“Take every day one day at a time…” Says new friend Pharaoh, “’…Too often people get stressed out because they are taking on too much. They worry about tomorrow or the day after. But if they focus on just one day… and in getting through that day, in being able to meet the goals of that day, they won’t get so bombarded about how they are going to pay rent…? How they are going to meet they’re obligations…? Or thoughts like how am I going to pay for school?
People get so caught up in stuff like that… I’ve been there myself. You fall into something almost like a web of concern…and before you know it… you feel the weight of the world on your shoulders… That can lead to depression, stress and other things like that. Just take one day at a time… knowing that tomorrow, things will most likely work themselves out.
And, whatever your goals are… whatever you are trying to accomplish, you take one step every day in that direction, and know that every day is significant… no matter how small the steps. Learn to tell yourself, ‘Today, I got something accomplished.’”
“Where do you see us in the future?” I ask Pharaoh.
He takes a peaceful breath, “’In Seven years…? Hopefully… in a better place in terms of unity. Right now… I have to say on a world front, especially here in America, we are divided into tribes… groups. And as long as we are divided we can’t get anything done or any legislation’s past. Racial lines continue to be there… prominent… even though we are 2012.
In seven years there will be more unity. And when there is unity, everything else gets better: The economy … programs for our kids… for those who are disadvantaged or homeless… the handicapped. But as long as we are divided… nothing can happen.
Division… even with religion, Christians and Muslims, Catholics, Protestants, Jewish, whatever… and it makes no sense to me.
Over the next seven years… I hope… I pray! that our country will be unified. And as a nation we can do good on the world front. Right now we are divided.
We need to remember we are all connected. Maybe we speak difference languages. Maybe we have different backgrounds. But as long as we are divided we cannot help our neighbors.
And hopefully in the next seven years everyone should have more respect for self, for neighborhood, and most importantly… for every day communities. You know… schools… churches… that we may just be more unified.
Everyone has a valid perspective. Everyone has their own set of problems that they were born into. I truly believe that if we focus on unity we will become stronger as a people.
We are all part of the same body and we are all part of something significant. And, I think when we understand that, whether it be in China, Korea, Sudan, or wherever, we all have to be unified and pray about each other. If we could focus on that, there would be less war.
Love is the most powerful force. I’ve seen it work. Like in the civil rights movement where every race came together. It really wasn’t an African-American issue; it was a human issue, a civil rights issue. And you notice, even today, different races… different problems… same thing.
We need to find some common ground… some common denominator. Somewhere we can work towards getting to the point to where we can say, ‘Ok, what’s your issue? If I can help… let me help?’
And if we can come together… anything is possible… that is, if we want it that big.’”
“Why seven years?” I inquire.
Very thoughtfully, Pharaoh explains, “If we look too far… we lose sight. But still we have to set goals. I look at a year as a day. There are seven days in a week… then we start a new week. So, I give us seven years to work towards a new beginning.
Seven years is not too short of a period to expect real change and it is not too wide to ignore looking at our future with urgency.”
Pharaoh, thank you for taking the time to chat with us. See you… no hear you, on the radio waves.
Oh yeah, readers, I forgot to tell you, Pharaoh is an up and coming R&B artist. Now on tour and releasing his first album in the fall. I promised him I’d hook you up with his Facebook. Check him out if you get a moment.
