#OfTheVine

Of (preposition) – expressing the relationship of a part and a whole

Vine (noun) – the slender stem of a trailing plant or fruit

#OfTheVine

“Be a person who needs people. People who need people are the luckiest people in the world.” – Barbara Streisand & Stevie Wonder

As I sit and type silently in my bedroom listening to the stillness of the air, I hear so much more much more clearly. Whenever I’m looking for inspiration, I pause, reflect and seek inwardly what cries my soul. As I continue to reflect internally on my life and my experiences over the past 25 years I’m forced to reflect externally on our experiences as a people, as a nation, as a whole. Many of my experiences were reactions to local events and current happenings and now in 2015, exiting out of what is known as Black History Month, those events and happenings continue to elevate my thinking and awareness of the present. Our current state of being as a republic is wounded and we must heal the wounds of our past. I believe that the country we live in has gone from the land of opportunity to a terrain of damaged goods. We have to push through the filth of ourselves to address our history to write a new story. However, I don’t feel that our focus should be why or how we got here but rather, where do we go from here?

Since the beginning of civilization, people have proven time and time again what it means to adapt to their surroundings and the elements thereof showcasing and highlighting strength and unity. Continuity of self, soul and spirit has been what has driven the human experience that lead to evolution for thousands of years. It is that same component that brings us together here today. In a time where we as people need each other the most, there are a few things I think that are stopping us from growing healthily. We’ve lost our sense of direction. We’ve lost our sense of compassion. We’ve lost our sense of humanity. We have become inhumane. We have reduced the value of each other to quota, statistics, hashtags and t-shirts. I’m afraid we are no longer the world. We have become the weight of the world.
What we need is almost like a distorted, super-sized game of Chess. Our opponent has slid their pawns out front creating the open space. We’ve crossed our Queen diagonally to H-4.We triumphantly wave our flag as we’ve now checked the King for the win but have forgotten to honor the checkmate and review ways to get ‘out of check’ before strategic victory. We have forgotten that in order to get better, to do better, we must sharpen each other as iron sharpens iron. Calling checkmate brings about a consciousness that something is happening and makes you carefully revisit your strategy. There is a word for this consciousness. That word is accountability. That’s what we need.

We’re rocking on a tipping point and these next few moments, months, years are critical to our existence. It is going to take vision, strategy, intention, clarity, accountability, responsibility, ownership, leadership, relationship, unity, validation, hope, patience, peace, freedom and love to survive the times. As long as we are willing to do the work, we will become the next best version of ourselves, in truth, as a country, as a world and as a people. One people. One nation. One nation under God. Indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Indivisible. With liberty. And justice. For All. No conspiracies. No hidden agendas. No play on words. Just liberty and justice. For all. It’s about going deeper to the core and getting to the root. It’s about bearing fruit and sharing it fresh from the vine. My heart’s desire is that we all refresh our minds and press the restart button to reset the ways of our thoughts. We have to strip our old way of thinking about the future and embrace the wonder of now. There’s power in potential, and people, we have it. We make the world go ‘round. We already have the power. Let’s redefine possibility and potential and let’s honor ourselves with stewardship. Where do we go from here? The answer is simple. Up.

Of the Vine is a written offering of disposition, desire, dreams and destiny (modern day think pieces) handcrafted by Rashaad King of Our Turn 365.