While many of us try hard to make life a sprint, life has taught me that the journey we are on should unfold more like a marathon. The older I get, the more I savor each step of the journey and value all that goes into successfully completing one. I am challenging myself to jog rather than sprint more often through life so that I don’t bypass opportunities, relationships and experiences that contribute to leading a life of purpose.

The journey of those that run marathons begins with an important step, the decision to commit to the journey. The attitude that fuels this decision sustains the individual to and across the finish line.

There is a great deal of training and practice that unfolds over months leading up to the race. During this time, they call upon the advice and support of coaches and cheerleaders to strengthen their bodies and minds as they push onwards. Marathoners reach moments where their internal voice elevates excuses for why they shouldn’t or can’t complete the journey. Their perseverance triumphs over this persuasion and they step onward.

The runners wear their numbers with pride, which represent their unique lot, their individuality, in this world. They approach the starting line both as an individual and a team full of determination to succeed and anxiety over the unknown.

Water stations and motivators line the course breathing life into their tired lungs. Unexpected hurdles creep up along the trail, yet their confidence heals their injuries and satisfies their thirst. Marathoners embrace their mental dialogue, teetering between words of discouragement and words of endurance.

They hit the one mile marker to the finish line and joy envelops their weak body, propelling them forward to complete the journey with a sense of accomplishment and a rush of self-confidence. They cross the finish line to a thunderous applause from the crowd and a sense of personal satisfaction in completing their journey which began months earlier with the first step.

Each journey we take in life begins with the commitment we make to take the first step, to embrace the attitude of a winner who believes in their potential. Let us all recall the wise affirmation of Saturday Night Live character Stuart Smalley, “I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and dog-gone it, people like me.” Then let’s get to training our minds and bodies for the marathon of life, jogging more often than we sprint to sustain our energy, seize opportunities, and savor relationships.

Jog on, my friend! Jog on!

1) Men’s Health DeltaFit…for decades now, Men’s Health has been man’s best friend offering health and wellness tips along with lifestyle advice on nutrition, fashion, career, and sexuality. Today it is the world’s largest men’s magazine brand, the top men’s magazine sold on US newsstands, and its supplemental website gets 38 million page views a month. Bottom line? Men’s Health is a trusted source of health information, which is why I jumped at purchasing their new DeltaFit workout DVD set which is based on “metabolic resistance training.” The 82 day speed shred program will transform your body while being challenged and motivated by DeltaFit expert B.J. Gaddour. I just completed this workout series a few weeks ago as part of my New Year’s resolution and dropped 14 pounds with a 30 minute commitment per day. Check it out here.

2) Avocado Yogurt Dip/Dressing…simply scoop out one avocado and mix with 2-3 tablespoons of Greek yogurt in your food processor along with a pinch of salt and pepper to season to your taste. Grab the carrots, celery or broccoli and get dipping. Dress your next sandwich or wrap with this creamy spread instead of mayonnaise or butter. Drop a dollop on top of some grilled chicken or steak.

3) Jillian Michaels Body Revolution…I finished Men’s Health DeltaFit and jumped into Jillian Michaels Body Revolution which covers a 3-phased workout series to be completed in 90 days, working out just 30 minutes per day. Also using metabolic training methods, Jillian and her team will challenge you to transform your body and mental commitment by feeding your hunger for change with increasingly more intense cardio and strength exercises over the course of the program. All you need are some weights, resistance bands, your body and commitment. Check it out here.

4) Cookie Dough…OK, so I know that caught your attention. I know cookie dough is not on anyone’s healthy snacks list, but a friend recently passed along a recipe that satisfies my sweet tooth while providing some great health benefits (although I will admit that nothing beats the real thing). Mix together one 6 oz. container of plain Greek yogurt, 1 tablespoon of all natural peanut or almond butter, ¼ teaspoon of vanilla extract, 1 tablespoon of mini chocolate chips, and 1 tablespoon of sweetener (i.e. honey, agave nectar, Splenda).

5) A Healthy Surprise…pay it forward by jump starting a friend or family member’s summer snacking menu with healthy options that they can take to the pool, beach, work or couch. A Healthy Surprise delivers healthy snacks to your door monthly that are all natural, vegan, and gluten/soy free. Introducing you to snacks that you may not otherwise encounter, this mail service business comes with a 100% guarantee and deliver full size snacks (not samples). Forget the cookies, brownies and other sugary treats. This summer, celebrate snacking with a healthy surprise each month by starting your subscription today.

