This summer i had the chance to travel and spend my vacation for three and a half months in the great state of texas, during that time i began wondering what makes the difference between a normal guy and a legend. This thought debacled me for weeks and months. I began looking at legends and seeing what made them different from the rest of society, what made them stand out like a pillar, what made them legends. I began looking at different legends in our society. I remembered the immense disconcertion i felt when i stood on the very stones that Martin Luther King Jr. gave his legendary “I have a dream speech.” I will never forget looking out upon the reflecting pool and seeing the image of the Washington monument ripple in the water below. I closed my eyes and began imagining what it must have looked like with the thousands of people hanging from the trees just to see him speak. One man with one line changed the direction of the mindset of a nation. He had a dream that though others enjoyed the thought of not many would fight for. Men stood toe to toe with those who opposed them and their ideals. They were persecuted for their dreams, physically attacked for their views. Some were even terminated from their dreams. Driving through Tennessee I had the chance to stop in Memphis and stand on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel where he was shot and killed for what he believed, for what he dreamed. His dream did not die with him, his legacy carried on after his death. He became of legend for what he did, what he fought for, what he died for.
In 2008 I served at the pleasure of the President as a White House intern. As i sat in the oval office and began to realize the history that surrounded me. As i looked at the Resolute Desk that sat there in the oval office I recognized table that a legendary President leaned on during a national crisis. John F. Kennedy was a legend in the eyes of the American public and the world. During the height of the Cold War he had a dream of peaceful society where men put there differences aside, laid down their weapons and talked peacefully at a table to work out their disagreements. No matter what his past dictates to us today his record stands true. He fought for freedom of the oppressed and the downcast. He was seen during his time as weak and futile but yet history dictates something much different. It shows us that combat is not the final option. On a rainy day in May with the sun setting behind me on the horizon of the Dallas skyline i stood on the grassy knoll underneath the Book Depositry building. I became overwhelemed with emotion. As crazy as it seems i became teary eyed as i stared at the X’s that marked where a legend was cut down in his prime but a snipers bullet. His dreams didnt die with the man they lived on, they were passed on from administration to administration until they were finally realized later on down the road.
In my search to discover what makes a legend i have come to the realization that it takes dreaming. But dreams alone do not define a man. When one lives solely in the future and it controls his total focus he loses sight of the present. Dreams must be matched up with one thing and one thing only, dreamers need to have a fight buried deep within their soul. A mans fight for nothing is useless, its a waste. A mans fight must be coupled with one thing a dream. Then a man will become the greatest feared adversary in the world, he will become a legend. This discovery provoked one question in my mind. Who are the future legends of our present time? Who are our dreamers? We need our leaders to have dreams, radical, culture changing dreams birthed deep inside of them to where they taste the very words that rattle in their mind. They need to have the courage to stand toe to toe with those that oppose them and fight for the very lively hood of their dreams. Then will history mark them as true legends. A man does not merely become a legend for what he dreams of doing, he becomes one by fighting for what he believes is right and true, no matter what the cost is. A true legend is marked by standing by what he believes when push comes to shove. For fighting till the brow of his forehead is beaded with sweat. This is not reserved for the great and popular. Any man can become a legend. If a man has a dream birthed inside him he needs to grab the bull bull by the horns and ride it and spur it into submission no matter how rough or painful. I have a dream. Those words ring true in my head. They dart from side to side as if they are a gazelle running for their lives. The trouble becomes when a fight is needed to totally realize that dreams are a real possibility. This is no easy task. A man must be totally submitted to this task. It must envelope the very being of who he is and who he desires to become. A man must realize who he was before he can become who he wants to be. A realization of self is vitally necessary on what a man dreams and the fight that is birthed within him. As kids we all had dreams on waht we wanted to become. But it is the fight within us that drove us to those dreams. It becomes a point in persons life when he claws and strains and faces failure to see what he is made of. In the face of failure and destruction of dreams a man must stare failure in the eyes and smirk. That smirk represents something that failure wasnt expecting. That smirk represents the undying determination of a man with a dream that is passionate about fighting for something he only sees in his dreams. The fight that he is so strong and has such an anchor inside of him that he can taste. When this country has people who have that fight and that determination we will be back on the track of a strong secure nation. When we have a culture who wont wince at the face of defeat and loss and stands toe to toe with the ideas that oppose them we will see a great difference in all the aspects of our society, and in the end isnt that what we all want....to become legends.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Dreamers
This summer i had the chance to travel and spend my vacation for three and a half months in the great state of texas, during that time i began wondering what makes the difference between a normal guy and a legend. This thought debacled me for weeks and months. I began looking at legends and seeing what made them different from the rest of society, what made them stand out like a pillar, what made them legends. I began looking at different legends in our society. I remembered the immense disconcertion i felt when i stood on the very stones that Martin Luther King Jr. gave his legendary “I have a dream speech.” I will never forget looking out upon the reflecting pool and seeing the image of the Washington monument ripple in the water below. I closed my eyes and began imagining what it must have looked like with the thousands of people hanging from the trees just to see him speak. One man with one line changed the direction of the mindset of a nation. He had a dream that though others enjoyed the thought of not many would fight for. Men stood toe to toe with those who opposed them and their ideals. They were persecuted for their dreams, physically attacked for their views. Some were even terminated from their dreams. Driving through Tennessee I had the chance to stop in Memphis and stand on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel where he was shot and killed for what he believed, for what he dreamed. His dream did not die with him, his legacy carried on after his death. He became of legend for what he did, what he fought for, what he died for.
