History is littered with wars and tales of the ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’. There’s something sad about a life – anyone’s life being spent calculating what they do or do not have – what you or I should or should not have. I would much rather live a life of purpose – a life lived with the privilege of have a family who loves me, of loving others, of working smarter and with the goal of improving the lives of others through love. After all, in a hundred years we’ll all just be ghosts.

Tal Fortgang, a student at Princeton is having to defend who he is and the humble lives of his family members – because of his skin color and gender. While his grandparents fled the Nazis, my ancestors fled the Spanish Inquisition and the Great Potato Famine to face poverty, hard labor in coal mines, and suffering that had nothing to do with their genetic makeup.

Some of you have had ancestors who you will never know about – men, women, and children who made sacrifices so that our present would not carry the burden of their past but their selflessness and generosity of spirit – their hope for a better future.

Since when do we hate one another so much that we refuse to see each other as individuals – with amazing stories filled with wonderful characters? We are ALL privileged to be alive – the chances of any of us body and soul making our way to this life are miraculous; so shouldn’t we encounter each day and each face on the street as a gift? Yes life is hard, yes it’s unfair – so let’s work to make it a bit fairer and measuring one another by our actions and virtues instead of the DNA, citizenship, or economic category we may have been born into.

I’d be lying if I said I don’t see color – so would you, unless you’re legally blind – but what’s wrong with that? The world would be so boring without the beauty and intensity of colors. No rainbows, no green grass, no white snow, no blue oceans, no golden sands, no fireworks, no delicious strawberries or crisp peppers, just grey ash – no life. Without color from the sun there’s no life.

So maybe we all get a little bruised along our journeys around the sun, but it’s not the sun’s fault!

“The poor will always be with us” – that’s not a bad thing, we’re all poor; none of us escape without suffering. I won’t say it makes us stronger, but I will say it makes us more human to share that suffering and relate to one another through it. In one moment you and I can change someone’s life – for the worse or the better, if in that one moment we stopped and really saw one another then history wouldn’t repeat itself and the tales would be of peaceful reigns instead of great battles.

None of us have any control over our neighbor’s DNA (and hopefully never will) so instead of living a life of bitter envy and righteous indignation let’s begin a tomorrow of acceptance and partnership of bold adventure into the unknown – a life filled with miraculous moments encountering the beauty and wisdom that lies in our neighbors’ hearts.

Let’s lay down our harsh words, our political platforms, our weapons, and prejudices. Let’s be thankful instead of entitled, and bring more color and love into this epic odyssey, leaving a legacy – so that in a hundred years we’re more than just ghosts~