On a recent road trip to Florida, Lori and I spent a night in Montgomery, AL, where we visited the Rosa Parks Museum.
It sits on the corner where, in December 1965, the bus was long delayed because Rosa refused the humiliation of moving to the back of the bus.
You know the story, but it bears repeating…
We celebrate Dr. King today, but Rosa launched Dr. King and the civil rights movement.
Her passive resistance led to a peaceful boycott led by a local minister named Martin Luther King, Jr. and a year later, segregation on buses was prohibited by court order.
It takes courage to stand up for a shared truth or, in Rosa Parks’ case, to remain seated.
Touring the exhibit, we felt the excitement, collaboration, and commitment of the underdog comeback.
That alone can bring tears to your eyes.
But what grabbed my heart was the power of love Rosa must have felt. I imagine it gave her the strength to remain seated, resist the hateful taunts and insults, and stand for a truth far greater than her own.
She sat in that seat for all of us and held the container for the eternal fact that we are the same.
We may appear different in form–but in spirit, in truth, no difference.
Martin Luther King Day is a reminder of the gains we’ve made in equal rights, but we can each take it to the next level.
It’s the ongoing practice of Namaste–to see beyond the form to the love and light we share as one. It’s how we heal. It’s why we’re here.
Namaste,
Jeff
