a knee on your neck

a knee on your neck is exactly this

why don’t you get up and do something
you people are lazy

if you work hard you can do anything
the reason you don’t have anything
is because you don’t work hard

my parents came to this country with nothing
i came to this country with nothing
we worked hard for everything we have

my parents were here hundreds of years
before your parents
and they worked hard
with a white knee on their neck

the reality is that black people have worked harder
than anyone else
the greatness of the american economy
is built on black labor

work, work, work
excluded from education…a knee on your neck

work, work, work
disenfranchised…a knee on your neck

work, work, work
jim crow…a knee on your neck

work, work, work
redlined from housing and finance…a knee your neck

work, work, work
resumé with black name, no hire…a knee your neck

if you work hard you can do anything
the reason you don’t have anything
is because you don’t work hard

my parents came to this country with nothing
i came to this country with nothing
we worked hard for everything we have

what?
you can’t breathe?

stop making excuses

-msg

Back in town

Broad Street at night.

I am “back in town.” After a nearly four-year retirement, I am taking up creative life again. There are so many gifts that God has provided, not only to me but also to the people around me. It is a great privilege to engage those gifts. Thanks be to God!

All that lies ahead remains to be seen. However, to be sure, there are several projects waiting in the wings. Among those projects is “The Field Suite,” a contemplative musical celebration of freedom and purpose. The work is planned for release next week. Look for it online wherever you get music.

I have also, quite literally, dusted off my camera. I hope to share beautiful photographs to inspire you.

The truly beautiful aspects of life help to connect us more deeply to Divine goodness and to people. The wisest people I know are very busy keeping things in order and trying to maintain healthy priorities. They understand that relationship is what truly matters. Relationship to God and relationship to people.

My hope is to be in good relationships. My hope is to share creative experiences that will enhance and strengthen our connections, our relationships. As Matthew Hoffman has reminded us in big and small ways: “You are beautiful.”

So I am back in town. I raise my hand to God in thanks. I leap for joy.

” I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
    when I was made in the secret place,
    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed body;
    all the days ordained for me were written in your book
    before one of them came to be.
How precious to me are your thoughts,[a] God!
    How vast is the sum of them!
Were I to count them,
    they would outnumber the grains of sand—
   when I awake, I am still with you. “
– Psalm 139:14-18 (NIV)

May you be blessed to know the joy of the Lord God Almighty as we journey together.