What Do You Stand For?

It's Thursday and my head hurts, another one of my grueling days at the office where I spend at least 13 hours of my day, lately more like 24.

I saw a newspaper ad earlier that stated "What We Stand For", so in retrospect I asked myself,
'What Do I Stand For?". Strangely enough I had to think about that, what do i stand for? A question we should all ask ourselves ever so often to make sure we are fighting for what we represent and what we love.

So I Started to write a list and I wanted to share it on my blog. By the way I am very excited that I have been getting so many emails from people with comments or asking when I was posting a new one :). How flattering! Thanks to everyone who reads my blogs.

Anyway enough of my a$* kissing haha, no seriously, here it is:

I Stand For Love

I wake up each day wishing I could do everything with, wishing I could look at everyone with love, that would make me such a better person. Today a man begging on Newbury Street for spare change annoyed me, he continually yelled "can you help me out man!". Annoyed I ignored him, but right after I realized what is he wasn't going to spend it on drugs, what if he really needed to eat. Even if he was a drug abuser does that make him any less of a man than me? I went back outside and he was gone, but I am sure I will see him again and when I do I will look at him with love, even if I don't give him a dime, just love. For a human being to resort to lowering themselves to the ground and begging it speaks of an unquestionable surrendering of ones will to fight for yourself, so drug addict or not I feel for any homeless person.

I Stand For Equality

I stand for fairness in all aspects of life. I have been in positions where how I looked, what I represented or just for no reason, I was not treated with respect or fairness. I remember when i was 12 years old my family and I took a trip to South Africa for a vacation. We had been driving for about 8 hours plus with no meal so we decided to pull over at a restaurant. Besides stopping for gas this was our first stop since coming into the country, so we were all very excited, not mention "food!".

There was about 12 of us in the Volkswagen Minibus and yes all immediate family haha. Anyway, we walked into the lobby of the restaurant and all of sudden the clatter of shiny knives, forks, the tings of wines glasses and the voices of diners speaking over the next table immediately stopped!!! It was as if someone had just shot a gun and threatened to shoot anyone who dared to move.

So the host comes round his podium and whispers to my father, I didn't know what words were exchanged but father nodded quietly and next thing I know we were back sitting in the minibus. "We can only buy take-out" he said, "everybody we are getting burgers?". The explanation behind the whole situation is people of my skin color were not allowed to dine in at that restaurant. How sad, the saddest thing was how we all accepted it, yes because are a pretty passive family, but also because it wasn't that much of a surprise. Also sadly, this was in 1988 roughly, one would think this happened in 1967.

So yes I stand for equality, no person no matter how rich, how educated, how smart, how talented, how beautiful is better than me, NO ONE! In the same way I am not better than any person no matter how poor, how uneducated, physically unattractive or mentally challenged they are. Those who think and act as if they are better than the rest are usually stuck up and wondering why they are alone. Those who think others are better than them or that they are inadequate are usually insecure and victims of the self proclaimed "better". Many people may have better talents, better jobs, better looks or even better lives but as people we are all the same. I stand for equality!!!

I Stand For Serenity
I am serene in most situations. Even if someone scares me from behind me, or a real frightening part in a horror movie I remain serene, but inside however, I freak out, but you could never tell.

Serenity stops us from saying things we will regret only a few minutes later. We all get caught in the heat of the moment, we will swear, insult, degrade or some cases physically act out, "it's only natural" most say. Mmmmm i don't really agree. Many times in life we get used to calling each other names, cussing, verbally or physically abusing each other and it acceptable becaus we were upset.

I think serenity shows true love and respect for someone, when you can be so upset but still look at that person and respect them as a human being is so powerful. Most times we hurt each other in life we do it unintentionally, we do it from our own short comings, our own weaknesses and not from a desire to hurt another person. So with that in mind it's only right to be understanding, to stay calm and poised and not say regretful things, to be serene.

The best part of being serene is that staying calm and collected reduces our own stress, so in the worst situation if we are able to stay together we do ourselves the best favor. I look around and there is so much anxiety, stress and anger and like they say "90% of the things we worry about or irrelevant" to our future.

I Stand For Hope & Faith

I will keep this one simple, anything in life can be achieved or overcome with hope and faith. Like the Bible says, we only need faith the size of a mustard seed, so in other words faith is so powerful we don't need much at all. No matter what religion you are I think you will find that faith and hope are important in life.

When I boarded a plane in Zimbabwe to a destination 12810 kilometers all alone barely 18, i had hope and I had faith that no matter what came my way I would overcome. We do so many things out of faith in our everyday life but it is automated so we don't realize how much we really have and if only we had a little more or applied the faith that we already had to our goals, our relationships, our jobs and our beliefs. Something as quick as crossing the street requires faith and hope. We have faith and hope we will make it across, so we do it without even thinking, on cell phones, on bikes, laughing and even in between cars. Imagine if we had that confidence in our relationships: faith to let go and be ourselves, faith to know what relationships to walk out of because we know we can do better, faith to know we will make it and find true love , and easily too.

Enough said I stand for faith because it makes things possible, its faith that I am here writing this blog on a computer, a lucky little boy from Mutoko Zimbabwe. To give you an idea here is a photo that could of been me as a kid, it actually is a pic from Mutoko.


This photo is of kids in Mutoko, actual place I grew up. It's by a great photographer named Ernst Schade Website: www.ernstschade.com I love his work.

Anyways faith can take us places, just look in the mirror and realize that you were once a thought, then that thought turned into hope, then that hope was backed by faith between a man and a woman that they could create a beautiful child, and there you are now, a manifestation of hope and faith.

There are many more things I stand for but I am out of time and I think you are too in this busy world, get to work!!!

Oh! Oh! I Stand for many more other things like ice cream, whipped cream, mango and shortbread cookies but I wont get into that :)

"What Do You Stand For?" What ever it is fight to represent it more each day,
and just maybe one day we will all be perfect hehe.

Hope! Faith! Love!

www.blessbybless.com