My 2012 word to live by. At all cost and with nothing but to gain…

Authentic [aw-then-tik]: not false or copied; genuine; real.

Peace & ease.

Luckie

As I sit here working on NOT being irritated my payroll hit a glitch delaying my deposited check until Tuesday, Jan 3rd, I’m reminded to count my blessings. They are MANY!

I’m so thankful for my kids – the 3 Js and loving having Big J home to celebrate his turning the BIG 30 with me and his siblings!

I’m thankful for a place to call home and for being blessed with gainful employment [in spite of the Paychex error!:-].

I’m thankful to have Mom still with me, where I can kiss her and let her know how loved she is. I’m blessed to have so many memories of her loving me back DEEPLY. My memories sustain me and are protected from Alzheimer’s rampage.

I’m thankful for Divine Favor that always, always seems to save me when I’m most in need.

Here’s to a New Year, and uncountable blessings for us all. It was questionable [many times] but we made it!

We have a lot to be thankful for!:-)

Luckie

NOTHING IS MORE HONORABLE THAN A GRATEFUL HEART ~ Seneca (Congrats to Alice Walker: Beauty in Truth & Pratibha Parmar for reaching their $55K goal! I cannot wait to take in all the healing and revelation that’s sure to come!:-)

Remember?

I am the woman: Dark,
repaired, healed
Listening to you.
I would give
to the human race
only hope.
I am the woman
offering two flowers
whose roots
are twin
Justice and Hope
Hope and Justice
Let us begin.

~ Alice Walker
{Support & donate to Alice Walker: Beauty In Truth today!}

Over the past few days, I’ve had a sporadic Twitter exchange with a fellow regarding my response to a recent @ONECampaign *tweet* – What is your dream for the next generation?

My response – “peace & happiness”, followed by an additional wish of “unlimited compassion for others”.

A 140 character *tweet* can effectively convey MANY a lucky thought, but can it sum up my views in respect to equality and fairness for ALL people? NOPE!

But thank goodness, today’s daily dose of Dharma Goodness courtesy of Tricycle Magazine can!

“During a lecture while I was interpreting for the Dalai Lama, he said in what seemed to me to be broken English, “Kindness is society.” I wasn’t smart enough to think he was saying kindness is society. I thought he meant kindness is important to society; kindness is vital to society; but he was saying that kindness is so important that we cannot have society without it. Society is impossible without it. Thus, kindness IS society; society IS kindness. Without concern for other people it’s impossible to have society.”  – Jeffrey Hopkins, “Equality”

Yep, that says it all and far more eloquently than I EVER could!

How we choose to view the world around us is THE choice that creates our reality. If you don’t like what you see, begin to change how YOU see and live it!

In the words of En Vogue (so what, I’m old!) “Free your mind, and the rest will follow…”

Keeping it positive and moving forward!:-)

Luckie

I’ll admit, I had a VERY hard time viewing the livestream Occupy crackdowns in Oakland and Atlanta last night. Writing this post today is even a challenge!

Just surreal watching Oakland Occupy protestors and law enforcement battle each other with bottles, rocks, rubber bullets and tear gas!

Though by comparison, Occupy Atlanta arrests were considerably more peaceful, it was still difficult watching officers in riot gear on stand-by and Mountain Patrol [on horseback] monitoring Downtown Atlanta’s streets. Seeing Civil Rights leader Joe Beasely, OA’s Tim Franzen and 51 other supporters handcuffed and escorted by APD to begin their “processing” left me sad.

Being 100% honest – I’m disappointed in both sides of the Occupy Atlanta argument.

Do I support the principles behind the protest and stand in solidarity with supporters? YES! But we MUST be focused on making progress – not just media points!

Meeting fire with fire, tit for tat, will not help us restore the lives of so many suffering Georgians. I’m ashamed by what I’ve seen and heard over the past few days.

How can we as a country/people/community lead if we’re unwilling to set the example first?!

We are better than this. We can represent a principle, yet mobilize our efforts in ways that will affect positive community changes. You can lead, yet be willing to hear and support the constituency that voted you into office. We can all respect one another. We can all dialogue with diplomacy.

My belief in our ability for social change is unwavering.

But keeping it real, after seeing where we’ve come from and where we are today, I’m left wondering – when will WE actually get there?

#PeaceIsTheWay

Luckie

Dear Mayor Reed,

Luckie Daniels here of Atlanta. I’m a native Georgian. I consider myself a progressive thinker, and in years past I’ve been a community supporter of yours.

I’m also a [by day] occupier of Woodruff Park and 24/7 supporter of occupy movements around the world. For the record – sentiments expressed here are mine alone.

Please know there’s nothing about my involvement with Occupy Atlanta and my right to civil protest that I take lightly.

My 4th Grandfather, James Wingfield, an emancipated slave was lynched in 1885 Wilkes County for openly speaking his mind in the presence of a group of white men. My maternal Grandparents, Bill and Fannie Barwick, marched on Washington and believed in The Dream with Dr. King.

My Sister Gina still remembers how my Grandfather wept openly when Dr. King and Robert Kennedy were assassinated in 1968. Van Jones of Rebuild the Dream, refers to 1968 as the “year they tried to assassinate hope” in America.

Our Civil Rights legacy was/is a source of great pride in my family. I will never take for granted the sacrifices made to ensure my right to assemble peacefully, and the true gift we have in freedom of speech.

