??This week's quote is a belated homage to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., whose life and work is particularly celebrated on his birthday, January 15. And because today is Valentine's Day, the subject is LOVE.
Perhaps you have read this or other quotes by Dr. King before. I have seen it many times, and for this post, I decided to find the context in which this sentence was expressed. My search led me to videos of Dr. King speaking. In one video, I saw footage of King, amid rioting onlookers, tell reporters that even in Mississippi and Alabama, he had never seen such violent hostility towards himself and the civil rights movement, as he saw in Chicago. The video then showed more contemporary footage of some individuals who had marched with King speaking to high school students in that Chicago district.
While knowing who King was, these teenagers had no idea that Martin Luther King had anything to do with their neighborhood. Like them, I realized how little I knew about him. I continued my search and I found the speech in which this week's quote is from. I read the whole thing, and in doing so, I could feel the immense power of his call for forgiveness as a way to neutralize the terrible scourge of racism.
It is a very emotional read. His words are so powerfully written, I could feel what it must have been like to be in his presence. The man was truly a hero, not only for his race but for all of humanity, and his words literally vibrate with his powerful love of humanity, more than 45 years after his untimely death in 1968.
While Valentine's Day is meant to be about romantic love, there are so many other kinds of love in the world and so much need for it! Let this Valentine's Day remind you of all the ways love exists.
Wishing you a day filled with all sorts of love; romantic love, family love, love for your fellow humans, love for the planet and perhaps most importantly, love for yourself.
And hey, don't stop at Valentine's Day! Why not keep going? Why not contemplate and express love every day?!
If you would like to read the speech in which this quote appears, click here
Have a beautiful week.
Harriet
