just the unique voice of David Sylvian and the unusual musical construction, but also the lyrics, which seemed to have come from inside my own head. Forty-three years later, the song is more relevant to me than ever. Along with the song, the ghosts of my own life have haunted me since then.

Source: Songs I Like (26) | beetleypete