Staying in shape (or getting back into shape) can be challenging when our commitments have us spread too thin and running a mile a minute. I remind myself that short term investments pay off for my long term health. I also believe that being an ambassador for healthy living is a calling that we all must answer to provide the encouragement, support and guidance to one another. Working out requires both physical and mental strength. Let’s shape up together!

What appears to be a moment of self-pity was actually a turning point in my life. It was through this period of self-reflection that I taught myself a powerful life lesson: Life is what you make it. Your end game, your legacy, is a compilation of the choices you make and the subsequent consequences.

I remember closing my world history book and driving to Barnes & Noble to peruse the self-help section. I scoured the shelves in search of a coach, someone that could inspire me, push me, teach me, and open a world of possibilities that I couldn’t see at the moment. After reading countless book jackets, I came across a book on tape series from Zig Ziglar called Goals: Setting and Achieving Them on Schedule. Since my commute to school and work was about 45 minutes each way, I settled on the idea of turning my car into a laboratory, a place where I could invest in me without feeling judged, criticized or mocked. I could experiment with new ideas, answer difficult questions, and struggle to articulate my goals, my vision, and my purpose. It was my safe zone, and Zig was my coach. Together we shared many commutes, several ah-ha moments, and a lot of growth.

One of Zig’s most popular lines used across his sales training and motivational speaking was, “Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude.” With Zig’s wisdom, I realized that my attitude was holding me back. I had this internal dialogue on replay in my head telling me that I wasn’t worth it, I couldn’t do it, and that others were better than me. I had convinced myself that a leap of faith would land me in a heap of failure. Therefore, it was safer to not try than to try and appear weak when I couldn’t succeed.

Then Zig coached me, “If you can dream it, then you can achieve it.” He went on to say, “It was character that got us out of bed, commitment that moved us into action, and discipline that enabled us to follow through.”

I hung on every word that Zig shared. I dissected it. I journaled on it. I spoke his words out loud. And I started to believe it.

“You were born to win, but to be a winner, you must plan to win, prepare to win, and expect to win.” Zig’s words reminded me that I was not preparing to win nor was I expecting to win. My self-defeatist attitude was preparing me to fail, time and time again. I talked myself out of taking risks, accepting challenges, feeling uncomfortable so that I could grow. It was my time to change my internal dialogue, to reframe my perspective, and to invest in me. It was time to declare my purpose and set out to achieve my mission.

And so I did. Equipped with Zig’s lessons in mind, I set out on a journey that I continue to embark on today. I have soaked in the words of Covey and Buckingman, Johnson and Gladwell. I have internalized 7 Habits and put my Strengths to Work. I have embraced the Outliers and discovered Who Moved My Cheese? I have taken risks, made difficult decisions, and relied on my faith to leap forward. Although there have been critics and judgments along the way, they are muffled by the sound of my persistence and diluted by the purity of my purpose.

I seek to change the world by equipping, elevating and evolving others.

I do this through my words, my actions, and the confidence that I feed to those that are hungry for change and thirsty for hope. I walk hand in hand with the oppressed whose attitudes prevent them from imagining, discovering, seeking, and achieving their purpose. I coach. I listen. I embrace and acknowledge.

I am not perfect, so I evolve with each person I meet, each experience I encounter, and each risk I take. And while it may feel as though there is an abundance of problems and a scarcity of solutions, I true back to Zig’s wisdom, “Building a better you is the first step to building a better America.”

You are restless for change. You want no more excuses. You are begging for authenticity. You are searching desperately for a platform on which you can stand with pride. You are yearning for acceptance and a commitment to embrace your diversity of thought, DNA, and dreams. Self-help books, motivational speakers, and the change agents that have come before you have fed you a vision of possibility leaving you hungry with hope.

It is your time to not back down but to stand up and speak out. Being silent is no longer an option. Complaints without solutions are like a drug that satisfies your needs in the moment but leaves you craving more, an addiction to negativity that will not seed change. If change is what you are after, then you must spark a movement in your mind that is energized by your heart and soul. Let your restlessness give breath to your body from your fingertips to your toes, sparking movement that tackles one step at a time.

Stand still and you will go nowhere. Dream small and you will delay giving yourself what is rightfully yours to cease. Close your eyes and envision your success. Focus on the feeling of pride that you have when celebrating victory, when overcoming adversity and showcasing to the naysayers how wrong they were in doubting your potential. Commit yourself to change and decisions aligned with your vision.