In 2008 I served at the pleasure of the President as a White House intern. As i sat in the oval office and began to realize the history that surrounded me. As i looked at the Resolute Desk that sat there in the oval office I recognized table that a legendary President leaned on during a national crisis. John F. Kennedy was a legend in the eyes of the American public and the world. During the height of the Cold War he had a dream of peaceful society where men put there differences aside, laid down their weapons and talked peacefully at a table to work out their disagreements. No matter what his past dictates to us today his record stands true. He fought for freedom of the oppressed and the downcast. He was seen during his time as weak and futile but yet history dictates something much different. It shows us that combat is not the final option. On a rainy day in May with the sun setting behind me on the horizon of the Dallas skyline i stood on the grassy knoll underneath the Book Depositry building. I became overwhelemed with emotion. As crazy as it seems i became teary eyed as i stared at the X’s that marked where a legend was cut down in his prime but a snipers bullet. His dreams didnt die with the man they lived on, they were passed on from administration to administration until they were finally realized later on down the road.
In my search to discover what makes a legend i have come to the realization that it takes dreaming. But dreams alone do not define a man. When one lives solely in the future and it controls his total focus he loses sight of the present. Dreams must be matched up with one thing and one thing only, dreamers need to have a fight buried deep within their soul. A mans fight for nothing is useless, its a waste. A mans fight must be coupled with one thing a dream. Then a man will become the greatest feared adversary in the world, he will become a legend. This discovery provoked one question in my mind. Who are the future legends of our present time? Who are our dreamers? We need our leaders to have dreams, radical, culture changing dreams birthed deep inside of them to where they taste the very words that rattle in their mind. They need to have the courage to stand toe to toe with those that oppose them and fight for the very lively hood of their dreams. Then will history mark them as true legends. A man does not merely become a legend for what he dreams of doing, he becomes one by fighting for what he believes is right and true, no matter what the cost is. A true legend is marked by standing by what he believes when push comes to shove. For fighting till the brow of his forehead is beaded with sweat. This is not reserved for the great and popular. Any man can become a legend. If a man has a dream birthed inside him he needs to grab the bull bull by the horns and ride it and spur it into submission no matter how rough or painful. I have a dream. Those words ring true in my head. They dart from side to side as if they are a gazelle running for their lives. The trouble becomes when a fight is needed to totally realize that dreams are a real possibility. This is no easy task. A man must be totally submitted to this task. It must envelope the very being of who he is and who he desires to become. A man must realize who he was before he can become who he wants to be. A realization of self is vitally necessary on what a man dreams and the fight that is birthed within him. As kids we all had dreams on waht we wanted to become. But it is the fight within us that drove us to those dreams. It becomes a point in persons life when he claws and strains and faces failure to see what he is made of. In the face of failure and destruction of dreams a man must stare failure in the eyes and smirk. That smirk represents something that failure wasnt expecting. That smirk represents the undying determination of a man with a dream that is passionate about fighting for something he only sees in his dreams. The fight that he is so strong and has such an anchor inside of him that he can taste. When this country has people who have that fight and that determination we will be back on the track of a strong secure nation. When we have a culture who wont wince at the face of defeat and loss and stands toe to toe with the ideas that oppose them we will see a great difference in all the aspects of our society, and in the end isnt that what we all want....to become legends.
In 2008 I served at the pleasure of the President as a White House intern. As i sat in the oval office and began to realize the history that surrounded me. As i looked at the Resolute Desk that sat there in the oval office I recognized table that a legendary President leaned on during a national crisis. John F. Kennedy was a legend in the eyes of the American public and the world. During the height of the Cold War he had a dream of peaceful society where men put there differences aside, laid down their weapons and talked peacefully at a table to work out their disagreements. No matter what his past dictates to us today his record stands true. He fought for freedom of the oppressed and the downcast. He was seen during his time as weak and futile but yet history dictates something much different. It shows us that combat is not the final option. On a rainy day in May with the sun setting behind me on the horizon of the Dallas skyline i stood on the grassy knoll underneath the Book Depositry building. I became overwhelemed with emotion. As crazy as it seems i became teary eyed as i stared at the X’s that marked where a legend was cut down in his prime but a snipers bullet. His dreams didnt die with the man they lived on, they were passed on from administration to administration until they were finally realized later on down the road.
