What does it mean to you to be an artist?

you have the privilege of dealing with your own feelings

I am privileged to have expression as my career

be great

 Surround yourself with people who inspire you to be great!

it's the ordinary that's extraordinary

I love teachers.



Write about what you know. Being honest is what counts. 

confront truth at its harshest, and hope at its most powerful

So, remember how, in my last post I talked about seeing Colorado State Senator, Mike Johnston speak at an Ed Sessions lunch?

Well, I neglected to include that while I was there I was one of the lucky winners of his book, In The Deep Hearts Core. I just finished it. It was amazing and should be read with a box of tissues.

Today, on Facebook, the Ed Sessions posted a link to Mike Johnston's speech in Idaho.

But, in reading more about his book, I found a speech he gave in 2012 at a Teach for America event.  It is beautifully constructed around 2 stories – the first one illustrating what is possible, and the second what is next.  His real themes are truth and hope.  

We need both truth and hope, and then we can accomplish great things.  



Mike Johnston (Mississippi Delta '97) - State Senator, Colorado from Teach For America Events on Vimeo.

what will it cost if I don't

I was at a recent Ed Sessions lunch where the speaker was Colorado Senator Mike Johnston. I was instantly inspired by Senator Johnston's historic education reform efforts in the state of Colorado, Amendment 66. He spoke passionately about what it takes to get meaningful education reform accomplished. 

Education reform is no easy task. It's an uphill battle; one that has been two years in the making for Senator Johnston's amendment.

He ended his talk with a glimpse into what keeps him going; what inspires him. He says he keeps a copy of A Testament Of Hope on his desk (The Essential Writings and Speeches of Martin Luther King Jr.).

He referenced Dr. King's last sermon in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 3, 1968, I See The Promised Land. Dr. King had been warned not to return to Memphis. He had sent his good friend Ralph Abernathy to speak for him as he wasn't feeling well. After Mr. Abernathy spoke, the crowd wouldn't leave. They continued to wait for Dr. King. Ralph had to call Dr. King to come down to the Church of God in Christ to appease the crowd.

Dr. King arrived and spoke to the crowd with no notes and no preparation. He spoke of his trip to Jerusalem and his travel along the road to Jericho.

And you know, its possible that the priest and the Levite looked over that man on the ground and wondered if the robbers were still around. Or it's possible that they felt the man on the ground was merely faking. And he was acting like he had been robbed and hurt, in order to seize them over there, lure them there for quick and easy seizure. And so the first question that the Levite asked was, "If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?" But then the Good Samaritan came by. And he reversed that question: "If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?"

To paraphrase Senator Mike Johnston's call to action...
That's the question before all of us. Not, "If I stop to help education reform, what will it cost me?" But, "If I don't stop to help education reform, what will it cost the children in my state." 

So, now on my desk is a copy of A Testament Of Hope.

And I am hoping that Dr. King will continue to inspire me to "ask better questions". 

make it meaningful

Old friends pass away, new friends appear. It is just like the days. An old day passes, a new day arrives. 

The important thing is to make it meaningful: a meaningful friend - or a meaningful day.

-Dalai Lama

an impression

“Sometimes one creates as significant an impression by remaining silent.”

- Dalai Lama

Greatest gift

I read this yesterday ...

"Yes, Mother. I can see that you are flawed. You have not hidden it. That is your greatest gift to me." - Alice Walker

And it made me think of this quote from Neil Gaiman:

"The moment that you feel that, just possibly, you're walking down the street naked, exposing too much of your heart and your mind and what exists on the inside, showing too much of yourself. That's the moment you may just be starting to get it right."

So, when two authors sneak into my brain and remind me that I should live and be and risk and stumble as only I can... I think I should.

And now go, and make interesting, amazing, glorious, fantastic mistakes. Break rules. Leave the world more interesting for your being here.