You are at a breaking point…no more excuses…be restless.

As a child, I can recall playing school quietly in my room, imagining what it would be like to be a teacher.  I took old worksheets and pretended to grade papers with a red marker, using stickers from my collection when the assignments were done exceptionally well.  I hung sheets of paper on the wall as my chalk board and pretended to teach lessons by writing out math problems.  My imagination soared as I dreamed of one day standing in front of a classroom, inspiring my students to work hard, give their best effort and achieve great things…all lessons that my parents had taught me.

My imaginary school days decreased the older that I got, but I always hung on to the dream of being a teacher.  In high school, I was active in student council and Forensics (speech and debate) and gained skills in facilitating meetings, project planning, public speaking, and conflict resolution.  I didn’t realize it at the time, but my dream of being a teacher was transitioning out of my imagination and into reality.  In college, I started pursuing a degree in education while launching a nonprofit organization that reached out into the public schools in Pittsburgh to ensure that students from underserved communities had the resources that I had growing up…a caring adult, a safe place, a healthy start, an effective education and an opportunity to help others.  Despite making the decision to pursue a different course of study, I continued to expand my teaching experience with both youth and adults while dabbling in consulting on topics such as fostering youth-adult partnerships, strategic planning, and nonprofit innovation.

I went confidently in the direction of my dream and lived the life that I had imagined.  As a student of my own experiences, I began to conclude that my dreams were not enough.  No matter how hard I tried, there were obstacles beyond my comprehension and ability to resolve.  I met students who were so abused that each night they considered taking their own lives to escape into their dreams where they were safe.  I worked with single parents who worked three jobs to provide a roof over their children, food on the table, and clean clothes on their back, all while subscribing to the belief that one day the American Dream would be realized.  I met funders and politicians who were so far removed from the front lines of poverty that their actions put band aids on problems and photos in papers with captions selling dreams.  And I encountered compassionate volunteers who made commitments that were underappreciated, and over time, they too became discouraged and their dreams wilted.

What is it that fuels our passion?  What lights a fire beneath us that is impossible to extinguish?  What is it that motivates us to plow through problems and seek solutions?

I use to believe that a dream did all of this.  It would plant itself in our minds, root itself in our hearts and extend its reach through our actions.  Then I realized that the first two words in Thoreau’s line above are the most critical…”Go confidently…”  I began to understand more with experience, with each interaction and relationship that I fostered, that the act of movement and the spirit of confidence are what give breath to our dreams, a heartbeat to our imaginations.

Soon we will be ringing in a new year, setting resolutions and sparking new dreams.  Most of us will put forward a strong effort and launch into pursuing our goals.  Many of us will hit a wall, become discouraged, make excuses and shy away from our resolutions.  Our new dreams will retreat into the back of our minds and be remembered during those “what if” moments in our lives.  But perhaps this year will be different.  I wish that each of us has the confidence to take a journey marked by countless steps and the courage to stay the course.

Thoreau writes, “As a single footstep will not make a path on earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind.  To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again.  To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives.”

In reflecting on Thoreau’s words, I am reminded of a character in my favorite movie, Dead Poet’s Society, in which Robin Williams plays Mr. Keating, an English professor at a private boarding school, who yearns to inspire, to teach and to challenge his students to “go confidently” in pursuit of their dreams and learn from the legacies of those that have come before them.  Mr. Keating shares the following as he instructs his students to dive deeply into archived pictures of students who have grown and passed on:

“They’re not that different from you, are they?  Same haircuts.  Full of hormones, just like you.  Invincible, just like you feel.  The world is their oyster.  They believe they’re destined for great things, just like many of you, their eyes are full of hope, just like you.  Did they wait until it was too late to make from their lives even one iota of what they were capable?  Because, you see gentlemen, these boys are now fertilizing daffodils.  But if you listen real close, you can hear them whisper their legacy to you.  Go on, lean in.  Listen, you hear it? – Carpe – hear it?  Carpe, carpe diem, seize the day boys, make your lives extraordinary.”