So I occupy as often as I can.

I was there yesterday, standing outside the Atlanta Police Mobile Unit, while you met with Tim Franzen (Occupy Atlanta) and Joe Beasley (RainbowPUSH Coalition). I was there when they exited and addressed media questions. I believe the disappointment registered across the face of both men, was genuine. I heard concern and fear for supporter safety in their voices.

I wasn’t inside the APD Mobile Unit, but I believe the recounting of their dialogue with you to be factual, however whether there was an implied threat to arrest Occupy Atlanta supporters after nightfall is insignificant to the broader issue at hand.

At the end of the day, be it a misunderstanding OR change to a decision made in anger – I was relieved supporters remained in peaceful occupation of Woodruff Park last night.

My concern is how we [citizens in support of Occupy Atlanta and Atlanta City Government] will utilize the remaining 15 days (given the November 7th occupation extension stands) to explore a resolution to our differences?

How will we work together to unify this city that stands so completely divided?

Atlanta’s citizens are hurting Mayor Reed, and it has little to do with the reported $30K  spent on Occupy Atlanta security and porta potties:

• Atlanta’s the poorest city in the U.S. for children. More children live in poverty here, than in any other city
• 48% of all the children in Atlanta in poverty live in families with annual incomes of less than $15,000 a year
• We’re in our 3rd year of double-digit joblessness
• Georgia is the 4th in the Nation in home foreclosures. Count my “dream home” among the 699 Gwinnett County bank owned properties listed in September!

There’s valid reasons why your constituents are willing to stand despite rain, cold weather and imminent arrest and NONE of these reasons will disappear via a City of Atlanta vs. Occupy Atlanta “showdown”.

We are not your enemies Mayor Reed. We are supporters who have watched the lives we’ve worked so hard for disappear week by week.

I supported your 2009 Mayoral Campaign, and I believed when you said you’d be “more collaborative” than the previous administration. You promised a “radical change in the culture of customer service in the city government” and declared you wanted to be judged by your “performance“. You said the citizens of Atlanta deserved as much.

You were correct – WE DO!

We’re  in the midst of what will be defined as a historic moment in time – a 21st century Civil Rights Movement powered by technology that spanned the globe.

Honor your promises Mayor Reed! You’re a negotiator, leader and Atlanta native. You have the ability to aid us in getting over this hurdle.

Stand WITH us and show the world Atlanta is the EXCEPTION and not the rule on how to engage civil discourse to find a peaceful resolution.

Be the Atlanta Mayor who’s willing to listen and explore ways to relieve – not deepen – our pain.

Be the Mayor you promised in 2009, you would be.

Yours truly,

Luckie Daniels, I am the 99%

“Demonstrations are not designed to make people like the people who are demonstrating. Demonstrations are designed to be inconvenient; they’re designed to be in the way so we can stop ignoring something we’ve grown too comfortable with.” ~ Rachel Maddow

It was a GORGEOUS, Fall day in Atlanta, and rather than running errands, I decided it was more important for the kids and I to spend the afternoon supporting Occupy Atlanta at Woodruff Park.

Why is lending my voice to the  #OccupyEverywhere movement so important?

Because I have deep respect for anyone willing to stand for what he/she believes in. Because as a native Georgian and historian, whose Ancestors endured the Jim Crow South, I understand how precious our right to assemble in protest is. Because the willingness to put aside politics, race and petty differences is THE key to creating a unified, civil movement.

My kids needed to see we’re not the only family experiencing challenges, and to be reminded that even in our toughest times, we’re still extremely blessed. There are MANY in the crowd whose residence at Woodruff Park existed long before any Occupy movement.

Occupy Wall Street, Occupy Atlanta, Occupy Everywhere – are historical social movements in the making, and I wanted my kids to experience it firsthand.

The numbers for me are insignificant, as well are the naysayers who attempt to deflect attention away from the effort. History can bear witness,  our most impactful, social change movements begin with just a few, dedicated people willing to take a stand.

My 12-year-old Justis, signed petitions, posted “I Believe” and “I Demand” statements, and sat in on the Oct. 22 Stop Police Brutality planning session.

His word for what he saw today? Inspiring!

Today we supported Occupy Atlanta, where a few hundred stand strong, held up by THOUSANDS across the globe!

Find an OCCUPATION. Raise your voice! Do Something!

Please tell us, what’s your story?

Luckie

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Folks can debate the #OccupyWallStreet movements rising-up across the country and exhaust their energy trying to determine who’s to blame, but the stories streaming in from struggling Americans SHOULD speak louder than ANY argument.

Dismiss the politics and read the stories friends. Then find a way – ANY WAY – to help make things better!

#DoSomething… OTHER than complain and point fingers.

We Are the 99%

Luckie

I’ve launched many UBER-cool projects with some of the wildest, most brilliant digital visionaries in the business! Without question my days spent on the grind at Coca-Cola are among my most memorable!:-)

LeBron 23:23 was my first Coca-Cola campaign with Master Marketer, Mel Clements. An EPIC creative-thinker, Mel owned the campaign strategy and our Team delivered a true piece of emerging technology – the LeBron 23:23 Sprite Music Mixer!

Checkout the archived asset videos!

Good times, good times!:-)

LeBron 23:23 Music Mixer Intro

LeBron 23:23 TV Commercial

Luckie