This morning as I was reflecting on the day's scripture readings (Leviticus 19: 1-2, 11-18 and Matthew 25: 31-46), several phrases emerged for me from my thoughts and readings: be somebody, be holy, be authentic, and be awesome. The more I thought about these phrases the more I realized that these have been some recurring themes for me over the past month or so. I'd like to share some of the most recent experiences with you.
The first experience goes back to a "Pep Talk" video from Kid President around the time of the Super Bowl (if you still have not met him, go find him on YouTube him right now!). I shared this video in a previous post called "Super Spirit." In this pep talk as well as in his other videos, Kid President reminds all of us that if we truly want the world to be a better place then we must first commit ourselves to "being awesome." This simple message could not be more true. Kid President's simple, charming, and light-hearted wisdom speaks volumes to an idealism that we seem to forget as we get older. I believe that if we really try to "be awesome," then we will inspire others to find their own awesomeness. Oh, and he would say that we can't forget to dance, too!
The second experience is actually a combination of two things: a book and a conversation. The book is Dating God by Fr. Dan Horan, ofm. In this book, Fr. Dan references Thomas Merton and other spiritual thinkers and the idea of becoming our "true selves." The idea is that since God created us, God knows who we are at our best. When we stray from being as God created us, we have trouble knowing God who similarly may have trouble knowing us. So, when we are our most true selves, we are closest to God. The conversation part of this experience was with a friend with whom I reconnected recently. This friend, fairly recently out of a long relationship, recognized that part of the process of moving forward must be based on rediscovering true identity. The fact that this friend recognized this need to be true to self makes me confident that all shall be well here.
The third and final experience comes as recently as yesterday. At the Catholic Center at UGA we had our annual Black History Month Celebration. This wonderful celebration consisted of fifteen or so performers. The performers were folks from several different backgrounds. There were African Americans, Caucasian Americans, and Brazilian Americans. These folks provided wonderful glimpses of the history of Africa and African Americans through instrumental music, vocal music, poetry readings, folktale sharing, and personal revelations. Our closing speaker, Dr. Deryl Bailey from the University of Georgia provided a wonderful conclusion to our program. He shared with us great yet simple lessons on life that he learned from his grandmother some time ago. These lessons listed here have continued to shape his mission in life: 1. Do things right or don't do them at all. 2. Treat other people's children the way you would treat your own children. 3. Leave the world better than you found it. This last lesson speaks volumes in our current day and age. Not only do we live in a world that continues to waste material goods and resources, but we also seem to waste our own potential. We should all be striving to "be authentic" as Dr. Bailey also told us. For if we are authentic to ourselves and to others, then we should find that we have influenced someone's life in a positive way that makes them better than they were before we met that person. Leave a legacy worth following.
To conclude, I go back to today's scripture readings and, in particular, to a devotional by Fr. Thomas J. Connery. The readings challenge us to "be holy" and to do for the least of our brothers and sisters. In light of these readings, Fr. Connery reminds us that our drive in life should be to "be holy." This does not mean to be overly pious or religious or anything like that. Rather, I think, this means that we should aim to try to be like God. How do we do this? That's simple: love one another as we would love ourselves. The beautiful part about this is that it is not specific to Christianity. It is something that all people of all faiths from all parts of the world can subscribe to. In doing this, I'm confident that we will become somebody, we will become holy, we will become authentic, and we will become awesome!
Thank you to all who have inspired me to be true to myself.
May we be ever-faithful, ever-mindful, and ever-joyful.
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