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Patrick S. De Walt, M.B.A., Ph.D.

~ Communal Conversations for the Promotion of Active Critical Engagement

Patrick S. De Walt, M.B.A., Ph.D.

Tag Archives: Legacy

Through Loss We Find Strength

20 Friday Mar 2015

Posted by Patrick S. De Walt, MBA, PhD in Poetry

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Tags

Art, expression, Family, Freewrite, in memoriam, Legacy, loss, Performance, poetry, Streams of consciousness, tribute

As the years and memories fade and are reimagined
The loss of loved ones endure within us sentiments
Sentiments that recapture what those we’ve loved
have meant and continue to mean each and every day
Losing those whom you love is an inevitable part of living
A part of living that reminds us of how limited our physical time will be on this earth
Reminds us what we too easily forget
the importance not only of loving but being loved
Reminds us that the love we can offer is unique
And truly meaningful
A meaning that we often are painfully reminded of in memoriam
Through loss
We find strength
A strength to cry as we reflect
A strength to mourn as our hearts require
A strength to move one step forward through each tear and moment of sadness
Through loss
We find strength
A strength to share our memories for future generations to know
A strength to help fill a void that loss often creates
Not equally as our predecessor
but only as we can through what we carry with us of them
Through loss
We find strength
A strength that is forged through long nights and pillow soaked mornings
A strength forged through battles with depression and grief
A strength forged through allowing others to see our vulnerabilities
Through loss
We find strength
To continue
To remember
To share
To love
In order that we can continue to live
So that our love for them can too…

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The Importance of Family

21 Monday Jul 2014

Posted by Patrick S. De Walt, MBA, PhD in Poetry

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Tags

Art, Community, Culture, expression, Family, Identity, Legacy, Performance, poetry, social critique, Streams of consciousness

We live our lives for defined purposes
Whether it is of Biblical, Koranic, another sacred text or even our own belief systems
We are fashioned by our thoughts
Our inner desires
Our inner voices
We are driven
In many cases, the driving force is something more closely linked
Linked to our foundation that has been set in motion
Since our births
Family
Immediate or distant
Family is the common denominator
Whether biological or fictive
Family is the centerpiece
Mothers, Fathers, Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, Sisters, Brothers, Nieces, Nephews, Cousins and other extensions
We are family
Family shapes our experience
We are so lucky
Lucky to have people who love us for who we are and what we are not
Those who honor us by being the best models that they can be
They are our templates for who and what we can be
Often sacrificing their dreams and possibilities so that those who follow have clearer paths
Our heroes
Our hedges
Our sounding boards
For those of us who are fortunate enough to remember or have
Found memories of being held when we were scared or hurt
Being nurtured when we needed direction
Being disciplined when we left the proper paths
Family is our center
Our regulator of sorts
As many us of do not want to let them down
Fail them
And what they envision in us
Family, as we get older, extends to lasting friendships
Bonds that last through many decades
Through many pivotal points in our respective developments
Reflect on those names for a moment
Reflect on their significance in the shaping of your present and possible future
Honor them as they are embedded within your journey
They are your personified landmarks
They are your consciousness in human form
They are the most trusted voices in your life
Your heart is in tune with them
You have no doubts of their significance
When you’re honest with yourself
They are the importance for what keeps me willing to try
Willing to sacrifice
Willing to endure
All that my journey requires
To honor all of the elders who endured all that history tells us is no more
To be a role model and inspiration for all of the future and current generations who have my walk in their sights
They are watching
They are listening
And more importantly
They are waiting for me to be the best me that I have to offer
The importance of family can never be underestimated if we are truly wishing to be complete
It takes many forms and I’ve only identified a few
Envision what importance family has for you
Now that you’ve begun to do so
What are you going to add to that image?
What are you offering to that so important legacy?
The importance of it is love
Love for all that you are and aren’t
Love of your strengths
Love of your weaknesses
Love of your vulnerabilities
Love of your potential
The importance of family is that if you are willing
It can be created no matter where you are or go
It is one of the most beautiful aspects of the lived experience
Guard your journey as if it is the only one you’ll get
There is a good chance that it is…
And with each day moving forward
Embrace
Savor
Enhance
The family that is and even the family that isn’t
Build your family on the premises of love, respect, honesty, dignity, and support without neglecting the necessity of wisdom
Family is found in a hug
Family is found in a kiss
Family is found in each of us
Please allow its importance to radiate from within you for others to see and encounter
In doing so, you have the essence of
Family…

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The Legacy of Forgiveness and Conviction (Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela July 18, 1918-December 5, 2013)

07 Saturday Dec 2013

Posted by Patrick S. De Walt, MBA, PhD in Poetry

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

activism, Art, Blackness, Conviction, Culture, expression, Forgiveness, Historical Figures, Identity, in memoriam, Inequity, Legacy, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, Performance, poetry, Race, Reflective Practice, social critique, social justice, South Africa, Streams of consciousness, World

With the passing of yet another of our important historical figures
I am left to give both pause and thanks
Pause to remember a person who I never had the pleasure of meeting
yet feel as though their vision for social justice, equality, and freedom were envisioned for the journey that I’m currently engaged
Well before I was born,
the legacy against oppression was begun
The mantle has been passed amongst the worthiest candidates of all genders and abilities
Yet again, I am given pause to reflect on yet another figure whose life
as we currently conceive it on Earth has ended
Another figure who engaged in the good fight
Sacrificed and endured for all that he believed in beyond his own needs
Instead for those of his beloved people
Never to be placed on some iconic pedestal that allows for those who deem it necessary
to attempt to unseat him
He was in fact very human and had his flaws as all humans do
Yet I must give thanks
for what he has offered me
is another model
of why my journey is to be as challenging
as it has been
and will be
Yet I must endure
I must recognize that I may also exist in my own form of exile, for not as long, 27 years
Separated from my loved ones and community beyond the limitations of select and sanctioned visitations
The human memory
and the wishes of those who chose to enact revisionist history
should be called into question
as those who are viewed as deviant and/or misguided
are often those who we later realize
we were just unable to comprehend the beauty
of their gift, vision, and/or passion
at the time of our encounter
We must not let ourselves and others
off the hook
for our misguided and/or misplaced deeds and thoughts
We must also hold ourselves
as well as other
accountable
not in the current sense
but one of humanism
The legacy of forgiveness and conviction
calls us to task each and every day
we must consciously seek out our truths, passions, and obligatory destinies
Revelations don’t guarantee change
Our conscious and proactive actions regarding them do
Today, work to become better than you were yesterday
in order to build on that reality tomorrow
with a legacy of forgiveness and conviction as its essence…

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dewalt@patricksdewaltmbaphd.com

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