I know I'm behind on my 30 topics in 30 days, but this morning a newscast sent me spiraling.  A few days ago an acting genius lost his battle with drug addiction.  Phillip Seymour Hoffman was an acting anomaly who was able to morph into many characters, but in reality he was fighting the battle of his life!  As we all well know, drug addiction can grip anyone and completely flip their lives upside down.  Addiction has no respecter of persons.  It grasps the lives of men, women, and children;  young and old, rich and poor. We all know someone that has fought with the struggle of addition, whether it be drugs, alcohol, sex, control, or a number of other addictions. 

    What sent me spiraling this morning is the response of the media to this one death.  Coverage has gone on for days now, and authorities have actually sought out and found the dealer.  This blew my mind!  For decades we have lost people to drug additions in rural and urban areas, and while I don't doubt there are some authorities working hard to clear the streets of drugs, I have NEVER seen a turnaround this quick.  It makes you wonder what is the difference between Phillip's death and the death of Mary down the street.  How is it that one of our own community members can struggle and die from addiction and never see a news special on "How to spot the warning signs " or "How to talk to your kids about drugs"?  The disparity in coverage of issues like this for celebrities and the "normal folks" is staggering. 

    To this disparity, I write to you this morning asking that you be aware of your neighbor, friend, co-worker, and family.  Take the time to really talk with them about life, and how they may be coping with issues.  Do NOT depend on the media or law enforcement to solely support our community.  I remember that a community raised me.  A community of family, family friends, church members, and teachers.  These adults came together to ensure that I was raised  in a safe and healthy environment.  They checked in on each other, and were there during some of life's my difficult moments.  I wonder what would happen if we took a moment from our self-absorbed lives and focused on helping each other grow and cope with the struggles of life, as well as took the time to celebrate the happy times in others lives.  Who knows, your kind word, concern, and care may be the difference between life and death for someone.  We have to begin to realize that all lives are valuable, no one more than the other.  We must fight for each life as diligently as the next!

How do you reach out to others in your community?  Are you a part of any organizations working to strengthen the members of their community?  Share those with us in the comments section!  Don't just live life, build a platform others can stand on and grow!



   

       So you can only imagine my life as I began to hear more and more reasons from young girls (13-18 years old) as to why they COULDN’T pursue and obtain the dreams they had so intently crafted. 
     After speaking to one student, the power of our own personal thoughts and feelings became abundantly clear.  How many times have you heard someone crush a person’s dream?  And how many times have you thought to yourself “why did they say that!?!”  When thinking about this latest situation, and that of my own experiences, I realized there are times that people speak negatively of your dreams because it is not something they feel THEY would be able to accomplish.  They are so trapped in their old mindset of the norms of society, that a little boy saying “I want to be a principal dancer in the American Ballet Company” seems farfetched.   Truly I want you to think about the last time you had a brilliant dream.  If you encountered a discouraging soul, did you ever stop to look at their confidence level in their own ability?  Probably not! 

     We are so conditioned to become easily offended by others opinions.  What they speak to us is not the voice of God speaking a permanent path in our lives; it is an opinion!  Many times big dreams are recognized as big because we have no point of reference to show us that it can be done. For some, if there is no point of reference, then the dream, no matter how fit for you it may be, cannot be achieved in their minds.  But these small, negative thoughts are meant to be destroyed!  The person’s minuscule view of themselves must be altered, and in some cases eradicated completely!  So the next time you hear that stinking thinking replace it with positive thoughts and plans to achieve your big ideal.  You can do this!  You can do anything you plan and put work towards.  Sometimes, to achieve your goals, you just need to destroy small thoughts!