Your whole life might just be a lie and you want it that way!

You do not live in reality! You think you do, but you really do not.

Lets start with the definition of Reality: The world or the state of things as they actually exist, as opposed to an idealistic or notional idea of them.

100% of humanity (me included) lives in the world after the comma.

As I think a lot about my people (African Americans), we mostly wonder why we are doing worse than everyone else.

You know the questions:

Why are 70% of our children born to a single parent?
Why is poverty so rampant in our community?
Why do we not have the wealth of other communities?
Why is there so much violence in our community?
Why do so many black men go to prison and/or die young?
Why do the police treat us so horribly?
Why do our relationships go so badly?

Here is your answer…….brace yourself: Because that is exactly the way that we want it!

Note, I did not say we are cool with it, or it is acceptable to us. I am sure that if we had a magic wand, then we would change all of that, right?

Well if we fixed all of that, then what would we have to talk about? What would we post on social media? What would we sing and rap about?

Maybe instead of mutual cancel culture we would start talking about how much we love, respect and appreciate each other?
Maybe we would call each other kings and queens or brothers and sisters instead of n—s and b—-es?
Maybe instead of protesting the people policing our community, we would start applying to become public safety officers where we live and manage our own police force?
Maybe we need to groom our young, best and brightest to come back home and build up the communities from where they come from?
Maybe instead of tolerating it when black men tear down black women, we MEN check them on their own nonsense? (Note: Black Women should do the same to other black women who tear down brothers)?
Maybe instead of desiring to live where others live, we start to maintain and expand ownership in our own communities instead of complaining about gentrification?

If you suggest any of that in our communities, you would get push back or ignored.

We bend over backwards and do serious mental gymnastics to keep the n-word alive.
We are the only group of people who advocate that our young people, in order to be successful, must leave our community and our people to do it.
We always like posts and people who keep the divide going between black men and black women.
During election times (in Detroit at least), there are more “for sale” signs than campaign signs. (We don’t VOTE!)
Suggest black men become police officers, well the common thing I hear on that: They would fail the drug test or the background check.
Talk to people about grooming our best and brightest to come home and build and you might hear something like: Why? So these n—s can kill them?
Almost every kid under 35 has a playlist that does not have a single song that does not demean us as a people.

Here is the damaging context in which we live: We view the answers to the questions as if something is wrong with us as opposed to what we can do about it?

Here is a saying you should write down: You always win the game you are playing!

If you want to know what game we are in, just look at the results that we produce (see the questions at the beginning). THAT is the game we are committed to winning!

Personal example: I say I am committed to losing weight, have been saying it for years and I am hitting the stores for Ben and Jerry’s twice a week. Anyone telling me the truth would say I am committed to staying heavy and would be correct despite how passionately and emphatically I say that I am wanting to be healthy,

Brothers and sisters: I have just told YOU the same kind of truth. The world we live in is of OUR making and no one else.

Just as I am addicted to junk food, WE are addicted to our trauma. I know because both the junk food and the trauma are consumed with regularity and joy!

We are a powerful people. It is past time we step into our own magnificence.

We are smart and insightful as any other.
We are the culture the world follows and emulates.
We KNOW what the problems are.
We are capable of anything!

When we start talking to ourselves and our brothers and sisters like there is NOTHING wrong with us, then we stop living the lie that we were sold. We stop living the lie about us we have embraced and accepted as true!

When we know who we are and our value, then we can create anything we want.

It is up to us to wake up to our truth and wake up to who we are!

No one is going to do that for us! In fact, it is to some people’s benefit that we are NOT woken up!

If we WANT something different and ACT according to what we WANT, you will have a very hard time convincing me we cannot create a community that is the envy of the world.

Well, we already are and we don’t know that either!

I am ready for a miracle. Are YOU?

You see: God put this in OUR hands, our prayer should be for strength and faith for the struggle.