Happy New Year 2016!

My Dear Friends,

Happy New Year 2016!

A year is gone, another year is here. The year 2015 has been a great year in which I learned a great deal, traveled and grew.

I learned that when you live in Chicago from December to December, and chose to love instead of fear, Mother Nature would appear to you in many different ways and teach you lessons about life.

In Chicago, winter comes into our life with winds, snows and blitz storms. It lays a white carpet on our ways, and releases white crystal balloons from the sky. During this time of the year, I personally enjoy indoor activities such as reading, watching movies, and listening to music in a warm place.

The winter of 2015 taught me to be patient and to be grateful, because outside my world there were human beings sleeping in the street, despite the cold, and I couldn’t go on pretending that I didn’t see them. Patience is the word; as Robert H Schuller said, “Never cut a tree down in the wintertime. Never make a negative decision in the low time. Never make your most important decisions when you are in your worst moods. Wait. Be patient. The storm will pass. The spring will come.”

When spring comes to Chicago, Mother Nature replaces Christmas decorations with natural decorations of flowers and green leaves. I learned to accept its moody weather and behaviors, which were the characteristic of any great artist. Acceptance is the word, and as Brian Tracy said “The greatest gift that you can give to others is the gift of unconditional love and acceptance.”

Summer is always welcomed; it comes with a smiling sun. Lady Michigan wears its blue and white mantra, and allows you to bike along the lake and neighborhood festivals, because as we know, globe warning is a reality. I always tell my friends: in summertime, Chicago is the most beautiful city in the world.

Fall will eventually come with its rains, and it will tear trees of their natural makeup. The beauty of the city will slowly fade, and tourists will withdraw, but as Chicagoans we stay, because we love the city and we are loyal. Being loyal is the key.

Life is a gift, and I adopt it with its winters, springs, summers and falls. In Chicago through the years, I learned to listen to the seasons. Winters teach me to be patient and grateful, springs encourage me to contemplate Mother Nature, while it does its art work and to accept its moody behaviors; summers bring joy and teach me to be in touch with nature and enjoy the moment, and falls are here to remind me to be loyal .

My travels in 2015 led me to visit a few Illinois State Parks. I learned to walk in silence among trees, sit still near lakes and rivers, and breathe the fresh air around me. Every time I was getting ready to leave for the city, I took time to say “thanks” to all people who fought to preserve these parks, despite the overwhelming temptations of profit.

Another journey I took this year lead me to Memphis. I arrived in the late afternoon and stayed at the Pilgrim Hostel, which was an old church convent transformed into a hostel. I stayed for three days. On Friday, November 20, 2015, I visited The National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel, where Martin Luther king was killed. On Saturday, November 21, 2015, I went to Graceland to be with Elvis, stopped at the Sun Studio where Rock n’ Roll was born, and late that night, I enjoyed listening to live rhythm n’ blues music after having a delicious southern meal on Beale Street, the birth place of blues. Sunday, November 22, 2015 was my last day; I went to see the church where Martin Luther delivered his “I’ve been to the Mountain Top” speech.

During my stay in Memphis, I carried the question of “Why did they kill the King?”, but sitting at the last row of Monumental Baptist Church on a Sunday morning, I heard the pastor preaching about forgiveness. It made sense to me, because to be in peace with ourselves, we must learn to forgive, but not to forget.

On my way to Chicago, I told myself, they killed the dreamer, but they couldn’t kill the dream; so, we all have a role to play to better race relations and prevent police brutalities in this country. As Martin Luther King Jr. said “We may have all come on different ships, but we are in the same boat now.” Therefore, we should learn to live together and stand with Justice. As our guide told us during my visit to the Lorraine Motel, the slogan of the Memphis Sanitation Workers in 1968, “I am a Man”, resonates with today’s slogan of “Black lives Matter.”  

The concept “Under The Human Rights Tree” allows me to grow in many ways. It has been an amazing experience, which allowed me to write and speak on Human Rights issues in schools and with friends. It has been a way of lighting the candle of knowledge and letting it shine.

2016 is the start of a new journey. Our paths may cross or not; whatever the case, I would like to wish you and your loved ones a Happy New Year 2016!

Sincerely,

Alpha