BlissFullU

Happy Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. day!  I love this holiday, not only because it is a day honoring a man of peace, justice, and spirit, but because we haven’t managed to turn it into a day of spending, eating, and drinking.  Instead, it is a day of service and of reflection.

As I mentioned yesterday, my son who just turned 18 was born on Dr. King’s actual birthday.  Therefore, to mark my son’s attainment of “adulthood” (at least in terms of the law) as well as to honor Dr. King’s day, I thought I would share some advice Dr. King gave a group of high school students about six months before he was killed.  I think his words can apply to all of us, because he describes the foundations of a good life.

What Is Your Life’s Blueprint?
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
October 26, 1967

I want to ask you a question, and that is, What is in your life’s blueprint?  This is a most important and crucial period of your lives, for what you do now and what you decide now at this age may well determine which way your life will go. …

Number one in your life’s blueprint should be a deep belief in your own dignity, your own worth, and your own somebodiness. Don’t allow anyone to make you feel that you are nobody.  Alway feel that you count.  Always feel that you have worth.  And always feel that your life has ultimate significance. …

Secondly, in your life’s blueprint, you must have as a basic principle the determination to achieve excellence in your various fields of endeavor. …. And when you discover what you’re going to be in life, set out to do it as if God Almighty called you at this particular moment in history to do it. …

And finally, and finally, in your life’s blueprint, must be a commitment to the eternal principles of beauty, love, and justice.  Don’t allow anyone to pull you so low as to make you hate them. …

So there you have it.  Self love (although I adore his term “somebodiness”), dedication to our life purpose(s), and living in beauty, love, and justice are his three keys to a successful future.  If we all truly embraced those things, I think we would have the transformed society that Dr. King envisioned.  So today I will dedicate myself to fostering those qualities in my life.  Would you like to join me in that endeavor?

Note:  The picture is from Wikimedia and used under a Creative Commons license