Birthdays & the Greatest Stories Ever Told.

Today as I embrace 51 years of sunrises and sunsets, my mind strolls through all the stories I have ever written, all the opinion pieces I have ever penned and all the lessons I have yet to learn. I know without any doubt the greatest story I will ever create is the one I am living.

Every moment of every day caught between the arms of time, ticking to the rhythm of my soul, as I move forward and onward into the unknown. Holding my breath as I bask in the wonder of surprise, exhaling slowly as I awaken parts of myself I have yet to surrender, rising and falling in the arms of grace I am in awe of every breath.

As my feet meet the paths before me, I still find comfort in what lies ahead, knowing always the adventures of today will feed the longing for something more. Standing in gratitude for blessings that out number the heartaches, for the minutes that last longer than the hours and for the gift of lifting myself up where others failed.

As I take time today to reflect, I am quickly taken to a day not long ago, when I stood on the historical grounds of Ellis Island, tears streaming down my face I struggled to reconcile all of the hate written upon the walls that once echoed the dreams of my ancestors.

The struggle to reach this promised land of ours, many gave their lives in exchange for a dream. A dream they would one day be seen as equal and allowed to realize the prosperity of hard work, contributing to a world where freedom reigned and all were embraced. A life without the fear of persecution, filled with impartiality and harmony awaited them all on the other side of the world and they came in droves.

They arrived penniless and hungry, they came desperate and hopeful to find the land of promise wasn’t without disparity after all. Categorized, labeled and sorted our countries foundation was cemented with the mortar of prejudice and discrimination as the self-appointed jury chalked the clothing of the elderly and children, branding them like cattle they sifted and filtered the worthy from the undesirable.

Is it any wonder that their actions became our habits, that the threads they stitched became ingrained into the tapestry of what we have become. The world we see ourselves in today is not so far from where it began and the lessons it sought to teach still lie awake upon the shores of tomorrow, eager to be put to rest.

We carry on with the disgraceful conduct of those before us, proclaiming outrage when dissidence obstructs the road our ancestors paved. Humans have a long history of intolerance and bigotry, etched into the fabric of history long before America was born. Bias, carried over on the backs of slaves, ships anchored the long held belief of supremacy upon the very rocks that would one day carve out a countries legacy.

The injustice of intolerance can be found in the pages of every religion, in the cracks of every society and in the misconceptions of loyalty. Like a plague it seeps across the miles, coating everything in its path with destruction and death, while the well meaning race to treat its symptoms, no one has bothered to find a cure. The single most devastating of diseases, hatred has taken more lives than any other ailment in life’s history. Like a bacteria, it holds no preferences of its own, attacking and destroying even those injecting it into society.

Looking forward on this celebratory day, I find myself cautiously awaiting what will lie in the path of hates crusade, searching desperately through the thick haze of upheaval that has rolled up around us, fearing the shadows that lurk too closely I hold tightly to the belief the light will always chase the darkness and morning will again return, perhaps a little more wiser and a whole lot brighter.

As our freedom to pursue happiness stands trembling on the line of equality and everyone fights for position, I am reminded how frail life is and the uncertainty of tomorrow is the truest of all realities. Today I will strive to be the person I want to be remembered as, I will embrace the differences between us and inject love in all that I do. I will celebrate my birth in a way that gives life to others.

As I continue to write this story, may my pen recall it as one of compassion, giving and inspiration. May we all see ourselves in the same light we judge others, and may we all rise up as one, bringing forth lessons from the past into today as learned, so that tomorrow will indeed be a new day.