The ever-talented Jane Lurie recently published a tribute post to John Lewis on her blog, Jane’s Lens. The post moved me tremendously.
In large part, I always appreciate Jane’s posts because she is an excellent storyteller and I think that ability is something not only to be treasured and nurtured but is intrinsic to great blogging.
Please enjoy Jane’s tribute to John Lewis shared here by permission.
“Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Be hopeful, be optimistic. Our struggle is not the struggle of a day, a week, a month, or a year, it is the struggle of a lifetime. Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble.” – John Lewis
When Great Trees Fall
When great trees fall,
rocks on distant hills shudder,
lions hunker down
in tall grasses,
and even elephants
lumber after safety.
When great trees fall
in forests,
small things recoil into silence,
their senses
eroded beyond fear.
When great souls die,
the air around us becomes
light, rare, sterile.
We breathe, briefly.
Our eyes, briefly,
see with
a hurtful clarity.
Our memory, suddenly sharpened,
examines,
gnaws on kind words
unsaid,
promised walks
never taken.
Great souls die and
our reality, bound
to them, takes leave of us.
Our souls, dependent upon their nurture,
now shrink, wizened.
Our minds, formed and informed by their radiance,
fall away.
We are not so much maddened as reduced to the unutterable ignorance
of dark, cold caves.
And when great souls die,
after a period peace blooms, slowly and always
irregularly. Spaces fill with a kind of soothing electric vibration.
Our senses, restored, never to be the same, whisper to us. They existed. They existed. We can be. Be and be better.
For they existed.”
~Maya Angelou
“Freedom is not a state; it is an act. It is not some enchanted garden perched high on a distant plateau where we can finally sit down and rest. Freedom is the continuous action we all must take, and each generation must do its part to create an even more fair, more just society.”
~John Lewis
“When you see something that is not right, not fair, not just, you have to speak up. You have to say something; you have to do something.”
~John Lewis
“You must be bold, brave, and courageous and find a way… to get in the way.”
~John Lewis
Thank you for sharing Jane.
Jane can also be reached on her website.
Sometimes we need
bravo!