In my search to discover what makes a legend i have come to the realization that it takes dreaming. But dreams alone do not define a man. When one lives solely in the future and it controls his total focus he loses sight of the present. Dreams must be matched up with one thing and one thing only, dreamers need to have a fight buried deep within their soul. A mans fight for nothing is useless, its a waste. A mans fight must be coupled with one thing a dream. Then a man will become the greatest feared adversary in the world, he will become a legend. This discovery provoked one question in my mind. Who are the future legends of our present time? Who are our dreamers? We need our leaders to have dreams, radical, culture changing dreams birthed deep inside of them to where they taste the very words that rattle in their mind. They need to have the courage to stand toe to toe with those that oppose them and fight for the very lively hood of their dreams. Then will history mark them as true legends. A man does not merely become a legend for what he dreams of doing, he becomes one by fighting for what he believes is right and true, no matter what the cost is. A true legend is marked by standing by what he believes when push comes to shove. For fighting till the brow of his forehead is beaded with sweat. This is not reserved for the great and popular. Any man can become a legend. If a man has a dream birthed inside him he needs to grab the bull bull by the horns and ride it and spur it into submission no matter how rough or painful. I have a dream. Those words ring true in my head. They dart from side to side as if they are a gazelle running for their lives. The trouble becomes when a fight is needed to totally realize that dreams are a real possibility. This is no easy task. A man must be totally submitted to this task. It must envelope the very being of who he is and who he desires to become. A man must realize who he was before he can become who he wants to be. A realization of self is vitally necessary on what a man dreams and the fight that is birthed within him. As kids we all had dreams on waht we wanted to become. But it is the fight within us that drove us to those dreams. It becomes a point in persons life when he claws and strains and faces failure to see what he is made of. In the face of failure and destruction of dreams a man must stare failure in the eyes and smirk. That smirk represents something that failure wasnt expecting. That smirk represents the undying determination of a man with a dream that is passionate about fighting for something he only sees in his dreams. The fight that he is so strong and has such an anchor inside of him that he can taste. When this country has people who have that fight and that determination we will be back on the track of a strong secure nation. When we have a culture who wont wince at the face of defeat and loss and stands toe to toe with the ideas that oppose them we will see a great difference in all the aspects of our society, and in the end isnt that what we all want....to become legends.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Memories and the fight against them
Memories are the things of dreams, so says Disney. Memories have for so long been things to cherish and hold dear. They have been placed in high places in our lives. We revere them, cherish them, and recall them when times are rough. But yet memories have a flip side, a evil stepsister. They can often bring up painful occurrences of the past. They bring to mind things of the past that we wish we had forgotten. It is these things of the past that if we choose to forget often reappear at the worst times. When you are down and feeling low these memories suddenly reapper on the grid of our minds. How is it that we have this silent enemy, this deadly killer. If life was so much simpler. We often quote this to ourselves, we whisper it under the covers of our beds at night with tears streaming down our faces, we scream it out in the pouring rain after a horrible experience. But the face is life is not simple. It wasn’t meant to be. It was meant to test us and force us to grow anyway and by any means possible. These memories come in many shapes, forms, and fashions. It could be a bad breakup with a girlfriend, that time when you caught her cheating on you with another man. It could be the pain of losing a national championship because of your kick and with the tears streaming down your face lying in the mud with the rain whipping at your back. It could be leaving a job you loved prematurely. With all of these memories in my life brings a sharp stabbing pain that penetrates to the very core of who I am. It brings anger, fustration, and deep sadness. But I have learned that it is not the memories that cause pain. It is not the realization of the incident and the immense nature of these memories but it is the fact that we choose to focus on the painful side of the memory. Where is hope? Where is the overcoming the pain? Where is the retribution and the recourse of man in our troubled times. In all of these situations there seems a hopless nature. A sense of great loss and discouragement. But it is the fact that I have chosen to focus on the pain of those situations and not the grand scheme of things and the ultimate total opportunity I had facing in front of me. Yes I was in pain when I caught my girlfriend with another man, but in that pain there laid hope as I shut the door behind me. With her calling my name out in the background as tears streaming down my face I realized there was an amazing girl out there somewhere for me. My options had just become wide open. My horizons were bright. Yes I was horribly sad and low when my kick was blocked and we lost the national championship. But there was hope when my team came over and picked me up out of the mud and stood me on my feet as the mud and tears fell from my body. There was hope in the fact that I knew in my heart I would have the chance to right my mistakes in college someday. I was devastated when I left the White House. As I walked out that cold iron gate and heard that awful sound slam behind me I knew that I would never step foot in that office again while President Bush was in office. But with the slamming of that gate came a slamming of a chapter in my life. As the tears streamed down my face I knew that I was beginning a new chapter in my life with a higher calling and higher stakes. Though the pain was seemingly to great to handle I remembered that love is blind, victory is in the way you look at it, and power is fleeting. These memories will never be lost in the grand scheme of things. The good and bad bring to mind the journey I have traversed. It is so easy to look at the negative. But winners never took the easy way. Great soldiers never took the easy tasks. They made it hard on purpose to grow stonger. Through all the pain I trudge on, ever so slowly towards progress and growth of who I really am. And that is the ultimate goal. A change in who I am. A recalibration of myself as a person. Down to the very atom and molecule I possess in my body.
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