A few months ago I adopted a new mantra to get me through the last quarter of the fiscal year, focused and not utterly exhausted. I shared it with my team and said it to myself often- "Finish strong!" My mantra is my gift to you today. My friend and neighbor, "Finish Strong!" Twenty-twenty has been a very challenging and difficult year for more people than either of us can imagine. We have watched and experienced so many enormous life changing events with monumental and devastating impacts, both here and abroad. Who knew back on January 1, 2020 when we were declaring 2020 - The Year of Vision - that perfect vision would come at such a cost? The events of this year crossed both racial, social and economic boundaries of divide leveraging the playing field to afford each of us with an opportunity to reposition our lives, values, morals, beliefs and "perspectives". We are in the home stretch of 2020 with less than three months to go. The season has changed. Autumn has painted radiant oranges, yellows, and reds across the landscapes of our neighborhoods and commutes. But, have you noticed?
For me autumn has a way of softening things transitioning us slowly for what could be the brutal impact of a cold winter. Kind of like how a soft pillow you put down on the floor as a layer of cushion between your knees and the painful reminder of your age. (lol)
It was Henry David Thoreau who said, “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you’ve imagined.” Let this be a reminder to "Finish Strong!" We still have time to declare 2020 - as the year of vision. We have been given an opportunity to inventory our lives and realign ourselves to what we truly value the most. Let this also be reminder to live today like it was your last; and if you are like me remember to smile often, laugh more, and love always seeking to extend grace and mercy especially when it would be easier not too.
Together, we can finish the last days of 2020 with perfect vision that leads to every man, woman, and child empowered with God's version of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Shalom.
