#IAmDrKing and So Are You

My all-time favorite Dr. King photo - a warm smile

Today, we celebrate the life and legacy of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. There is nothing I can write that has not been written already. Every year we commemorate and really stop as a nation to focus on what this extraordinary individual did to change our country. What I can do is let you in on something I decided last year and solidified my decision while I was mourning the loss of the late great Nelson Mandela.

#IAmDrKing

Oh yeah, it's greater than any old hashtag that is floating around. It is a way of life. You see, last year about this time, I entered what I am now calling a "desert experience" and really battled internally with all my thoughts/feelings/reactions/actions related to race, gender, poverty and US policies tied to all of them. I had to redefine my own relationship with race and what resulted was my new resolve.

There is not going to be another leader to inspire me as Dr. King or Mr. Mandela did for their respective generations and beyond. The landscape has changed. The needs are the same but the delivery and execution is different. The idea that someone particularly gifted is going to "lead" the next revolution of love has all but dissolved from my mind. I am not looking for inspiration externally any more.

I will find my courage from within.

I will find my inspiration in the mirror.

I will live and love as best I can, with all people.

And today, I challenge each of you to do the same. Look around your life and find places where you can not just honor the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King and his legacy - you can live it.

#IAmDrKing

and so are you.