FORUM
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Brian is learning to think positively
Nigel Alston
Motivational
Moments
"You can find your way by
, paying attention to what is
happening inside you."
- Gary Zukav
Brian has suffered depres
sion for most of the past 19
years and about 18 months ago
attempted suicide. He tried to
decapitate himself. and.
according to an open letter on
an inspirational Web site,
came "real damn close."
His life is moving in a dif
ferent direction now, mostly
due to a comment his sister-in
law made that opened his eyes
and the suggestion of a nur^e
to focus on "three positive
things" he could feel good
about doing. He wants to be an
inspiration to others, especial
ly those who suffer from
depression.
At the end of a relaxation
session several months ago, a
nurse suggested that he write
down at the end of each day
three things he could feel pos
itive about. He didn't give it
much thought or effort until
his sister-in-law told him
something he knew all along.
"Your problem is you have a
negative outlook on every
thing," she said. That really hit
home with him and he knew
he had to change how he
thought.
Depression and anxiety
disorders - the two most com
mon mental illnesses - each
affect 19 million American
adults annually, according to
information from the National
Mental Health Association,
and there are many contribut
ing factors, including negative
thinking patterns and low self
esteem.
Depression affects every
one around you.
"If yoif don't change the
habits that have an impact on
your condition, you will never
see more than a light at the end
of the tunnel," I was told by a
friend who has also experi
enced depression. He has been
in this trap before and could
identify with Brian's state of
mind. "It is so easy to be neg
ative," he said. "You get so
used to feeling bad that your
attitude becomes so bitter. It is
a daily fight, and the habits
you develop are -the key to
your success."
Brian slowly began to real
ize that and put forth the effort
to think about the positive
things and it snowballed. "1
started to see myself forming
new. and positive, habits," he
said and recalled reading or
hearing a counselor mention
that it takes 21 days to form a
habit, or break an old one. "So
I defined a new habit as one
that occurred 21 times in a
row," he continued.
"I bet he^yels like the rich
est man in the world," my
friend said, relating to his
story as he read it. "It's like he
planted a seed inside himself
and it has grown consistently
each day and the light at the
end of the tunnel is within
reach."
It's'been 88 days now since
he staled his new way of liv
ing and his list of new habits is
growing daily. They include
the basics like changing his
clothes and shaving daily, to
brushing and flossing his teeth
every night before going to
bed. He takes a multivitamin
every day, is becoming a vege
tarian and sleeps just fine
without taking his prescribed
as-needed sleep medication.
The most important new
habit of all. though - in his
words - is "writing down three
things I can feel POSITIVE
about doing that day." He has
hope. His list has included as
many as 15 positive things in
one day. He doesn't just stop
at three. He writes down
everything good that is posi
tive.
I agree with my friend who
believes these new habits are a
lifeline.
"You have to get rid of the
bad stuff," he said. "It makes
you sad. mad. indifferent, and
you run in the opposite direc
tion. Inspirational articles and
people that make you laugh
and feel good to be around are
like oxygen to an asthmatic."
Meditate on these words
included in a poem Brian
wrote that stress the impor
tance o# a right mental atti
tude. o
".Eor?you see, the key to
having a positive outlook is
having a positive look back."
Now that's a habit worth
developing.
Nigel Alston is a radio talk
show host, columnist and
motivational speaker. Visit his
Web site at www.motivational
moments.com.
Voting equality remains a struggle
By Rep. Eddie
Bernice Johnson
(D-Texas)
Chair,
. Congressional
I Black Caucus
"The Negro voting prob
lem is more than a legal issue,
for it takes courage, patience,
and massive effort."
- Dr. Martin Luther King
Jr., 1965
Dr. King wrote those lines
two weeks after "Bloody Sun
day" transpired on the
Edmund Pettus bridge on the
outskirts of Selma, Ala. On
that day, state troopers on
horseback used clubs and cat
tle prods to beat down protest
ers and those kneeled in
prayer. They were there
demanding nothing more than
full citizenship through the
right to vote.
As we celebrate Dr. King's
birthday, it is instructive to
review Bloody Sunday, which
represents home-grown.
American terrorism. It sym
bolized the blood-covered his
tory of how peaceful citizens
in search of their constitution
al rights were met with brutal
ity. The brutal response to the
voting rights movement creat
ed such martyrs as Jimmy Lee
Jackson, the Rev. James Reed.
Viola Liuzzo and hundreds of
others we may never know.
If it were not for those
souls who braved the beatings
and being trampled under
horses in places like Selma. I
would not be among the 39
black legislators in Congress
today. In 1964. there were
only three African Americans
in Congress and 300 black
elected officials nationwide.
Today, those numbers have
swelled to nearly 9.000.
With King at the helm,
massive numbers of Ameri
cans, both black and white,
showed the courage and
patience to continue to fight
for enfranchisement, which
resulted in the 1965 Voting
Rights Act. In 1975, provi
sions were included to protect
Hispanics. Asians and others.
As chair of the Congres
sional Black Caucus, I have
been criticized for continuing
to raise the issue of election
reform, but I will not back
away from the battlefield of
voting rights and election
reform. That is why as we
reflect on Dr. King's birthday.
1 echo the sentiments of the
gospel song, "We are no ways
tired."
The 2000 presidential
election and the massive
charges of intimidation and
voter abuse in Florida are ugly
reminders of yesterday and
how quickly we can lose our
rights without constant vigi
lance. In that race, we saw
that while the King movement
had won the right to vote, it
would take more effort to
actually get every vote count
ed.
The U.S. Civil Rights
Commission and the Congres
sional Black Caucus received
testimonies from scores of
elected officials, voters and
other affected parties from
across the nation, attesting to
barriers to voting, particularly
for people of color. For exam
ple, in Florida thousands of
African Americans mislabeled
as felons were purged from
the voting polls.
This is unacceptable. On
the battlefield of voting rights,
where so many have fought
and died, the caucus has come
early and we plan to stay late.
As a group, we were one
of the first congressional bod
ies to hold hearings on elec
tion reform. We have placed
the issue at the top of our leg
islative agenda. Although a
bill has passed the House, it is
only a first step on the larger
goal to make every vote
count. We will continue our
efforts in the Senate to pro
duce legislation that will, at
the very least, accomplish
such changes as uniformity of
voting machines, ballots and
poll closings.
We plan to stay late
because we know that the
American dream Dr. King so
eloquently articulated from
the steps of the Lincoln
Memorial in 1963 remajfis a
nightmare for far too /many.
One-fourth of African-Ameri
can children are born into
poverty and. unlike their
white counterparts, are more
likely to go to jail than to col
lege. African-American
males, who have never been
accused of terrorism against
our nation, are racially pro
filed.
We have come a long way
since King articulated his
dream "of a nation where one
day our children will not be
judged by the color of their
skin."
To turn that dream into
reality, it still takes what Dr.
King called for some 37 years
ago: courage, patience and
massive effort.
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