Author: Higher Up IDEALS
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Daddy, What’s the “N Word”?
There a lot of conversations that I don’t feel absolutely prepared for as a parent. Some of them are universal and some are exclusive to certain communities such as, “Are we poor?”, “Why do they hate us?”, “Will we be deported?”, etc. Recently, my daughter has asked me twice, what the “N word” is. The…
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In The Name of Justice
Originally posted on The Roofless Church: In recent sermon, I chose to write a letter to my name in order to express to the congregation how in our society something as small as our name can be used by some people to discriminate. I further illustrated my point by giving them a list of famous…
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When the Pain is Too Much, I Write
I write when I cannot take the pain anymore–the pain of trying to contain myself for the comfort of others. I have lived my entire life with pain. I learned early on that it cannot be avoided. In my experience, it is inevitable in this life. Suffering however, is optional. Suffering comes when you do…
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The Lie That Started It All
Will humans ever live into our highest potential? Why do we fight over scraps on a planet ripe with plenty? Why do we choose to accept the smallest of identities prescribed for us by those who have no idea who they are? Deceived by the idea that some outside authority can qualify our worthiness, we…
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IMO, Fake News is Good News
Beware: What is below is a stream of consciousness after participating in a mind-stretching conversation. I may change my mind later, but for now this is where I am on the topic. I hope you get something out of it. I’ll be honest with you. I didn’t know I held the opinion that there is…
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Be Still And Know: Who Is the Free One?
What is freedom? It’s one of those words that is used frequently, but I suspect many of us have no idea what it really means. I have come to the conclusion that when most people use the word, it is a way of saying, “I want to be able to do whatever I want to…
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We Met. We Talked. Now What?
Can one conversation fundamentally change who you are and how you are in the world? I think so. And that’s precisely why I think so many of us fear authentic conversation. But hopefully this fear is waning. We Met. One day I had an encounter with a woman who struggled with an addiction to crack…
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What Do We Truly Desire?
Recently I’ve been thinking about a conversation I had about 14 years ago with a friend who is very well off financially. One day he just came out and told me that if I would just do what he did he could ensure that I too would be as wealthy as him in a few…
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Sight Beyond Sight – A Commentary on “Mansplaining and more…”
Are you familiar with the conversational phenomenon known as mansplaining? If you have never heard of it, here is a working definition of it: Mansplaining can be when someone who has lesser or incomplete knowledge on a subject offers an explanation to someone with greater knowledge of the subject under the assumption that the person…
