WHAT IF ?

I sometimes sit and wonder what kind of Jamaica we would have today if Michael Manley had followed through on his vision during the 70`s.
I remember wearing tie-dye clothes with sandals made by the rasta man on the street and teaching at Jose Marti High school. Everything during that era was about giving............How come we , children of the 50`s, who went through our "hippie" and "black power" days, have raised these materialistic young people?
I cannot fathom it...........
Money is the only God it seems nowadays.
No one wants to learn and pay their dues, everyone wants to "arrive"!
We (the baby boomers) seem to be just realizing that our generation had a front seat to some of the greatest leaders of all time , men and women who were spawned in front of our eyes....I see where Tom Brokaw has written a book on the subject. That got me thinking, did we realize how great these people were ?
Did we know they were going to change the world ?
Did they seem any different from us at the time ?
Did we know that this man Nelson Mandela was going to come out of prison showing only forgiveness and give us the lesson of our lives?
Did we know Martin Luther King would be the reason why Barack Obama can now run for President and win a primary in a 95% "white" state ?
Who in Jamaica knew as we listened and watched Bob Marley jumping and prancing on the stage in his "little jeans jacket" at REGGAE SUNSPLASH that we were watching a musical genius , whose music 30 years later would be as fresh and relevant as the day it was written.
Did we realize that Herb McKenley would be the reason why in the 21st century a small island like Jamaica is now known as the 'SPRINT FACTORY' of the world?
And then what about that short, fat, black man MARCUS MOSIAH GARVEY,.....WE STILL HAVEN`T SCRATCHED THE SURFACE OF ALL HE HAS BEEN TO US..... We are now finding out how much of what we now call "new thought" was an influence on his teachings.
Reading his writings we realized he was a practicing "truth student" ......not just giving it lip service.
If we had known that these people would actually have a profound effect on how we live our lives now, would more of us have lived our lives differently ?
Would we have brought up our children the way we were brought up instead of spoiling them thinking they needed more ?
Would we have had our names now called among the greats ?
Why were we too scared to take a chance ?
Would we have stopped listening to the naysayers and followed our hearts ?
Do we give thanks for those who did ?
This prayer was sent to me yesterday and I think it says it all....

MAY TODAY THERE BE PEACE WITHIN. MAY YOU TRUST GOD THAT YOU ARE EXACTLY WHERE YOU ARE MEANT TO BE.
MAY YOU NOT FORGET THE INFINITE POSSIBILITIES THAT ARE BORN OF FAITH. MAY YOU USE THOSE GIFTS THAT YOU HAVE RECEIVED, AND PASS ON THE LOVE THAT HAS BEEN GIVEN TO YOU. MAY YOU BE CONTENT KNOWING YOU ARE A CHILD OF GOD. LET HIS PRESENCE SETTLE INTO YOUR BONES, AND ALLOW YOUR SOUL THE FREEDOM TO SING, DANCE, PRAISE AND LOVE . IT IS THERE FOR EACH AND EVERYONE OF US.