Ways we can honor MLK

There is a television commercial where a man in his 90s gives out candy bars to kids and the last line says, “You’re never too old to change the world.” The point isn’t candy is good but the act of kindness no matter what your age is priceless.

With the state of our world and our country it’s easy to despair about the future. Lately I have often thought and even said that I’m glad I won’t be around in 50 years to see what has become of it all. That is a terrible thing to say because it means I’m giving up on humanity and I am not going to do that anymore. My mother always said I was her “Pollyanna” because I tried to see the good in people and situations no matter what and I have made up my mind to continue that until the last of my days.

MLK Day brings thoughts of his teachings and accomplishments to all of us but as the year passes we get busy and tend to forget them again. I’m not just talking about racism, although God knows we need as much help there as we did before, but of his respect and love for all and his belief that the good in humanity would overcome the evil if we could all work together. I have thought about this a lot lately, especially after reading a book written by a 34-year-old black man. He was born into the worst section of Chicago with a drug addict mother, several siblings by different fathers and almost no chance of getting out and having a successful life. The book is about this life and how he did get out. Some of the stories of his journey are heartbreaking but his success is uplifting. He talks a lot about the people in his life. Some that, while not intentionally, tried to hold him back and others that were his mentors and set him on his path out. I had been thinking about our program today and how we can honor Martin Luther King Jr. and this young man’s story gave me the answer. As seniors we can still help our families and communities by mentoring children and young adults. We have all had different journeys leading us to where we are. We have had successes and failures, good days and bad, things we are proud of and things we are not. We all have something to teach and share.

So today to honor and celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. and all that he stood for I challenge each of you to mentor someone. Most of us have young people in our lives but if you don’t, volunteer to read stories at the library or in a school, visit the Sunday

So today to honor and celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. and all that he stood for I challenge each of you to mentor someone.

school at your church or just talk to them whenever the opportunity happens. Be positive! We all have our own prejudices and the hard part is to recognize them, deal with them, and strive not to pass them on to others. Encourage them to not just accept things they are told by friends, teachers and even you but to think and research and question. Encourage them to learn and to think for themselves. Teach them to listen to opposing opinions with an open mind and to know that even if you don’t agree you can still discuss and learn. You can still be friends with people you disagree with. Teach them the Golden Rule, “Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.” I am a firm believer that this one simple rule could solve so many world problems. If we all treated each other the way we ourselves wanted to be treated what a wonderful world it would be. Mentor one young person all year or mentor several different ones throughout the year. If each of us could make a positive impact on at least one child or young adult it could play forward and multiply long after we are gone.

So please accept my MLK Day challenge and become a mentor to help the world and maybe 50 years from now instead of not wanting to see what the world is like, we can be standing next to Martin, looking down and smiling because we know we helped.