In celebration of the Martin Luther King holiday, I offer the following Top 10 reflections on President Obama’s speech this past Thursday, January 13, 2011 at the memorial service in Tucson, Arizona. One of the ways we honor the fallen is nurture the relationships with the people that are still with us. One way to effectively deal with tragedies is to challenge old assumptions and guard against simple explanations in an effort to understand why bad things happen and how we can prevent them from happening in the future. Be better in our personal lives – living up to our children’s expectations. Talk in a way that unites and heals – not wounds – so that we do not turn on each other. Listen carefully and with empathy and discuss issues with a heavy dose of humility. Be grateful even in the darkest moments. Reflect on your priorities: How well have you loved?  How have you made the lives of others better? True heroes understand that living life is not a dress rehearsal.  We all should do what we can to make a difference as did Daniel Hernandez, the first responders, and other who dealt with this tragedy. We need to help those who are in need or jumping in rain puddles. How we treat others is up to us.  All of us need to examine ways that we can improve relationships with others. If you haven’t listened to it I do encourage you to go on to YouTube: Listen to the entire speech as I think it offers several important recipes for living life. … [Read more...]