Sign Language: A few thoughts about reading messages from God in your everyday life.

What I've written isn't anything new, revolutionary or profound, it's only a series of thoughts that I've had and some of the conclusions I've been working through regarding God and the world. I could be completely wrong, you're entitled to disagree or disregard my thoughts, you're within your right. Now to be clear, when I refer to God I mean whatever entity you serve, he's all the same to me.

Now...here goes.

I don't subscribe to coincidence. The philosophy of "Things happen" never sat well with me. Now although I believe God exist, religion isn't the reason I feel this way about so-called random occurrences, science is. The beauty of science is the reason I think that certain things on this earth are fated. Little things like the earth being exact distance away from the sun in order for it to form all life is pretty remarkable. If that's a coincidence, it's a pretty big one. Who knows?

Most religious people believe that there is a high level of predestined occurrences that dictate the course of their lives. Everything that happens is the Lord's will. Not to say that they're wrong but if everything was left up to fate, prayer would be rendered useless, because your fate has already been decided. Now maybe it's not so black and white. Maybe there are many fates, and depending on your choices they can lead you to a particular destination. That's not a bad thing, but then the religious person would then ask where does God fit in?

I believe that God is a constant.

He's involved with every second of every day, but he does not dictate the course of your life. He provides the signs for you to read on your journey to your destination, wherever it may be. You choose your path.

If you pay attention, there are signs in nearly every decision that you make. It may seem strange but I don't think being a good person translates into having a good life. Your blessings have nothing to do with how good you are as a person, if they were, why are must Christians poor or sickly? Why are innocent kids killed around the world everyday? (Lord's will, right?). Blessing are favor from God and I won't even try to speculate as to how that works but I don't think you can earn salvation or "Holy" points. And If you're a good person because you want to get into heaven then you'll never get there. All of your deeds are rooted in selfishness. I'm of the opinion that God wants you to be good because it's just the right way to be.

We make it complex because we're naturally selfish and have the desire to be special. Look at how many religions claim to be the right religion but the main goal is simply be peaceful and love one another. So if your religion doesn't interfere with mine, why does it matter who's right or wrong? Is that the Lord's will too?

Sorry for going off on a tangent, back to the fate, choice God and signs.

We're all human, flawed. We make constantly poor decisions. Lord knows, I've made mine. In the end, God looks out for EVERYBODY, even the people we view as evil.

I could be wrong, but I'm of the mindset God really just wants us to take care of each other, give Him thanks and read the signs that he gives in order to help make your life easier. Unfortunately, it's not easy because many times, we fail to see the signs.

What are these signs that you speak of?

Think of this world as a giant road with construction detours, traffic, potholes and side streets. Those are things that you cannot control, forces that are unseen. You can't control circumstances, it's like the weather, the only thing that you can control are your choices. The signs guide you those choices.

When we are young, we drive so fast(immaturity, stubbornness, upbringing) we can't see all of the signs or even understand them. As we get older we learn a bit of discernment. Now... This may come as shock or sound blasphemous but you don't need God to see the signs Whuuuuuuut? *stops reading*

As you get older, you get smarter, it just happens. The thing about getting older is that you form habits, now some of the signs you've read will only be the signs you're accustomed to seeing, because of your habit. You may pick up a new series of signs and you think that's all you need and got it all figured out, but you're still not getting to where you wanna be(kinda like driving in circles right?) See the thing is, you need God to know how to read ALL of the signs. You need God increase discernment, that's why you pray. Your anger, sadness, pride, self esteem, fear, lack of perspective, all of those things can hinder you from reading God's signs. And with all that going on within yourself, you still have outside forces.

As I said before have no control over the potholes, traffic or weather ahead, but you can pray for the ability to see the pothole when it comes, the instincts to brake quickly and the patience to handle the traffic. You pray that your car can handle the potholes when your car hits a couple. You pray that you're on the right road.

When you get older and your discernment  improves, we can choose to ignore some of the signs even when they're blatant. Call it confident, call it conceit, call it stupidity. Either way, God is still there. He will continue to guide, protect, fix and teach you. All four of those things can come in the form positive or negative moments in your life, just know that you can learn from all of them as you move forward.

