We, the People, are writing the next story

Melvin Giles

“Humility is the fruit of inner security and wise maturity.” Cornel West
“God is in the details.” Ludwig Miles Van Der Rohe

Hello Monitor readers,
Happy spring.This is one month I don’t feel stuck about what to write in my column. Instead, I feel full as a rising hot air balloon about to burst with too much energy that I want to express. However, I’m continuing to learn and practice staying cool, calm, and collective at expressing and connecting truth to power. I’ve been very fortunate to have wise, strong, and powerful mentors, elders, and family members in my life who have raised and taught me well. Many of my family members now reside in our Ancestorial Kingdoms, although, I’m blessed that many of them still walk on a great and beautiful Mother Earth.
I’m just as grateful that I have younger wise folks and family members who are accepting being elders in the making! Indeed, their energy brightens what at times seems like dark days. For instance, just when I was about to fall under the notion that we were moving into a Season of Dark Times, I was inspired to remember that we are naturally moving into the Season of Light! And, immediately, my body, mind, emotions, and energy seemed to receive an influx of calmness and peace (a feeling that’s all is well and that all will be well) thinking of the upcoming growing season and being able to touch the earth’s soil again.
It didn’t take long for me to go buy some potting soil just to relax, rub, and play with my hands in the soil. And, yes, within moments of enjoying the texture and magic of the soil I was back at and in my optimistic and happy place/space; and it felt wonderful and delightful.
In my optimistic and happy place/space I can breathe out and overcome my worries, anxieties, and fears. I can see through the fog of lies and intentional selfish greed of profits over people, which, unfortunately, has been the historical nature of business people/men, however, our government isn’t meant to be operated like a business. With that said, I want to share again the fable of Truth and Lie, a fable that I first heard from a Black preacher years ago.

STORY OF TRUTH AND LIE
This is a shorten version of the Story of Truth and Lie, as shared by https://medium.com/@ParkerSimpson/the-story-of-truth-lie-1476bda2d45e
One day a man named Truth and a man named Lie stood by a river just outside of town. They were twin brothers. Lie challenged Truth to a race, claiming he could swim across the river faster than Truth. Lie laid out the rules to the challenge stating that they both must remove all their clothes and at the count of three, dive in to the freezing cold water swim to the other side and back. Lie counted to three, but when Truth jumped in, Lie did not.
As Truth swam across the river, Lie put on Truth’s clothes and walked back in to town dressed as Truth. He proudly paraded around town pretending to be Truth. Truth made it back to shore, but his clothes were gone and he was left naked with only Lie’s clothes to wear. Refusing to dress himself as Lie, Truth walked back to town naked.
People stared and glared as naked Truth walked through town. He tried to explain what happened and that he was in fact Truth, but because he was naked and uncomfortable to look at, people mocked and shunned him – refusing to believe he was really Truth. The people in town chose to believe Lie because he was dressed appropriately and easier to look at. From that day until this, people have come to believe a lie rather than believe a naked truth.
The moral of this story, and how it applies to modern day society, is that we often either consciously or subconsciously reject certain truths in our personal lives or in the world around us for the sake of our peace of mind. These truths may be in our personal lives: financial issues, relationship issues, struggles with our faith, addiction problems; they are all areas where we often turn our back to the cold hard truth, even if it’s at our own peril.
We’ve also seen this in public society, as well. Our country is brutally divided among ideological lines on every front. People can be presented with irrefutable yet inconvenient truths regarding societal issues including terrorism, global warming, race relations, cultural differences, and countless other issues, but they shun those truths and decide instead to believe the well-dressed lie, especially if it benefits their agenda or idealistic narrative.
The story of Truth and Lie swimming in the river may answer why we do this to ourselves, but what it doesn’t answer is when and if we will ever learn from it.
Finally, it was wonderful for me to see and hear former Vice President Kamala Harris share inspiring words: “While we have no illusions about what we are up against in this chapter of our American story, this chapter will be written not simply by whoever occupies the Oval Office – nor by the wealthiest among us. The American story will be written by you, written by us – by we the people.”
Stay optimistic; I know it’s hard, however, together we can overcome again! Yes, we can! Yes, we must for the next generations and for ourselves. Stay steadfast and keep talking, playing, creating, working, and dreaming with each other. Rise to the occasion. This is our time. Believe!! Be well and do your self-care.
May Peace Be In the Rondo, Frogtown, Hamline/Midway, Como, and Surrounding Communities... May Peace Be In Our Homes and Communities… May Peace Prevail On Earth (MPPOE).