Martin Luther King Day

Often times, we celebrate today as a day of tolerance for diversity, but tolerance is a frail description for what Martin Luther King envisioned. Tolerance for diversity is not enough. We are obliged to be grateful for it. We must be fascinated and humbled by it. In the sum of diversity in Mother Nature, we humans among that, we glimpse the sum of God's knowledge which connects us all.

Today we honor the man whose valor and Dream enabled tomorrow’s miracle. No matter what your political affiliation, tomorrow’s inauguration is undeniably amazing. In 1986—only 20 some years ago-- when this day was declared a national holiday, there were many among us who felt it unwarranted. Those feelings were largely a hangover from the discriminatory beliefs which the Day itself sought to overshadow. The path to tomorrow’s inauguration was tiled by the words and blood of a pastor from Atlanta, Georgia who found inspiration from non-violent, compassionate protest in another hero of humankind known simply by a singular name—Gandhi. It is no accident, but seems divine providence, which ensures the appearance of a person who, in the dark periods of humanity, emerges to keep the balance tipped toward good in the struggle between good and evil. Recall through history the emergence of these single individuals who appeared on stage and kept the story of God’s great experiment moving forward when violence and oppression seemed all but guaranteeing the end of good. Martin Luther King and Gandhi... Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt, and Winston Churchill, are them too, along with many other pure souls, absent of fame or notoriety. There is great hope in the world that the man whose inauguration to President was made possible tomorrow by the man we honor today, is another such figure in another troubled period in human history.

As the colors in the palate of God’s artistry paint a picture which constantly progresses, we must embrace diversity as an invaluable clue to understanding our purpose in the Universe. Today especially, look around you. Extend a hand and offer a smile. Live The Dream. See the wonder, amazement, and beauty in the Colors of that palate. And be humbled by it all.