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Well, I'm kind of breaking the rule and kind of not, because really I'm only going to say in my week two 'beeeeeeeee positive', is that I've had a really difficult two months, since I don't deal with change very well, and not really having a friend that I can call to go out on the spur of the moment when I need a friend here in Charleston is just...really hard. So I decided, on a Wednesday night, to take myself to the most positive place I have been introduced to here in Charleston (thanks to two great friends), which is Seacoast Church. By myself.
And I normally wouldn't be talking about it in this forum because I really like to keep the spirituality stuff personal (just how I roll) except for the fact that it was quite different tonight than I thought it would be. After the normal singing opener, which at this place, I would say is as good as 20 minutes of yoga, the super cool and progressive (and seemingly very Liberal) Pastor, Greg Surratt, introduces his friend that just won in the South Carolina Congress yesterday, Republican Tim Scott, to the congregation, since apparently Tim has attended the church for 14 years. (and this is when all of my Democrat friends (and family) say 'BOOOO HISSSSSSSS' and all of my Republican family members say 'WOW, THAT'S REALLY COOL')
But my point is not that he is a Republican, or the fact that he's not a Democrat, because at this point in my life I'm about as moderate as they get and I could swing either way, really, because I really don't know who to believe anymore in politics. What really struck me with this person, Tim Scott, was his story and the odds he has overcome to make it to the point in his life that he, yesterday, was voted into the United States Congress. This man grew up in a poverty stricken household with an alcoholic father and single mother, and nowhere to turn until he had a positive influence that came into his life when he was a sophomore in high school, and this person helped Tim find the good and the inner-strength to break out, to go to college, get a degree in Poli Sci, start a successful business that eventually allowed him to give back to the community and also to buy his mother a house to ensure she was taken care of, and now has propelled him to Washington, DC.
I love hearing stories of people that beat the odds, because really that's what we all need right now when life seems so bleak and hard. And this story, well...it's a little familiar. I just hope the story I know ends up with the same happy ending.
But here's the main thing that Tim said that really stuck with me. He said 'It's not other Americans that need to clean up their acts to get this country back on track. It starts with US cleaning up our OWN ACTS to get this country back on track'. It's about accountability, which is so important now, and which is something that I try to be as much as possible.
My hope is that this post won't make anyone mad or turn anyone off...this post is not about partisanship, but is really about trying to see the good in people, if you agree with them or not, and to see the light at the end of the really long, dark tunnel.
And on that note, I leave you with this lovely song, which has gotten me through many tough days the past few months, and will get me through many more, no doubt.
"Just Breathe" (Yes, Laurie likes techno) :)
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