Each of us has the opportunity and the ability to seize the day, to make our lives extraordinary.  Our dreams create an inspiring starting point.  They can pull us out of our lulls, jump start us on a pathway to our destiny, and challenge us to realize our potential.  Our commitment to movement and our spirit of confidence will keep us on track, help us to avoid the pitfalls and potholes along our journey, and maximize our potential.  Our confidence will give us the strength to endure moments of defeat and words of criticism.  Our movement will enlighten us with experience and introduce us to characters whose stories will inspire and shape our perspective, values, and decisions.

As we close one chapter in our lives and begin anew, I wish you well on your journey in pursuit of your dreams.  I ask that you “go confidently” forward and contribute to your legacy, all while living an extraordinary life.

Carpe diem – seize the day!

Moment of Pride

The zip code of my birthplace is my Scarlet Letter
A tattoo of circumstance
I see victims lie at every street corner
Shot with reality that plagues my thinking
My anger escalates in a fight to survive
I don’t see opportunity
I revert to what I have been taught
You owe me a moment of pride

You insult me as you pass me by
You look at me with disgust, distrust
You tightly clinch your possessions
You lock me out
The glance over your shoulder is out of fear, not concern
Nothing you have will bring me wealth
I need a chance, some consideration…not your judgment
This hold up is my call for you to…
Give me my moment of pride

There is no warm embrace that feeds me hope
So I go hungry for love, thirst for compassion and beg for shelter
I search promise postings and read biographies of change makers
I feed myself lines of why I can’t
Instead of lines of why I should
I let the voices inside my head
Ban me from my own escape
I want my moment of pride

I try to stand out, to be noticed
People laugh at my attempts
Beat me down with their insecurities
Beat me up with their jealousy
I cry myself to sleep with silent tears
I torture myself with status quo
I try, and I try, and I try…yet it is never enough
I need my moment of pride

I have tortured myself long enough
I have accepted, I have deferred, I have backed down
But today I rise
I breathe a sigh of relief
I fight back with my brain
I give what I want
I embrace myself
I earn my moment of pride

Consider me a masterpiece
An undiscovered artifact worth your time
I am a mystery to my peers
I am a storm of ideas yearning to touch down
I will create solutions
I will fill your voids
I will seek out the energy
That fuels me to believe in myself
I will create my moment of pride

Each day I will wake to a new beginning
An opportunity worth pursuing
I will be a problem solver
No longer will I be my own problem
I will get out of my way
I have a purpose to pursue
A mission to complete
This is my moment of pride

For weeks now I have been following the Presidential debates and media coverage of the elections coming up this November.  I am struck by the number of lies and exaggerations, the lack of clarity on plans for resolving our economic woes, the finger pointing and the manipulated words taken out of context to fuel one person’s campaign headlines, stump speeches and interview / debate zingers.

When people are suffering and staggering to find their way, they need compassion and leadership that is willing to put aside politics and deliver opportunity for people to make different choices in their lives.  No one person or group of people has all of the answers or is perfectly positioned to deliver all the desired results.  The reality is that in November, we will select the individual to be our President and we will hold them accountable for the promises they made along the campaign trail.  We must acknowledge and accept that they will not deliver on every promise.  They will make mistakes, stumble in their words, and falter in bringing people together on every issue.

Therefore, I believe it is time for Americans to step up to the plate themselves, turn the spotlight on their own behaviors, articulate their promises and hold each other accountable for both creating and seizing opportunities.  It is easy to criticize those with power; it is harder to accept and leverage the power we individually possess.

I believe that with greater attention to three actions, we can deliver ourselves into a new state of being, one in which we live our lives with compassion and seize opportunities that surface from our unselfish giving.

First, we must learn to listen.  Stephen Covey said it perfectly in The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, “seek first to understand, then to be understood.”  We proceed throughout our lives making judgments on the words and actions of others without giving them an opportunity to explain their point of view, to share their experiences and the roots of their perspective.  We hang on every word that someone speaks as we autobiographically listen and pounce on the next pause in the conversation to attack a neighbor’s opinion.  We lack the curiosity to explore another’s set of life experiences that have shaped their point of view and instead hold tightly onto our own perspective without considering for a moment that we could find common ground, that our opinions could be modified, that someone else’s experiences could influence our beliefs.  We far too often fail to listen to what people are not saying which can hold just as much power as their spoken words.  So listening more to each other could shape a more respectful society in which we meet our neighbors where they are, and together we journey forward by embracing our unique points of view and life experiences.

