It’s no real secret–at least through this blog forum– that I find life fascinating on a lot of fronts. I’m curious by nature, and so the things that happen in my life particularly, always fill me with questions, ideas and challenges to figure through. I’ve often waxed poetic with you about the things that have happened in my life. Shared personal life lessons and challenges. Sought refuge from you through my writings in hopes that at least some sense would come out of the seemingly senseless and sometimes random acts of “lifeness”.
On my spirit now is this sense that where we focus our attention–where we set our eyes– is where we inevitably end up–good or bad. The idea has come to me in many forms throughout the years. I’ve said it before, probably a gazillion times on this blog “what we focus on, we find”. I think now though, I’m discovering there is more to this idea than just focus. It’s in our literal sight line. It’s in our vision.
During the events leading up to Obama’s election as our current President, I watched a relatively new politician rise up the political ranks with a swiftness and grace I have never, ever in my life seen before. When people threw dirt, he just shrugged and kept going. When big, annoying stuff happened throughout his campaign, they became either teaching moments for the country, or really weren’t worth mentioning. Obama’s election process was the truest testament for me about what it means for one to “keep one’s eyes on the prize”. No matter what it looked like around him–his sight line was on his goal–he was to be the President of the United States.
Even the biggest believers of us thought, somewhere in the backs of our hearts and minds, there is no way he would be President–and yet, he is. That’s some iron clad vision if you ask me.
This comes up now because while I was driving home from work this afternoon, there was this big moving truck coming toward me. The street I was driving on was narrow and that truck was a lil too close for my taste. But instead of panicking and swerving or whatever, and instead of worrying about what that simple ass truck driver was doing, my instincts told me to simply stay my eyes on my side of the road and where I was headed. It was a narrow escape, but it worked out divinely. Where I was looking is exactly where I went. I cringe a bit now thinking about what might have happened had I let my eyes wander to the truck’s side of the street. Yikes. Don’t ask me why that made me think of Obama’s election. It just did. I guess I’m weird in that way. Don’t judge me.
A lot of times things come up in our lives that look a lot too close for comfort, don’t they? Shit happens and it makes us nervous and so to avoid being hit or pushed aside or even just getting our feelings hurt, we swerve off the road to avoid something our depth perception had us believing was a disaster in wait. A lot of times, in reality, it was just us panicking. A lot of times, we cause accidents that we could have avoided had we simply kept our eyes on where we’re going.
This idea fascinates me because, if my Spidey senses are correct, that means that a lot of the problems we create in our lives are of our design. This means that if we kept our eyes on our individual prizes, the lot of us could, would, and will accomplish anything we set our sights to–obstacles irrelevant. It means, there really are no accidents– just people who panic when other people drive all crazy and what not. Interesting right? Of course, I’m not exactly sure I mean for you to take all of this literally. I’m using a bit of metaphoric license to make a point about life. –No, I’m not saying that accident you were in was all your fault. Even though you were texting and had your eyes on your phone and not the road. Kay? Great.
With that said, I have a friend in Brooklyn who is running for Congress. It’s relevant in this post because this brothah has been grinding on our behalf (i.e. the Hip Hop generation)for over 20 years. To see this man evolve from that angry Black man on The Real World, to an evolved MAN with an eye on a prize that includes all of us–is an amazing sight. It’s actually quite dope. Kevin Powell’s Congressional plight is so reminiscent of the things I saw in Obama’s election process, it’s uncanny. And yet, Kevin continues to fight the good fight. He continues to evolve and mature and become ever more inclusive in his message. It’s truly awesome to see a person with their eyes so stayed on a divine right prize.
We cannot continue to complain about the things that happen in our lives, while continuing to do the same things over and over. That’s the definition of insanity. Our government, Congress in particular, is in desperate need of new blood and Kevin Powell is absolutely necessary in this regard. He’s so devoted to serving ALL of us, it’s a shame he’s not already there. BUT, he stays steady with his eyes on that Congressional seat. With all of our help, we’ll be calling him Congressman Powell come November.
I don’t care if you don’t live in Brooklyn. You know somebody who does. Call them. Bug them. Make sure they get up, out and vote for Kevin Powell for Congress (10th Congressional District) on Tuesday September 14, 2010. If you don’t know who Kevin Powell is and why you (or they) should vote for him, visit: www.kevinpowell.net
If you have it in your budget, make a donation to his campaign, even if it’s $5 or $10. Anybody can, you don’t have to live in the district to donate to his great cause. You can do that here. If you have some time on your hands and live in the area, volunteer for his campaign. Whatever can be done to get Kevin elected, must be done in the coming days. Tuesday, September 14th is, well, *counts on fingers* (Today is Saturday, Sunday, Monday) Tuesday. That’s in like 4 days!!!
Just because we got Obama elected, doesn’t mean our work is done. It has always meant that our work has just begun. Our eyes should be stayed on making this Country and this planet one where ALLLLLLLL of our kids can grow up great–standard. That was the prize Martin Luther King had in mind for us and that’s the prize we can begin to claim in this upcoming midterm election phase.
Let’s all keep our eyes on the prize friends. Afterall, where you’re looking, is where you’re going.
The moral of this story? VOTE KEVIN POWELL FOR CONGRESS!!! Oh, and thank you kindly for reading this. Peace and Abundant “your vote still counts” and “eyes front and center–stop looking around and behind you before you crash!” blessings. Love, -e-