Where wisdom and love intersect

The World According to Martin Luther King, Jr.

Listen up...

Where would we be today, if Martin Luther King was still alive?

I haven’t had many heroes in life. People that had the power to reach in, grab hold of some part of me and reshape it.

Martin Luther King became one of those heroes before I turned 15. And a mentor as well.

This article is by no means a serious homage to the man. It’s just a few words cobbled together, along with his words of inspiration to highlight the everlasting nature of who he was.

And to say in even fewer words - damn, I wish you were still here.

PEOPLE

The man had heart; a limitless capacity to feel what the common man felt, know what the common man was capable of, and still bring his compassion to bear so that others could feel hope.

“Forgiveness is not an occasional act. It is a permanent attitude.”

It just is, I guess. If you want to lead a life that isn’t filled with conflict and regrets.

Forgiveness is a way of letting go and for people that like to collect things, it sounds like a perfect idea.

“We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.”

Because hope is not a hollow gesture. It’s a belief in the inevitability of change.

“We may have all come on different ships, but we’re in the same boat now.”

Though people are unique, what we deal with every day is not. We all worry. About ourselves, our partners, or the balance in our checkbooks.

We live on the same planet with similar needs and wants and understanding that in most ways, we are the same, will help us get to the other side of our current divide.

“Let no man pull you so low as to hate him.”

I’ll let that one speaks for itself.

TAKING ACTION

Silence is our default position. It’s primordial. Remain motionless and danger might not see us. But at the end of the day, any day really, it’s our voice and the strength behind it that allows change to take place.

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”

It isn’t easy taking risks. Mr. King lost his life fighting for what he believed in. Death of the body is seldom the outcome of protest and disagreement. Death of heart and spirit often is when we don’t act when we should.

“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?”

Man is a selfish creature by design. We eat and drink to stay alive. It’s our first imperative. Then we hunt (go to work), protect our families (seek shelter and a safe car) and do what our nature and instincts dictate. There’s a reason we feel so good when helping others.

“The hottest place in Hell is reserved for those who remain neutral in times of great moral conflict.”

After watching news footage from the southern marches Mr. King and others went on in the early 60s, there’s probably no misunderstanding what he was talking about here. When you’re at the forefront of a conflict and you look around, you want to see that others have your back.

LEADERSHIP

Leadership is often painted with a single color — blue for business. Most books on the shelves deal with CEOs of corporations and their rise to power and consequence. But real leadership is not about profit and market share, it’s about people.

Taking them where they need to be, even when they don’t see the way. Martin Luther King saw the way.

“You can kill the dreamer, but you can’t kill the dream.”

MLK’s words still reverberate around the world 55 years after his death. They are just as relevant and just as vibrant as when they were first spoken. It’s vital that we burnish them every now and then and ensure that each generation hears what he had to say.

“Rarely do we find men who willingly engage in hard, solid thinking. There is an almost universal quest for easy answers and half-baked solutions. Nothing pains some people more than having to think.”

What would Mr. King think of social media? Not the technology or the innovation but the reliance on abbreviated communication, images instead of words, and the dulling nature of endless hours spent staring at pixels.

“A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.”

Leaders don’t all wear suits. They don’t all appear, freshly minted in boardrooms and private suites. Anyone and everyone can be a leader when they have a goal, enough imagination, and a voice to gain the interest of others in following them.

The truth has a funny way of making itself known, even when we’re turning away from it.

FUTURE AND CHANGE

The future can be a blank page waiting to be filled, or a recap of what has already happened.

Our future in America is filled with as much possibility as it has always had or far less depending on how we pose our questions and find the answers.

Today more than ever we need to take back the role of envisioning our future and stop placing it in the hands of others who see only what they are paid to see.

“There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must take it because conscience tells him it is right.”

Distraction and media fatigue is real. Over time they cause us to turn away and look elsewhere for relief. The relief we need is often straight ahead, just beyond the noise.

“Violence is immoral because it thrives on hatred rather than love. It destroys community and makes brotherhood impossible. It leaves society in monologue rather than dialogue. Violence ends up defeating itself. It creates bitterness in the survivors and brutality in the destroyers.”

If we look around at our world today and the billions of images broadcast around the planet, it’s easy to understand why MLK used these words over 50 years ago. They are still relevant. Still worth repeating. Perhaps now more than ever.

“Science investigates; religion interprets. Science gives man knowledge, which is power; religion gives man wisdom, which is control. Science deals mainly with facts; religion deals mainly with values. The two are not rivals.”

Honestly, one of those duh! statements that are obvious and yet seem to elude many.

“There is nothing more tragic than to find an individual bogged down in the length of life, devoid of breadth.”

We live day to day, paycheck to paycheck. Carving joy out of bedrock at times, but making a go of it. So, it’s easy to keep our heads down, focus on the work in front of us and leave the rest for others to take care of.

We have a system of governance that is basically sound — when it’s allowed to work. But it often isn’t. Vested interests and party politics get in the way and distract us. Has us constantly putting out fires that were intentionally set.

Watching our House of Representatives trying to elect a speaker today is not a lesson in democracy but a cautionary tale of what to avoid in the future. At all costs.

TAKEAWAY

Martin Luther King was a visionary. A label today that we often assign to tech gurus and billionaires who are focused on products and amassing great fortunes.

His dreams were about people and not possessions. An iPhone is great. A self-driving car — wow.

But peace and equality are still missing. No collection of luxury goods and services can fill that void.

Living well is our right. Living free our legacy, hard-won. Making sure it applies to everyone — our promise.

“Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” — Martin Luther King, Jr.