While you're on life's road, you can see a sign or hit some traffic which will make you take an exit and use the back streets, thinking it may be easier, but you may end up catching a flat tire. Guess who is your spare tire or the tire shop nearby? (Hint: it starts with a G) There may be a lesson in all of that. Sometimes it's better to ride on the highway regardless of the traffic. Sometimes that flat you caught prevented you from the accident further ahead. Depending on your situation, sometimes He provided that shortcut to get you back on the street that you needed to be on. Think about that time when you did something really messed up and when you look back you saw all the signs telling you not to do it, but you ignored it. Part of that is your common sense, the other part is him.

We all want better for ourselves, God wants the same. There are times that we want something so much that we end up ignoring what the signs are telling you. You may want a new job so bad that you'll end up taking the first job that comes along. You may up doing the same thing in regards to a companion. All the signs that tell you that it's not a fit, you end up ignoring. That doesn't mean you won't get to your destination, it may mean it'll take longer, or you may encounter things you didn't have to had you stayed on course. In the end, what's destined for you cannot be taken from you, God made it so, but you can decide to pick or settle on what you think is best. You can give up and head somewhere else. You'll mess around and live you're whole life not driving on the road that would've made you truly happy. A dream deferred and all that...But in the end, it's all on you.

Here's my final thought: You always have a choice and your God will always see you through the results of those choices. There's something out there, it could be God or a some unknown force, but there's something. Look at how each choice has affected your life...And look at how you're still standing strong through it all...That's no coincidence. That's God.

Fate...coincidence...I'm like Sway, I don't have the answers. I just try to read the signs and make sure that I have my GPS sure on the closest tire shop in my area because I'm prone to taking a detour or two.

Remembering Dr. Martin Luther King Jr: A great hero or maybe a greater weapon?

I remember playing the role of Dr. Martin Luther king Jr for my 4th grade Black History Month play. I stood on stage, in a suit & tie, with a crowd of kids behind me and recited a chunk of the more memorable parts of his historical "I have a Dream" speech. I wasn't nervous, but I was never afraid of public speaking. Maybe I was more proud than afraid, proud of the fact that I was able to represent a man, who I was told, was probably the best black man to walk the face of the earth. (At that time I thought Jesus was white)

I mean, what man do you know, that was never a president and still able to get us a day off from school?...Christopher Columbus...well...what black man? Exactly, there were and are none! Only him. The United States made Martin Luther King the black standard. Shit, the way they promoted him, you would've thought that he was the only person that did anything during the civil rights movement. Forty plus years after his tragic death, you can ask any child going to public school to name the five great black leaders and more than likely you'll hear:

"Martin, Martin, Martin, Martin and Martin." (Dylan voice)

And therein lies my problem. I'll explain position in a bit, but let me get to my Selma experience.

So I'm sitting in the movie theater watching Selma with a thousand thoughts running through my head. For starters, from a cinematic standpoint, the movie was average. Apart from it being your usual "We shall overcome" black movie, it was slow, methodical, enlightening and at some points very intense. David Oyelowo delivered an Oscar worthy performance as MLK. But the movie was far from a classic.

However, for me, this was much more than a movie. I wanted insight into the man behind the legend, before I wrote this blog. I was eager to see how the film depicted Martin Luther King, as well as the message behind his movement. And as I watched, who was supposed to be every black kids hero, being undeified right before my very eyes, I felt great.

For years we were force fed the story of MLK as this saint of a man trying to do what was best for his race. When in truth, what you had was a man who used a philosophical method of non violent resistance, which he himself struggled to maintain, while becoming somewhat of a political puppet in order to achieve change. In the midst of all that, he was a man, with vices and flaws. He was strong and weak at the same time. The man behind the legend was much more admirable. It took an enormous amount of strength to hold steadfast to a belief that renders you defenseless. But from a pragmatic standpoint, it may also make you a fool. And while Dr. King was no fool, his legacy has become more important to the oppressors, than it has been to black people.

I can't and will not take anything away from MLK's tremendous contribution toward the progression of black culture and civil rights in America, however I fear that his approach might have be our very undoing.

Think about it.

Martin Luther King Jr was a pacifist, and while that granted him entry in the political realm to facilitate change, it also made him the subliminal image that the oppressors present to black people of what is acceptable behavior.

The subliminal message implanted, is that in the face of injustice, we are supposed to remain, docile, poised and tolerant to verbal, physical and legislative abuse of the oppressor. And if you're meek and humble long enough, we will give a little piece of what you truly desire. You pump that message to the poor minority children across the country and those who are fortunate enough to make it out of the hood, into the world of affluence as well as a position of influence, are likely adopt that approach.

