Martin Luther King Jr. Special Edition
V . "A
A C A L L TO A C T IO N !
January 19. 2000
(Elje JJo rtla n h ODbseruer
B y D onna S elby
Within humankind is an oppres
sion, a feeling of limited freedom
which creates anger and rage. Our
people are tired of untruths and con
spiracies. Our people have been
squashed with discontent to the point
where nature's core is moving us to
make change. This discontent is not
limited to the color of skin. It is
much deeper than that. Our people
want to see beyond the illusion in
order to seek a better society. Many
are waking up and are ready tor change,
a transformation of sorts to a society
which thinks inclusively and holisti
cally in order to heal to the core.
All it takes is one to get movement
going, likened to the “One Hundredth
Monkey” theory in which one mon
key learns to wash his potato before
eating it. After one hundred monkeys
learn this new behavior, a telepathic
com m unication carries the new
knowledge to other monkeys on other
islands. New behavior does not have
to be observed to be understood, it is
an awareness, an inner knowing. So,
when change begins within one per
son, something much more than it
self begin to happen. Change creates
an invisible movement which divides
and spreads throughout the land. The
t
TO
A C T IO N "
C2
pression and rage into a sweet cream
like mothers' milk. The very act will be
life altering and life giving.
Do not be afraid of change. We
can't outrun change, it is inevitable.
When a mountain blows we think it is
disastrous but it is the very chrysalis
which brings new life. Look at the
caterpillar which goes within itself to
become a beautiful butterfly. This is
the force of natures opposition at
work and when nature moves our
foundation, it has to go full circle for
the end result to be seen.
King's movement was conceived as
a psyche polarization of dark and
light opposites which confronted and
attracted one another. So the chal
lenge for King and other visionary
leaders like him is to understand the
nature of oppositionary change as a
conscious process of unfoldment as
in a coming together ot what our mind
says vs. what our heart says. It is
important to understand that opposi
tion is built into the collective psyche
of the universe.,
The challenge and the test of our
humankind will be to stand at the point
of least resistence (zero point); to
listen to a deeper truth of what is
wanting to be birthed. Any thing which
is most valuable takes sacrifice. A
pearl becomes a precious gift through
thought itself births
thought itself births
other like m inded
thoughts.
Martin Luther King
Jr.'s walk through life
is a fine example of the
alchemical tempering
of consciousness be
ing awakened toward
destiny. I’m sure King
had his moments of
frustration and anger;
love and fear; ups and
downs, but the key to
his success came with
his open mind and
heart. He saw not with
two eyes but one, that
life is bound by an in
visible thread which
links us all as One
Heart.
The driving force
which
propelled
King's movement had SDec‘a arma-
a special armament, not with weapons
and supplies of war to fight the great
est battle, but, of a commonality of
each person who resonated in the
same light. “We did not hesitate,"
says King, "to call our movement an
army. But it was a special army, with no
supplies but its sincerity, no uniform
but its determination, no arsenal ex
cept its faith, no currency but its con
science.” Each person who joined in
the peace rallies came because of an
inner calling; and walked while listen
ing to the beat of their own drum. Why
was Kings movement successful? The
movement was much more than he him
self. It was something deeper, like a
branching out as likened to the arm of
a tree which strengthens yet gives
shade in the heat of challenge. There
was a resonance, a collective knowing
which had a brilliance beyond mea
sure. King's voice became came ONE
collective voice which resonated a
natural ordering: a love of God, a love
for oneself and a love of humanity.
Just as Dr King saw in his dream a
rebirth of a new reality, we carry this
seed of possibility within ourselves.
How do we connect with this natural
way of being? Simply by doing our
inner work. The New Millennium sig
nals a time of letting go of that which
no longer serves us; and rebirth, into
a new way of being. The natural plug
which has kept us at bay has loosened,
contractions begun, there is no going
back. Let us all pray for one another,
strength, courage, compassion, and
dignity through this time of deep in
trospection.
Inner work is a natural process. It
can be painful and wonderful at the
same time but it takes total surrender.
Surrender is not a point of weakness
but a time of opening up to a power
much greater than oneself.
Look
around and you will see for yourself,
pain, which is evident on the faces of
many of our brothers and sisters. This
birthing is like none I have ever seen
nor will see again. It is a cutting away
of falsehood, a stripping of masks we
hide behind. Some people will breeze
through this process, many will not.
To die into a cause so that some
thing greater can be born is our great
est challenge and responsibility. But,
before we can die into something
greater, we must first know ourselves
and in doing so, will render our op
À
A LL
Above: King addresses a crowd o f nearly 250,000 Civil Rights marchers gathered at the
Lincoln Memorial in the nation's capitol on August 27,1963.
L e ft: On March 28,1968, King joined forces with co-worker Ralph Jackson (second from
left), the Reverend Ralph Abernathy (right), and hundreds o f others in Memphis for a
demonstration in support o f striking laborers.
pearl becomes a precious gift through
irritation and it cannot become a pearl
if it runs away. The diamond of any
truth or cause can be found if we look
deep enough to find it. Change take
inner strength to do that which seems
impossible. Can you imagine what
would happen if the sun chose to
overpower the moon? The sun and
moon work in balanced synergy re
flecting not as two lights but one. .
A warrior is one who puts their life
on the line. In the birthing process
they have to let go of something as a
‘sacrifice’ so that something far
greater can come into view. It is a call
to action, like a martial artist, one
must harden their focus yet remain
soft on the inside. The ‘hard' is a
masculine trait which helps one to
move forward, remain steadfast, and
go to the core of the issue instead of
side stepping hoping someone else
will take care of the challenge(s). The
‘soft’ is one’s ability to surrender to
a greater cause and to listen to the
heartbeat drumming within them. The
living reality is to be open minded and
open hearted. This is what we are
working toward.
Love is the key. Love means you
have outgrown the ego‘se lf and have
moved outward into the community
to show love in a proactive way. But
you must learn to walk your talk and
talk your walk. If you don’t, people
will see right through you. In this way,
you become much more than your
self, like King and other masters who
have walked before him or along side
him. You will lay down your life forthis
love of humanity, if necessary. King
knew this and went to the edge of
surrender. This no different than child
birth. This is no different than death
itself.
The point of return is none other
than you becoming the circle and your
love of humanity becomes the core.
Neither one is complete without the
other. So whatever cause is impor
tant to you, hold it close to your heart
and move forward with the grace which
God has given you. This surrender at
thecenter will give grace and meaning
to your existence and whatever your
dreams, thoughts, or hands touch will
turn into golden opportunity. Those
around you will be instantly trans
formed and problems which seemed
BIG will suddenly seem small.
»
Martin Luther King, Jr.
"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. "
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the Portland Development Commission, and the Port of Portland are committed to
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Professional Services Manager
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