Soulful Sundays: I Woke Up

I woke up today and stayed in bed,

Only just long enough to gather my thoughts.

The temptation to rest was so strong,

Yet, heed its advice I did not.

Long ago sleep was my escape, When I was young and more naïve.

I know now what I did not then:

There's no changing what you can't perceive.

I was taught from an early age

That nurture could overcome nature,

And to hate everything deemed as offensive

By today's standards of correct culture.

I wrongly learned that self-esteem

Was more important than self-mastery,

That all perspectives mattered the same,

And there was nothing worse than meritocracy.

There are people trying to make the world fair

At the expense of others' ambitions.

They are chipping away at human rights

And condemning our oldest traditions.

This voice is loud and it is proud

About tearing down the current structure.

In defense of democracy it is prepared

To blame, exclude, and censor.

If you have ever worked to build

Something that transcends your own ego,

Then you know to truly awaken

Is to see a brighter vision for tomorrow.

Confronting our demons is as necessary

As closing a deep wound with a suture.

Simply opening the cuts of the past

Has never resulted in redeeming the future.

My mind is led to the well-worn path

Of taking note of all of my blessings.

In the heart of our wildest doubts

Gratitude is our only true possession.

Be thankful for all of the gifts

For which you did nothing to deserve,

But let go of your privileged guilt

And focus instead on how you can serve.

Serve your family and your community,

By being ambitious and shamelessly honest

About the world that you want to create

And inspire those around you to be their best.

To be awake is only half of the journey.

Seeing truth demands a call for action,

The kind of quiet valor that transcends

Any overt need for recognition.

The highest truth cannot be expressed

Therefore the teacher has nothing to say.

He simply gives himself in service,

And does not worry beyond the acts of today.