Be Present

This week I saw on a talk show the story of two women who had been best friends for a number of years. It appears that the friendship had been lost for several years after an incident where one of the friends did not feel that the other person cared for her the same way she cared for them.

They missed each other's loving support during so many life events where the support of a true girlfriend means more than words can describe. An engagement. A marriage. The birth of a first child. The death of a parent.

The essence of the first major "blow" to the friendship came when one friend called and gave the other friend her credit card number and told her to order a pizza when she heard about the death of her friend's mother. Sounds really callous, right? Of course, the friend who called with her credit card number had an excuse. She said that she did not deal with death very well, but she wanted to help. Now to you or I, this may seem like a lame excuse and would have been unforgivable. But it wasn't just this event that broke up their friendship. However, it was the one thing that always hung over any other misunderstanding.

The bottom line and the moral of the story is this: show up and be present. Sometimes this is going to require you to be in situations that are uncomfortable for you, yet your presence could mean the world to your friend or loved one. When words are in adequate, your presence can communicate the universal language of love. So as much and as often as possible, choose to be present in the lives of those who are important to you.
#emPowerHER #BePresent #Friendship #RealLove #whm #WomenMakingHistory

Reflections On An Extraordinary King and His Dream

I grew up believing in Martin Luther King, Jr.'s dream. His dream, which should be every American's dream, was that people would be judged by the content of their character, not their skin color. He believed that individuals  should be judged by their skills and comportment, not the pigmentation of their skin, the size of their nose, eyes or lips, the length or texture of their hair, or even their accent.

In the almost 50 years since his death, there has been progress, but not enough. Some of the same problems that plagued King's generation and all those who came before him, still plagued us in the 21st century. Disparities in unemployment and health care, unequal justice, systemic racism, etc. In 2017, we still live in a country where people and their voices are marginalized because they express views that are different.

We as a nation must become uncomfortable with the intolerable just as King, Coretta Scott King, Rosa Parks, Medgar Evers, James Baldwin and so many countless others stood up to racism and discrimination, and initiated change. You will not change a system when you are comfortable with the benefits of its injustice. We must become uncomfortable.

The indomitable spirit, that fire that burned within an ordinary mortal man and caused him to risk his life to lead a people to wage a nonviolent war against an unjust system, must lead us to a place where we are re-filled and re-energized to stand against bigotry and exclusion from the rights that every citizen should have. I have personally experienced silence from leaders who are willing to look the other way when the injustice is against those whose beliefs they disagree with or whose profile is not high enough to warrant their attention. But this is not right. 

Injustice is like cancer. Unless we identify it and confront it, it will spread and take over our system. We must stand up and rededicate ourselves to the equality and the inalienable rights of everyone. We are the ones we have been waiting for... 

--Nona O. 

"I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed - we hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."

 --Martin L. King, Jr.

Happy New Year!

Happy 2017! 😆😎💕👢♪🍾🕛🎉

Fences, A Classic American Story

(Adapted from the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning play by August Wilson)

Opens everywhere on Christmas Day 2016

“Fences” is a great American movie in the tradition of American classics like "A Raisin In The Sun", "It's A Wonderful Life", "Imitation of Life" and "Malcolm X". Led by two-time Academy award winning actor, Denzel Washington, who also directed the film, and award winning actress Viola Davis, this brilliant cast of actors reprised their roles from the 2010 run of the play on Broadway. Washington, Davis and Mykelti Williamson breathed life into these characters in such a way that the audience is able to see the humanity of and identify with these complex but lovable individuals.

The story is set in the 1950’s and finds its main character, Troy Maxson, as a married father of two sons who lives in a two story house and works as a sanitation worker (aka a “garbage man”) in the blue collar town of Pittsburgh, PA. Segregation is very much the order of the day as black men are not allowed to drive the trash trucks. These jobs are reserved for white men. In fact, we see Maxson break barriers in the film as he is the first black man to be promoted to driver in the city. He’s a hero, right? Well Troy Maxson is a complicated guy with a heart of gold but a steel fist.

FencesMovie.com

instagram.com/mykeltiwmson

           Fencesmovie.com          

Rose Maxson, played by Viola Davis, is your everyday woman of the time. She’s a housewife that cooks, cleans, holds the family together and is active in her church. Her life would appear simple, but as it is in the real world, real life is never simple. Ms. Davis helps us see who the real hero and “stable one” is in the family even though she is married to a hard-working, responsible man who brings his entire paycheck home to her. Modern day feminists and womanists might look down on Rose for the choices that she made especially after she is betrayed. However, Viola’s Oscar-worthy performance helps us understand Rose’s choices and leaves us with no criticism for this character.

Mykelti Williamson plays, Gabriel, the disabled war veteran brother of Troy whose war injury settlement made it possible for the family to buy a modest home in an all-black section of town. Mykelti delivered an amazingly simple, but wonderfully nuanced performance of an individual with a mental disability. I loved the interaction between Lyons, Troy’s oldest son, played by Russell Hornsby and Gabriel. It portrayed the true love, patience and acceptance that you will find in families of an individual with special needs.

One of the overarching themes in this movie is how easy it is to become a victim to a cycle of pain even when you have fought hard to be nothing like and tried to get far away from the thing that has caused you so much pain in your life. The masterful performance of Stephen Henderson (Troy’s co-worker and best friend) shows us what it means to be a true friend in good and bad times. Jovan Adepo, Troy’s youngest son Cory, and Sanyya Sidney, remind us that love is not perfect but it can be beautiful if we allow ourselves to be open to the reality of love and not what we see in fairy tales.

Fences is truly an amazing story. It's an American story. It’s a family movie. Go see it Christmas Day!

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****Cast of Fences at New York advance screening:

Check out this clip of Denzel Washington giving life advice at an advance screening of the film in New York City on December 18, 2016:

"Fight For Your Dreams"

http://motivationalmoments-vwo.blogspot.com/2016/12/fight-for-your-dreamsdenzel-washington.html

Happy Thanksgiving!

#HappyThanksgiving from @womenatliberty and #WomenMakingHistory!

Faith Calls Us To Action...@vnona

The verse below calls people who say they are believers of Christ to action. "Make" is the operative word and denotes action. To see injustice, devastation and wrongdoing and remain silent is to give tacit approval to those situations.

Christians are called to be a people of faith and action (works). Don't preach to me about your faith if you remain silent on issues of injustice. Change for the better does not just happen by itself. Individuals are the agents of change. Healing does not just happen. Action is required whether internally or externally.

The paths we are called to "make" will not only benefit us but those who come after us if...we clear paths and train others to clear paths. 

Us vs. Them...@vnona

If you do the same things that they do, you are just like them. If you exclude people beause they don't think like you, you are a bigot. If you bully those who look different from you, then you are intolerant.

The end does not justify the means. You are just like them.

--Nona O.