Can I have Some Change, Please?

This past week has been full of changes and new beginnings.

It started on Sunday morning when my walk/run partner, confidante and brother, the Negro Man, a friend that I have run/walk with for about 10 years, told me that he had been forced to make some changes in his life.  We talked about the changes, and of course, the Colored Man gave him his opinions about the change.  For the Negro Man, it is a devastating life change, one that I really feel he knows deep down inside is needed for him to grow and to have full control over his life, and the things that really make him happy.

When I arrived home, I received news that I was going to have to make some changes as well.  My change is something that I knew needed to be made, and being forced to take those necessary steps, is just what the Colored Man needed, as I do suffer occasionally from the dreaded  disease named procrastination.  As I thought about my morning, I had to laugh and think to myself, "all this shit before 12 noon."

Change is the ever-evolving component of life.  It is a necessary part of all of our lives, and makes life just a little bit more exciting.  What is really challenging is how we accept the difficult challenge of change, and how we learn and grow while making those changes.  When I analyze my situation, I am in it simply because I did not listen to what people were telling me, and instead chose to follow a path that I thought was so noble.  I made mistakes.  It wasn't until I got myself into an untractable situation that I remembered what my barber told me one time.  His words were, "when you give everything to someone, you create a monster."  Another friend told me that "sometimes you need to change to get away from people who need to change".  Both statements are so true. The untractable situation landed me in a position that just seemed to snowball, which lead to being somewhere that I did not want to be.  It put me in an environment that was down-right funky to say the lest, and completely not to my level of taste, sophistication, and personal satisfaction.

But change is good.  Change causes you to reach deep-down and pull out those reserves that you thought weren't there.  It allows you the opportunity to learn, listen and grow, and to realize and understand that this is just a passing storm, that you are fully capable of paddling through, faster and stronger than before .  It also lets you know who your real friends are, and those who are just around to ride the good-times wave, and gives you the chance to "trim the fat", so to speak.

The Colored Man and his confidante/brother, the Negro Man, are both having to face a storm, that neither was expecting or really prepared to deal with right now.  Basically, we settled and got complacent, when we should have been preparing all along for this storm.  But guess what?, we are both strong men of color, who were raised to believe in ourselves and to take charge, and we don't allow others to dictate to us how our lives will operate.  We are respected, not disrespected.  We stand strong and tall, like mighty oaks.

So in reality, these readjustments are just what we both needed to reassert ourselves as leaders of our lives, who are ready to step up to the plate, face Mr. Change directly in the face and say, "Make My Day!"

The Colored Man says to all: be strong, be brave, be courageous.

Footnote: A week later, the Negro Man was visited by a surprise.  I know that these special bundles of joy just reaffirmed that he is loved and cared for, and has a special place in people's lives. My brother, this is all a blessing in disguise and the best is yet to come.  Let it flow.