“If you’re not angry, you’re either a stone or too sick to be angry.”
Dr. Maya Angelou
1928 – 2014
It’s Time to be Angry!
By
Meme Kelly
Mom/Writer/Social Entrepreneur/Teacher
For the last 30 days, I’ve been teaching elementary school at two schools in the San Fernando Valley. I’ve met close to 400 sweet, innocent, loving elementary school students with wild eyes, sparkling with possibilities. They crave positive encouragement and attention. They’ve melted my heart, and they deserve to live in a peaceful world.
With the recent shooting in Santa Barbara and all of the other stories of violence on the news and on cable, I can’t help but think we, adults, are screwing up their futures if we don’t figure out how to stop or, at the very least, reduce gun violence. We’re screwing up their futures in other ways also, and I believe time is running out for us to get it right. Things are pretty bad and so I write!
Each time I see a mother hurried, anxious, texting, and talking on a cell phone, instead of holding her child’s hand and looking into his eyes, I can’t help but think that she’s screwing up her child’s chance of leading a peaceful, un-hurried, and calm life. Teachers are under-paid and over-worked. They can’t do it all!
Each time I see my homeless friend who has lived two blocks from me on Ventura Blvd for 12 years, I think how cruel this world is to some. See http://www.thebelieveplay.blogspot.com/2013/09/purpose.html
And, finally, there was the amazing Gala Celebration that my non-profit Indelible Impact hosted for Exceptional Adults with Disabilities on May 18th. These guys needed to be celebrated, to be affirmed, and to be told that they are fine just the way they are. This relaxed, loving gathering could have touched the heart of an Elliot Rodgers! See: http://indelibleimpact.org/2014/05/31/amazing-2014-exceptional-adults-with-disabilities-celebration-gala/
We adults need to be angry about the state of our world and then we need to commit to reducing gun violence, commit to providing safe and healthy environments for our children, commit to eliminating homelessness, and commit to compassionately caring for the mentally ill and/or the disabled!
Let’s get angry and BELIEVE that we can transform this world. We can! Let’s be angry instead of engaging in mindless, self-centered activities 95 % of the time. For we all can forget about being happy, finding purpose, and living our best lives, if we don’t take care of the least among us. Nothing else matters!
I end with Maya: Are you a STONE or too sick to get ANGRY?
END GUN VIOLENCE NOW!!! DO IT FOR THE CHILDREN!
You might also be interested in the following posts: https://memekellyinspires.com/2014/06/01/great-leaders-do-not-ignore-their-anger/ and If you’re not Angry, then you’re a stone: https://memekellyinspires.com/2014/06/01/520/
