Friday; April 25

Growing up when and where I did, I have always been fascinated by people who have gone into space and those who stayed on the ground to send them.  Now, having said that, I am surprised I had never heard of Mae Jemison.  Dr. Jemison was the first African American woman to travel into space.  She was a part of the Space Shuttle Endeavour mission in 1992.  Interestingly, as I read up on her accomplishments in space, I was very impressed with the other accomplishments in her life.  

While Dr. Jemison’s career is remarkable, it is a quote that I came across that captured my attention.  The statement, “I like to think of ideas as potential energy.  They’re really wonderful, but nothing will happen until we risk putting them into action.” is attributed to her.  As I reflected on her observation, I noticed a couple of things.  First, just having ideas isn’t enough to be successful.  There are a lot of us who are comfortable sitting around coming up with things for others to do, but it isn’t until we “do” something that it actually has an impact.  Yet, the second aspect of this observation is that action involves risk.  Sure, some actions can involve an element of physical danger, but more than anything, doing something can pose a risk to the way people feel about us (and even the way we feel about ourselves).  It is all but risk-free to comment on life; however, it takes a willingness to accept the challenge to live it.

Let’s do more than create thoughts.  Let’s create change!

Think About It!


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