Paul Smith – reflecting on the legacy of Nelson Mandela, wrote:

A DREAM in honor of the Legacy of Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King Jr.
On International Human Rights Day, 10 December 2013
Alfalfa, Oregon, USA, Northern Hemisphere, 44.0692981, -121.0609804. Planet EARTH
Paul Edward Smith

As I was meditating and pondering the legacy of Nelson Mandela, and all those that came before him who stood up against the “natural order of things” as defined by the Haters and Oppressors and Imperialists, and thinking about how we all need to carry the torch now…
Not to look to one man or woman, to any charismatic figure or Celebrity, but to look to ALL OF US, my Fellow Brothers & Sisters of EARTH!

EACH of us has the opportunity EVERY SINGLE DAY to treat the Stranger as our Brother or Sister, to Heal the Broken Hearted, to care for the destitute, the Widow & Orphan, to be a Good Samaritan even to those who might be our natural enemy or rival, to be a better man & Woman and rise above the Fear, the Hate, the Lack of Knowledge & Understanding that breeds Hate!

So this day, on 10 December 2013, I offer the DREAM I have and want to share with all of you…
To plant the SEED of an IDEA, to pray that it somehow against all odds take root and spread,
Not because of great Leader or Governments,
Not because of any Ideology,
But because WE the PEOPLE OF PLANET EARTH need to RISE UP WITH ONE VOICE
AND TAKE OUR WORLD BACK FROM THE HATERS, the TERRORISTS, the Naysayers and EXTREMISTS
Those That WOULD DESTROY this BLUE SHIMMERING GLOBE that spins in the edge of an obscure arm of a mediocre galaxy, the World we call “EARTH”, yet is not ours to OWN
To live in a World where there is NOTHING that separates men and women
From Living in HARMONY with each other,
With all Creation around them in BALANCE,
And ABIDING with their CREATOR, the source of ALL THINGS!
No Prejudice…
No Class…
No Gender…
No Race…
No Nation…
No Tribe…
Nothing but a UNITY of LOVE & UNDERSTANDING
With COMPASSION & EMPATHY
At the foot of the ONE, the ESSENCE who is the source of all LOVE and POWER IN ALL OF US!!!

I Have a DREAM for Myself…
That I hope may inspire YOUR OWN DREAMS;
To live a Life WHOLLY CONSUMED in Pursuing walking in the way,
The footsteps and example of how the man JESUS walked the Earth…
A Life ABIDING in harmony with the SOURCE, the Creator…
A Life where EVERY DAY we POUR our LIVES OUT
As a LIVING SACRIFICE in Service to Others…
A Life of reaching out to the helpless,
To the Bankrupt in Spirit,
To those who are asleep,
Going through life on auto-pilot,
In the World around us that believes that they are rich,
When they are poor & blind & naked,
Unable to see the forces around them that eat away at their very soul
For they are separated from the world around them,
And from their SOURCE,
Without connection,
Without hope…

We may never live to see this new World…
But we can begin the Journey to get there,
Not through MIGHT,
Or DECREE or LEGISLATION,
But by spreading this IDEA that will take captive People EVERYWHERE,
ONE HEART & SOUL AT A TIME!

50 years ago, I was 7 years old on my Poppa’s shoulders in Washington D.C.
And I heard Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Give his famous speech:
“I HAVE A DREAM…”
And even at only seven years old,
It changed my whole life!

To truly understand
That we all have more in common than we disagree on,
And that EVERY MAN was my BROTHER,
And EVERY WOMAN was my Sister!!!

All my life, I’ve tried to walk in my Poppa’s example
To be a Peacemaker and connect to people
Who are hurting and cast out by society…
NOT on FACEBOOK, but in the REAL WORLD!
I have not always been true to that Ideal,
But the Past is the Past,
So without looking back in guilt,
It is TIME TO LOOK FORWARD
And to do the NEXT RIGHT THING!

Margaret Mead said:
“Never underestimate the power
of a small group of committed people
to change the World.
In fact, that is the only thing that ever has.”

She also said:
“There is no greater insight into the future than recognizing…
When we save our children, we save ourselves!”

You don’t have to come to meetings,
Or organize rallies
Or concert events,
You look to your own children and plant this IDEA
It will germinate and Grow and Bear Fruit,
If you Nurture and Care for it
And LIVE your Life as an EXAMPLE of it,
Rather than JUST TALK about it
Because it is TRUE!

And then some will feel the call to reach out to other children…
On my heart is to save and provide education
and an opportunity for thousands of orphans and those displaced by wars, conflicts & tribal genocide,
to give to these multitudes, rejected by society, with no place to call home,
the opportunity through counseling & love and education
to chose forgiveness
and to love their former enemies
to help 13 year old boys to not hate those who killed their parents
ripe for recruitment for extremists & terrorist cells and go out to make other orphans…

A hopeless cause, I know…

But Imagine for just a moment, as an example,
What if we saw a whole continent of people who saw themselves as “AFRICANS”,
And not divided by the national boundaries made by Outsiders more than a century ago,
To see themselves as Ethiopians, Ivoirians, Ghanaians, Nigerians, Ugandans, Kenyans, Tanzanians, South Africans and others,
And not rooted in their historical tribal identities, either…

Imagine within but a few years, even in a few decades,
A UNITED CONTINENT to control its own UNITED COMMON Interests & Destiny,
Rather than letting outsiders pillage its natural resources
While Bothers & sisters kill each other over petty pride and arrogance…

What would this world begin to look like?
If we did not teach our children to hate,
But to walk in another’s shoes
Before you pass judgment on them…

My Poppa live a Life of not many words,
But as Alzheimer’s had begun to strip away his mind,
I asked Him how it was He lived such a Life of peace & contentment.
He said, haltingly, for the disease had already
Begun to disconnect the synapses in his brain:

“If I ever disagreed with someone,
I learned that if I started with what we had in common,
And discussed all those things first,
By the time we got through all of what we agreed on,
What we disagreed on did not matter anymore, to either of us!
For I found my son,
That having UNITY TOGETHER,
Having a COMMON Mission or Purpose,
Is FAR MORE IMPORTANT
Than any one person being RIGHT!”

I may not live to see this day,
Nor you…
Neither did Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Or Nelson Mandela,
But we could be the catalyst to begin the CHANGE
To TRANSFORM OUR WORLD
To SAVE OUR FUTURE
Starting in our own Hearts
And the HEARTS of our CHILDREN
For their SAKES!

Plant the seed,
Tell your friends,
Tweet & Post IT
AROUND THE WORLD!
Be part of a MOVEMENT,
Not any one person,
But the POWER of the IDEA!

So this day,
Ponder these things,
Talk about it with others,
I can’t tell you what to do,
Or even where to start,
All I can do is plant a seed,
Point to a door,
And ask YOU to ASK YOURSELF THE QUESTION
“What is the NEXT RIGHT THING TO DO FOR ME?”

Thank you for listening.
I know what I need to do now for me…