"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." -Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
I'm no historian (and certainly no King scholar), but Dr. King's life, to me, is a luminous example of what it's like to really live. Brave and vibrant, King's empowered engagement in the world sprang from his compassion for others and a deep, personal spirituality.
Music affected King profoundly. (The Guardian reported that King's last words, spoken to the saxophonist, Ben Branch, were: "Ben, make sure you play "Take My Hand, Precious Lord" in the meeting tonight. Play it real pretty.") Martin Luther King, Jr. left behind a legacy of social change and inspired oratory.
What Writers Can Learn from Dr. King's Example
Like us, each day King made choices.
Given his accomplishments, King seems to have chosen again and again to "speak out" about what mattered most to him. Sometimes Dr. King spoke with silent and deliberate actions. Often he chose to voice himself in conversation, prayer or song.
He spoke his mind out loud and on the page.
In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday, this week I encourage you to enliven yourself by engaging more fully with what matters most.
Introducing "The MLK Take-Action Challenge"
The MLK Take-Action Challenge is two-fold:
- "speak out" this week for others' benefit, and
- "speak out" this week on behalf of yourself
Part One: "Speak Out" for Others
If you've been stunned into inaction by the aftermath of Haiti's 7.0 earthquake, act now to voice your concern and compassion. If you haven't done so already, please take a moment to donate to Haiti earthquake relief efforts.
Need ideas?
Today on LinkedIn, Randy Hecht, writer and a former consultant with the Points of Light Foundation, offered these suggestions:
Donate money.
Hecht recommends checking out these relief organization and supports their work herself:
According to Hecht, each organization is rated highly by the American Institute of Philanthropy (indicating that more of your donation goes to direct services vs. funding administrative and overhead costs).
Donate frequent flyer miles.
If you're short on cash, Hecht suggests you consider donating frequent flyer miles to relief organizations. "Contact the airline for a list of non-profits supported by donations via any given mileage plan," Hecht says. You might also want to visit the LA Times Travel Blog to learn where to donate your travel miles and hotel award points.
Another option to consider:
Donate proceeds from selling your professional services or creative works.
Consider joining Kelly Diel's "Help Haiti Blog Challenge." Diel, creator of Cleavage and a weekly contributor to ProBlogger, is asking other bloggers to join her in generating relief contributions in exchange for goods or services. There donating professional service fees or proceeds from the sales of creative work (crafts, music, art objects or ___[your idea here]__. To contribute (or get ideas for your own offerings), click here.
Part Two: "Speak Out" for Yourself
Let's say that you're a busy freelance writer with a novel-in-progress. The manuscript may be perched on the corner of your desk, filed in the filing cabinet or still lodged in your imagination.
Alternately, let's say you're a busy working writer with a book proposal in-progress. A day-job holder with a blogging dream. [Insert Your Project Here]
Part two of your "MLK Take-Action Challenge" is this: each day this week, take one simple action to reconnect with your creative work and further your dream.
If the novel's not yet started, a few suggestions: do a ten-minute freewrite on what entices you and what scares you about writing this story. Spider-diagram your characters, or sketch your plot.
If you've got a work-in-progress, a few suggestions: reread the last few chapters you wrote. Revise your synopsis. Organize your research. Sign up for my free "How to Finish What You Write" teleclass.
I'll be offering you lots more tips and thoughts on how to reconnect to--and finish--your writing projects later this week. Please subscribe now to be sure you don't miss a thing.
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I'll leave you with a two-minute musical offering, for those who'd like to hear Mahalia Jackson singing Dr. King's favorite hymn:
Enjoy this Martin Luther King, Jr.-inspired "Take-Action Challenge." I'd love to hear about how things go for you this week.
-Marla (@MarlaBeck on Twitter)
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