In short, Keep Calm and be the safe, acceptable nigger.

Now who's to say that a more "militant" approach akin to that of a Malcolm X, Stokely Carmichael or Huey Newton wouldn't have facilitated a much greater change in the long run. While access to the political arena may have been limited, the galvanizing(I always wanted to use this word) of our people could have struck fear into the hearts of the oppressors and could have went a long way into how we're treated.

In layman's terms, people would realize that black people are not to be fucked with.

Is that a stretch to think that way? I mean, do they fear or respect your docile ass right now?

A person with a Malcolm X like mentality would not simply make speeches about injustices of the Ferguson and New York non indictments. A March and a protest would not be enough. Taking tear gas to the face while locking arms would not be enough. The old me would've sat on the sidelines waiting for the black anger to fade, as it usually does, but no more.

My question is, why not be a bit more "militant"? Were the founding fathers of the United States of America not militant? Was any successful revolutionary movement sparked by a sense of militant train of thought? The belief to stand up for yourself, defend what is rightfully yours while fighting for what you believe you deserve.

Now, while we live in a world where education, entrepreneurship and wealth are better than they've ever been for blacks historically, the racial undercurrent of the injustices of the poor minority are ever more present. It's foolish to think because you see the wealth of a few folks on TV and a black president, that the race has been won. You really don't know how small 1% is.

Come on now, they're shooting us unarmed, choking us unarmed, beating us, unlawfully arresting us, with no penalty. There's a contrarian reading this going "We do that to each other, so what's the difference?" Ummm...the difference is that when Tyrone kills Jamal, Tyrone gets life, and rightfully so. George goes home and makes love to his wife. This is 40 years from the civil rights movement. How civil are we as a nation with this going on? And now when black people voice their displeasure about are treatment, what is the first thing that's said?

"Let's try to remain calm, let's approach this peacefully. Dr King wouldn't approve of the looting and rioting."

Really? Do you know that? No one truly knows. Who's to say that MLK wouldn't have gotten fed up with the role of the "docile nigga" because of snail paced movement to get a bill passed while citizens died on the front lines of the movement. What if he got hit with one too many bricks and decided to throw one back? Now while I don't condone looting or rioting of our own communities, it is the language of the voiceless.

The idea of a "militant" mindset is not that of a person who's willing to attack, but of someone willing to defend. Of someone who will unify and protect his/her home. So what's wrong with that, especially when every other race and/or culture are willing to do the same thing. Try running a muck in a Jewish community and see how fast you'll regret that decision, before the cops even make it. Would that be considered militant or united?

Unfortunately Dr. King is the damn poster child for black civility in the face of blatant injustice. So much so, that the rest of the leaders of the movement, pre and post MLK are lost in the history books. The educational system rarely speak on the accomplishments of others greats and we clearly don't have enough effective leadership today. Sprinkle Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman and Rosa Parks and you've done your part for those 28 days in February. Thank you school system. They'll teach about Nelson Mandela before they will introduce you to Malcolm X or James Baldwin. Those were the unacceptable niggas. The dangerous ones. I was lucky enough to have an awesome middle school teacher. She planted the seed that allowed my awareness to flourish. There are plenty of young kids out there with the same seed that needs to be watered, but not enough.

This needs to change, we need to change. He was brave, there were many others that were brave. Why aren't we brave? Push for change and equality. Find a method. And whatever our approach in this new equality movement needs to be from us, not what those above you want it to be. Sometimes things need to be uncomfortable before you can truly be respected.

Take a long look at ourselves, take a look at what our predecessors have done. We as a people have failed to live up to Dr. Kings dream. The progression of race relations would have been further along if he were alive. The progression of how we treat one another has a people has taken even a further step back. We're probably too busy being distracted or afraid to lose what little we've gained. Drugs, prison, poverty, lack of accountability and capitalism have created a division amongst black people bigger than any Jim Crow law. The question is no longer why are we this way, but what can we do to change?

So remember on this day what Martin Luther King Jr stood for. Remember that he stood for equality, for all races. Remember that he stood for change in a non violent way. Remember that through it all, he never wavered in the face of his enemy. He didn't compromise his beliefs and was always willing to extend his hand in unity.

And Remember that they still shot him in his fuckin face anyway.