I was recently asked by a friend to write about something that I am thankful for.  And so I write:

I woke up this morning with the sun shining on my face and ready for a crack at life again.  I’ve always been thankful for the sun but I used to have problems with being thankful for this face that it shines upon and my life. 

Growing up in the mean streets, inner city of Dallas,Texas in the 70’s and 80’s taught me a lot about dealing with struggle and adversity.  My environment and the people in it started to rub off on me and I eventually began to believe that my complexion would hold me back from connection and achieving my goals and dreams.  I believed that being a poor, inner city black male gave me one extra thing to contend with in this life, so for that reason I was not very thankful. 

But thank God my story doesn’t end there, that was just the beginning.  As I grew in stature I also grew in knowledge and wisdom and started to realize that it’s not about the hand we’re dealt in this life, it’s about having the ability to play our hand well. 

Eventually I started to pursue developing myself personally by reading good books and listening to uplifting and empowering tapes and CD’s and intentionally surrounding myself with positive people who were doing the same.  It wasn’t long before I eventually had a complete mental “about-face” and turn-around.  Now my complexion makes me smile and I am indeed grateful for the God-given ability to play my hand well in this life.

If there’s something in our life that we want to change for the better, it starts with making ourselves better.  Let’s stay committed to working on the most important factor that makes our life what it is, which is, “YOU”.  Congratulations in advance to you who choose not to settle for those unwanted things in your life. 

My bold statement to my creator for this weekend is, “Thank you for your gift of ‘free will’ and the opportunity to make this life GREAT!”  Let’s all choose to play our hand well and MAKE IT GREAT!!!

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