Strangers. We Hug. Tears. We celebrate. My heart feels burst open. Standing with hundreds in an urban theater which opened it’s doors for free so people could gather like in so many places around the world to watch this inauguration. Even in Afghanistan, where people have maybe 4 hours of electricity, they too, were huddled around a radio or TV to take in this moment.
Yesterday, I’m driving to the city to celebrate Inauguration Day and I hear a BBC reporter ask a young girl if she will be disappointed if Barack Obama does not make all the changes he hopes to in the next four years. Her reply, without hesitation, totally in her own, “He said he won’t do it alone, he said it’s up to us, we are in this together.” I tear up now remembering this simple straightforward answer form this buoyant girl, her hopes high and her mind made up, “It is up to us!” I agree, after being part of this inauguration, I have never been more inspired to be of use, to open my heart, to engage in joyful service and be part of this exciting time.
Today Barack Hussein Obama became our 44th president and the world was listening:
OBAMA: I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors.
On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.
On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.
We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.
It has not been the path for the faint-hearted — for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things — some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor…
This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year.
Our capacity remains undiminished.
Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions — who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.
The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart — not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.
As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our founding fathers … our found fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience’s sake. And so to all the other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.
They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please.
For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus — and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.
… the world has changed, and we must change with it.
What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility — a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.
This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed — why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent Mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.
Full Text Of President Barack Obama’s Inauguration Speech
NOTE OF INTEREST: Did you know?
Line from newspaper reads, “Obama inauguration: Words of history…crafted by 27-year-old in Starbucks.” Read on..
Again, I wonder how often do we sell ourselves short on what we are capable of! Too old, too young, too poor, too this too that…
I love Obama’s point that -
“Our minds are no less inventive…our capacity remains…”
It’s so easy to find fault, even a little one…this morning I complained about how in NY I can’t put my own cream in my coffee! In Seattle… I saw myself do this, laughed, and came back to giving my attention to aspects of my positive reality. So, it’s an all the time practice. I’m never off the hook. I hope as I practice it becomes again natural to hold myself in a positive place of possibility and attraction. Last night, I watched that John Clease laughter video I posted a couple days ago, that helps! My boyfriend also does a great imitation of Jim Carey and that gets me going. It really is however, my desire to feel good and my intentional focus that shifts the balance of how I feel.
I know that life can be a delicious adventure, so I've embarked on a quest to know it as such through experience. In the process, I'm learning to get out of my own way and laugh more. My intention is not to tell you "the" way, there are many ways and your inner-resources and personal experience can guide you. However, something here may inspire you to seek a direction or follow an idea that already resonates for you. I wish you the best conditions for your life adventure. Love, Coyote Karrick
You might as well decide to start enjoying your life right now, because it’s not ever going to get better than right now–until it gets better right now! - Abraham-Hicks 
The purpose of our lives is to be happy.
- Dalai Lama
Truth resides in every human heart, and one has to search for it there, and to be guided by truth as one sees it. – Mahatma Gandhi
I consider waking up and living a life designed by my Inner-Compass the biggest adventure of all. - Coyote