Second, we must read.  In a country as rich as America, 61% of low income families do not have books in their homes (source: Heart of America Foundation), and close to 25% of US adults perform at the lowest literacy levels.  Worldwide, illiteracy rates are even more astounding with 1 in 5 adults not being able to read or write (source: International Adult Literacy Survey).  Whether we read children’s books like Alice and Wonderland, scholarly articles in Time, biographies of world and business leaders, or blog posts on pop culture, reading challenges our imaginations by transforming us into the minds and experiences of writers and characters.  It opens our eyes to a world that is sometimes foreign to our daily routine.  Reading teaches us about countless subjects and equips us with the basic knowledge to survive.  It raises our awareness of all that we take for granted while surfacing the severity of social issues down the street and around the globe.  Reading can inspire us with the stories of everyday heroes who unselfishly and humbly seek to be agents of change where they see need.  Reading can pose questions that are left unanswered and challenges without solutions, leaving us to contemplate our own responses and to explore how our values would shape solutions.  Reading can help us to explore history and gain an understanding of the consequences of previous decisions.  It can challenge us to consider and learn how to differentiate facts from fiction.  Reading can spark new ideas in our minds, serve as a catalyst to take action, and give us instructions to both assemble and refine.

Third, we must serve.  We must serve humbly with no expectation of reward or recognition.  Robert Greenleaf coined the phrase “servant leader” in his 1970 essay The Servant as Leader, in which he wrote,

The servant leader is servant first…It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first.  Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead.  That person is sharply different from one who is leader first, perhaps because of the need to assuage an unusual power drive or to acquire material possessions…The difference manifests itself in the care taken by the servant-first to make sure that other people’s highest priority needs are being served.  The best test, and difficult to administer, is: Do those served grow as persons?  Do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants?  And, what is the effect on the least privileged in society?  Will they benefit or at least not be further deprived?

We must learn to give more than we take.  It is easy to take a stand on an issue and refuse to back down or explore another’s point of view.  We live in a world where unfortunately a difference of opinion can result in terrorist activity, name calling or fists flying.  The act of service requires compassion, and compassion fuels both forgiveness and respect.  I believe that we have faltered as a society in our lack of willingness to respect each other’s right to an opinion.  Instead, we furiously attack one another in an endless pursuit to persuade and convert.  We must support, promote and advance servant leadership, and individually we must humbly share our service experiences and reflections.  Inspire others to think of their neighbors and fellow citizens first, and invite others to join us in service.

What I propose may seem simple.  To listen…to read…to serve.  These three actions are not as easy to execute on as one may believe.  It takes conviction to create habits in each of these three areas.  And I believe that we should support one another in pursuing them as habits to secure a more sustainable, compassionate society in which all people can thrive.   Robert Greenleaf’s thesis inspires my vision:

This is my thesis: caring for persons, the more able and the less able serving each other, is the rock upon which a good society is built.  Whereas, until recently, caring was largely person to person, now most of it is mediated through institutions – often large, complex, powerful, impersonal; not always competent; sometimes corrupt.  If a better society is to be built, one that is more just and more loving, one that provides greater creative opportunity for its people, then the more open course is to raise both the capacity to serve and the very performance as servant of existing major institutions by new regenerative forces operating within them.

You scold me with your words
Belittle me with your actions
The assignments you provide me
Are an insult to my potential
Your power plays for authority
Are as transparent as your insecurities
I acknowledge your strength
In playing a cast of characters in your mind
You project a scene that lives in fiction
That perpetuates weakness and fear
You take pity on people who have a voice
That is silenced by your judgments
Over time your class believes your predictions
That our lives are a waste
That it’s too late.

We will see countless programs and money chasers
Come in and out of our lives
Under the label of change agents
Many lack the authenticity that we deserve
And over time, our reality proves too hard
In our struggle to survive each day
Their pre-packaged solutions remain out of touch

Only a few remain, armed with compassion
And though they may not have the answers
Their humble actions lift from within us
A belief that every path is paved with choices
Each choice married to a consequence
And those consequences are a result of our decisions.
Over time the strong rise
A voice echoes in our minds
Daring us to be different
Challenging us to find our voice, our purpose
Telling us that we can’t afford to be silent

Our silence breeds apathy
Strips people of hope
And extinguishes the fire within so many
So many whose light would lead the weak
Out of the shadows and onto the stage of life
To direct their destiny and play their God-given part.

