The Daily Scroll: A Mentorship Recap – August 4th, 2020 Show Notes

Kay:

Hey there, Mentorship Questers, and welcome back to Episode 152! Today is a very special day because it is August 4th…which means it is Barack Obama’s birthday!

Shi:

Happy Birthday, Mr. President! And, in honor of Barack Obama, we, of course, have a quote from the man himself! It is, “If we aren’t willing to pay a price for our values, if we aren’t willing to make some sacrifice in order to realize them, then we should ask ourselves whether we truly believe in them at all?”

Kay:

Now, whether you agree with what Barack Obama did while he was in office or not, Shila and I love him as a man, and as a teacher, and as someone who we believe is a figure to respect in our country as one of our previous presidents. And, it was so incredibly historic seeing the first black man be elected into our U.S. office and – as Michelle Obama so eloquently pointed out – moving a black family into a house that was literally built by slaves, was so symbolic for our country. And, the work isn’t over yet! But, it was just incredible to have that historic milestone happen within our lifetime.

Shi:

It was. And, I think it’s one of those things no one will forget. You know, in 2008 that first black family got elected into the white house. You were 16, at the time, I was 23 and freshly married. The iPhone had just come out. Like, it seems like it was a billion years ago! But, in historical terms, it really wasn’t that long ago. And, for the rest of time, he will be the first black president. He did a lot while he was in office for eight years, and we got to watch the Obama girls grow up in the white house, and Kay and I are huge fans of Michelle Obama. Of course, I got the opportunity to introduce her at an event in 2012, which was a huge honor. Her book is on our favorites list. She’s an amazing woman. And, of course, is married to this man who gave us today’s amazing quote!

Kay:

Now, Obama does say in this that, if we aren’t willing to pay a price for our values, if we aren’t willing to make some sacrifices in order to realize them, then we should ask ourselves whether we truly believe in them at all. And, a quote like this is pretty specific in saying – if you aren’t actively taking action toward the things that you SAY you value – you need to really look inside and say, is this something that I truly value at all?

Shi:

You know, the obvious thing in the spotlight right now, of course, is the Black Lives Matter movement. We have seen protests across the country and really across the world too. And, these protests are not just against police brutality, but also the discrimination based on race and ethnicity at large. And, I think it’s something a lot of us believe in. Certainly, for many years, Kay and I have believed that we are not racist, and said we’re not, and in our actions felt like that was reflective. But, it wasn’t truly until we started hosting our BOLD Conversation series, that we can see that putting action behind those beliefs is what makes them solidified and real.

Kay:

Well, we have had to pay a price in a way, for the BOLD Conversations. And, it’s a price that we are willing to pay tenfold over again! But, we knew going into it that we might lose followers…

Shi:

Which, we did.

Kay:

…And that people might not agree with what we were doing.

Shi:

…They didn’t.

Kay:

…That people would probably say mean things about us, or to us.

Shi:

…They did.

Kay:

And, we’ve experienced ALL of the above. So, we had to pay that price to stand up for our values, but, just having a value isn’t enough. You know, you might say, “I really value ensuring that people aren’t homeless, because homelessness is one of those things that really hurts my heart, and I value creating a world where there’s less homelessness”…but – if you never volunteer at the shelter, or help raise money for your local homeless organization, or put any action behind those words – they’re probably just nice sentiments and not really “values”…

Shi:

Or, if you value honesty, but you take the easy road, and maybe tell a discretion or a lie, (even by omission!), at a time when it’s convenient for you, or you want to “save face” – that’s an opportunity for us to maybe lose a little “face” in order to demonstrate that we value something like honesty, and pay the small price for doing so. And, we think Barack’s choice of words are really interesting because he says the word “willing” and it made us think of the concept that there are different kinds of values that get extracted from us, and from life. And, sometimes, life brings forward experiences that force us to demonstrate our values. But, Barack is really talking here about being WILLING to pay the price, by doing something above and beyond when you don’t have to, in order to demonstrate those values. Because, if you aren’t willing to pay the price, then do you really value it at all? Does it hold a flame? Certainly, if your back is against the wall, and you’ve got to defend somebody, and then you, afterwards, can say, “I really value justice.” That’s all true, and that’s a reflection of your values, but it’s also important to be aware that life made it really easy for you to demonstrate that value!

Kay:

So, if you’re willing, we invite you today to join us in a reflection quest! So, today, we have a question we want you to think on. The question is: What’s something that you have sacrificed for? We want you to think a little bit on something you’ve sacrificed for in your life that you can clearly see a value reflected back to you. Did you defend the bullied kid? – (Which might be a value reflection of justice) – Or, perhaps you gave up a nightly dessert? Or, you stopped watching extra shows? Or, you started waking up early? Whatever it is, we want to know: What have you sacrificed for? And, what does that say about what you value?…Are you ready?

Kay & Shi:

Let’s quest!

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