"My Imaginary Friend"

It's been so long, I can't even remember when we first met.  Probably when I was a little kid, or even when I was a baby. 

We have been through everything together, me and my imaginary friend.  From high school, to starting a career, and even when I got married and started having kids.  We still kept tight. 

Sometimes we fall out, but somehow we end up back together.  He has let me down many times, but I have known him longer than I have known any other friend.

My imaginary friend is a trip; always looking and talking about others like they are so different from him.

He takes pride in what he has, and gets down in the dumps when he thinks about the things that he wants, that he doesn't have.

My imaginary friend identifies himself with what he does.  If he is not successful in his career, or not accomplishing his goals, he feels like he is less than a man.  This dude is always talking about what he did in the past, and feeling that he should be able to top that.

I see him try to block it out, but he worries what people think about him.  He tries to be humble, but I see that look of satisfaction on his face when people compliment him and give him praise.  When people aren't feeling him, or don't understand him, he tries to ignore it.  But I know it still gets to him sometimes.

Because we are so close, I can feel the stress, anxiety, and fears that he goes through in different stages of his life.  Sometimes it bothers me, and I wonder why I even hang with this dude.

We are nothing alike, but we go everywhere together, and hang in all the same places.  I've been hanging with my friend named Ego so long, imagined him and created him so long ago, that somehow, somewhere along the path, I got confused and thought that my imaginary friend Ego was Me!

"Barack Obama Doesn't Care About Black People"

Declining approval ratings, unseen results,  and continued unemployment.  America is unhappy.  The African American community is growing tired of waiting for "change".

Some of the well known individuals and Black organizations have been putting a lot of pressure on our president lately.  They are feeling like they are being overlooked, unheard, and starting to feel betrayed even by our first African American President.  Many feel as if the higher unemployment rate in African Americans, and several other issues should be being addressed.  People want answers.  People want results.  People are looking for exactly what Barack Obama promised the American people, Change.

So many were happy to see him get into office.  They were encouraged. They were inspired.  To witness history in making has an effect on you no matter who's "side" you were on. 

Black people felt as if they had a leader that represented them.  Someone that understood their struggles.  And as a result, people felt like they had a Black leader that was finally going to do something about it.

What ever happened to all of our Black leaders anyway? After the deaths of Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, and many others who fought for justice and equality, their seems to be a huge void in leadership in African American community.

"We finally get someone in office and he is letting us down", is how many are feeling in this tough economy that we are in. To sum it up and make it plain, many are starting to feel like "Barack Obama Doesn't Care About Black People"!  He is just out for himself, and he has forgotten where he came from.

It is my suggestion that Barack Obama Doesn't Care About Black People, He Cares About ALL People!  You see it's called being President of The United States, not President of The Black Race.  The president has to make and oversee policies, procedures, and laws that are in the best interests of All the citizens of American, not just one particular race.  To focus more attention on your particular race, being how desperately in need of help it is, is the very definition of racism.

I think that in the midst of all the pain, suffering, and stress that we are going through, people forget that Barack Obama, even though he is the President, is still a paid employee.  You see, even though he may have been the best qualified candidate for the job, the office of President in my observation, serves as a "fall guy" to take the blame for the error of those who really run the country.  The House of Representatives, The Senate, Corporations, and Billionaires are who REALLY run the country.

To answer the question, "what happened to all the Black leaders"?  One has to look at the evolution and progression of time.  The leaders of yesterday fought for the rights that we have today.  It is our job to take advantage of the rights that we have, the progress that was made, and stand on the footsteps of those giants. Today's Black Leaders are those that are taking advantage of the rights they have and doing the things that they love, and are gifted and talented to do.  Today's leaders lead by example.  Barack Obama IS a black leader.  He accomplished a goal he set out to achieve.  He made it to the highest office that this government has to offer.  He is a husband, a father, and most important, he is an individual who did something instead of just complaining.

"Black Men Who Meditate"

 

 Meditation.  It's the mental discipline in which one attempts to get beyond the conditioned, "thinking" mind into a deeper state of relaxation or awareness.  During the act of meditation, one attempts to empty the mind of thought, or focus on one particular thought.

The practice of meditation has been around for a very long time, and in the past few decades, has become more familiar and popular in the U.S.  But meditation has been slower to catch on, and is less popular in the African American community, possibly due to the belief of meditation being a "religious" or Buddhist "thing".

Although meditation is a part of some religions, meditation is not a religious practice.  It's more of a spiritual practice and a mental discipline.  Just as not everyone who prays is a Christian, everyone that meditates is not a Buddhist or Hindu.

Numerous studies have been conducted on the benefits of meditation.  Some of the benefits include: stress reduction, increased focus, lowered blood pressure, pain relief, increased creativity, and an increased awareness of one's connection to God.

Despite it being less popular and widely unfamiliar territory, there are Black Men Who Meditate.  Some notable black men that meditate include writer, actor, and film Director Bill Duke, Entrepreneur and music mogul Russell Simmons, and the musical legend, Stevie Wonder.

I started meditating a little over a year ago, and it has been one of the most beneficial things I have ever done in my life.  I rarely get sick with a cold or flu, I can think much clearer, and most of all, it has enabled me to become more conscious of my connection to God.  

I believe that meditation would be of great benefit to the African American culture because of it's proven results of stress reduction, health benefits, and the increasing of one's awareness to our connection to God. 

It is my suggestion that if we can cross the divisive lines of religious and cultural differences, we can be a better people, and a better world.