So let’s pause and consider our daily routine.  Are you running between meetings or calls?  Are you frantically trying to get out the door to run errands, pick up the kids, walk the dog, run to the grocery store or beat traffic?  Are you answering emails while sitting on conference calls (don’t deny it, we all do it)?  Are you scarfing down meals while running reports or trying to prep for your next meeting while dodging questions flying at you from colleagues in the office or on IM?  

How many times have you been in a meeting or with friends and family when someone asks you your opinion on something?  You think to yourself that you have to answer or you’ll seem out of touch, somehow less intelligent than those around you.  So despite the fact that you know very little on the topic and that until this very moment you have never paused to consider how you truly feel about the question, you start blurting out a response and free flowing your thoughts for the world around you to digest.  As we all can relate, this sometimes gets us in trouble and leads us to the point where we are apologizing for something that we said.  The truth is, in many cases, we didn’t really believe what we said in the first place; it just came out of our mouth without passing by our minds first since we never considered the topic or question to begin with until in that moment when tasked in our minds with performing.

Silence can be uncomfortable.  And so can admitting that you are not familiar with a topic and frankly don’t have an opinion to share in the moment.  Instead of owning up to the truth of the matter, we sometimes find ourselves performing to conform.

Often times we find ourselves craving some quiet time…an opportunity to sit in silence and let our minds catch up to where we are.  We typically think of a few things on our to do list that are not done and jump to address them (before we forget them again).  Or we get sidetracked by someone asking us a question, requesting our assistance or presenting something new to add to our ever growing to do list.  Silence is far too often interrupted by others and ourselves frankly.

I laugh to myself when I recall my Catholic grade school nuns telling my classmates and I that “silence is golden,” which of course was their polite way of saying that we were giving them a headache or needed to calm ourselves down.  Although I typically disregarded that statement and went about whatever I was doing, I have a whole new appreciation for their advice and strive to incorporate more silence into some aspect of my day.

So I challenge you just like I challenge myself to embrace silence, to create more opportunities to pause and enjoy silence, and to not enter into silence with the expectation that your silent time will be productive in generating new ideas, additional projects, or further action.  Rather, your silent time will give you a chance to breath, relax and remind yourself that a little me time every once in a while serves the mind, body and soul in ways that few other tasks on our to do list can deliver.

A Freedom Anthem
By Daniel Horgan

“If you look out the window and see a hungry, emaciated child and do not feel a desire to do something to make the world a little better – then you’re not a complete human being.” (Abe Osheroff, Volunteer/Veteran)

From the Garden of Eden to the streets of San Francisco,
we meet again.
Raised with a freedom dream,
Called to duty in pursuit of justice,
We sacrificed.
We suspended our values.
We killed.
We survived.
Scars torture our minds with recollections of blood, sweat and tears
Reenactments of the battlefield loop continuously…surface spontaneously
The slightest reminders…the taste…the smell…the sounds
We live on the edge,
teetering between the past and the present.
Our future is dependent on our own strength and other’s compassion.

I play a tune, a freedom anthem.
Plucking the strings like I plucked landmines from the war zone
carefully…methodically…in a focused rhythm
I sweep the streets with my music
Into their eyes I stare…recognizing their innocence, their guilt
Recalling my sins and begging forgiveness
my melodies play on
The majority walk on
discarding the truth like trash on the street

My fingers work the keys like they worked the trigger
Quickly
without breathing
then a sigh of relief
for dodging the bullet
for keeping the beat
I survived.

My brothers and sisters throw money and food
like civilians throw bombs
These bandaids for peace don’t stop the bleeding
They cover the pain
They prolong the misery
The quest for freedom
Is nothing more than a dream
And now I stand forgotten.

Don’t toss me your pity or your petty change
Lend me your hand
Lift my spirits with your genuine concern
With the recognition that as long as I lie quietly on the streets
Or bantering in the allies of your high rises
Covered with boxes from your privledged purchases
Nibbling on scraps found in your garbage
I am trying to survive on a thread of dignity
On the honor that I pledged to uphold
As a soldier sent off to fight for your freedom

Let my music stand as a reminder
That the beauty in my soul
The talent in my fingers
The opportunity in my mind
Need acknowledged and nurtured.
I live
I breath
I dream
I am a volunteer and a veteran of a war
returned from a battlefield that is far less cold
less inhumane than the streets where I now reside.

I play music
a melody that flows like a white flag to surrender
I am grasping at a childhood dream of freedom
and wondering if you replaced me on these streets
What music would you play,
What note would you hold onto?