To begin today, the software fairies at Body & Soul Mentor
chose for you a big quote from Alice Walker. Even if you
aren’t an American, you’ll find inspiration and great
mentoring here.

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Nov. 5, 2008
 
Dear Brother Obama,
 
You have no idea, really, of how profound this moment is
for us. Us
being the black people of the Southern United States. You
think you
know, because you are thoughtful, and you have studied our
history. But
seeing you deliver the torch so many others before you
carried, year
after year, decade after decade, century after century,
only to be
struck down before igniting the flame of justice and of
law, is almost
more than the heart can bear. And yet, this observation is
not intended
to burden you, for you are of a different time, and,
indeed, because of
all the relay runners before you, North America is a
different place.
It is really only to say: Well done. We knew, through all
the
generations, that you were with us, in us, the best of the
spirit of
Africa and of the Americas. Knowing this, that you would
actually
appear, someday, was part of our strength. Seeing you take
your
rightful place, based solely on your wisdom, stamina and
character, is
a balm for the weary warriors of hope, previously only sung
about.
 
I would advise you to remember that you did not create the
disaster
that the world is experiencing, and you alone are not
responsible for
bringing the world back to balance. A primary
responsibility that you
do have, however, is to cultivate happiness in your own
life. To make a
schedule that permits sufficient time of rest and play with
your
gorgeous wife and lovely daughters. And so on. One gathers
that your
family is large. We are used to seeing men in the White
House soon
become juiceless and as white-haired as the building; we
notice their
wives and children looking strained and stressed. They soon
have smiles
so lacking in joy that they remind us of scissors. This is
no way to
lead. Nor does your family deserve this fate. One way of
thinking about
all this is: It is so bad now that there is no excuse not
to relax.

From your happy, relaxed state, you can model real success,
which is
all that so many people in the world really want. They may
buy endless
cars and houses and furs and gobble up all the attention
and space they
can manage, or barely manage, but this is because it is not
yet clear
to them that success is truly an inside job. That it is
within the
reach of almost everyone.
 
I would further advise you not to take on other people’s
enemies. Most
damage that others do to us is out of fear, humiliation and
pain. Those
feelings occur in all of us, not just in those of us who
profess a
certain religious or racial devotion. We must learn
actually not to
have enemies, but only confused adversaries who are
ourselves in
disguise. It is understood by all that you are commander in
chief of
the United States and are sworn to protect our beloved
country; this we
understand, completely. However, as my mother used to say,
quoting a
Bible with which I often fought, “hate the sin, but love
the sinner.”
There must be no more crushing of whole communities, no
more torture,
no more dehumanizing as a means of ruling a people’s
spirit. This has
already happened to people of color, poor people, women,
children. We
see where this leads, where it has led.
 
A good model of how to “work with the enemy” internally is
presented by
the Dalai Lama, in his endless caretaking of his soul as he
confronts
the Chinese government that invaded Tibet. Because,
finally, it is the
soul that must be preserved, if one is to remain a credible
leader. All
else might be lost; but when the soul dies, the connection
to earth, to
peoples, to animals, to rivers, to mountain ranges, purple
and
majestic, also dies. And your smile, with which we watch
you do
gracious battle with unjust characterizations, distortions
and lies, is
that expression of healthy self-worth, spirit and soul,
that, kept
happy and free and relaxed, can find an answering smile in
all of us,
lighting our way, and brightening the world.
 
We are the ones we have been waiting for.
 
In Peace and Joy,
Alice Walker

—///—

Blessings,

William

P.S. You have my permission to share this story with
widely.