Words I will long reflect on and return as a compass, lighthouse, and spirit well from President Obama's inauguration speech (writing as I hear him now - Oh, how my heart inflates with joy and hope and gratitude!):
...judge you on what you can build, not what you can destroy...
...feed hungry minds...
...We can no longer afford indifference to those who live outside our borders...
...a willingness to (devote) ourselves to something greater than ourselves...
...the selflessness of workers (to help a co-worker keep his/her job)...
...a parent's willingness to nurture a child...
...tolerance and curiosity...
...loyalty and patriotism...
...What is demanded then is a return to these truths...
...We have duties to ourselves, our nation, our world...
...Nothing so satisfying to the spirit than giving ourselves to a difficult task...
...The source of our confidence...the knowledge that God (asks us to engage in this difficult and selfless work)...
...Who we are...how far we have traveled...
...Let it be told to future worlds....our country came forth to meet it...
...Let us brave the icy currents...
...When we were tested, we refused to (give up...)...and to feel the full measure of happiness (this last line is not fully capture and out of order)...
*From the poet Elizabeth Alexander
Praise Song for the Day
...All about us is noise...
...repairing the things in need of repair...
...words to consider and reconsider...
...I need to see what is on the other side...
...to find a place where we are safe...
...to walk into a place we cannot yet see...
...seeing the names of those who brought us here...
...What if the mightiest word is love?
...love that casts the widest pool of light...
...Any sentence can be begun...
...Praise song for walking forward in that light.
Rev. Joseph Lowery
...our faith does not shrink...
...help us make decisions for love, not hate...
...in the joy of a new beginning...when brown can stick around :)...when white will embrace what is right...Say amen!
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