Obama's Mother

There is this fantastic article in the New York Times this morning reflecting on the life of Ms. Soetoro, Barack Obama's mother. A couple things said in this article have breathed new life into my weary bones. These words describe the kind of person I would like to be. May you find joy and peace in the service of others. May fearless living break down the walls that prevent you from living to the core of who you are.

“She felt that somehow, wandering through uncharted territory, we might stumble upon something that will, in an instant, seem to represent who we are at the core,” said Maya Soetoro-Ng, Mr. Obama’s half-sister. “That was very much her philosophy of life — to not be limited by fear or narrow definitions, to not build walls around ourselves and to do our best to find kinship and beauty in unexpected places.”

“She had a world view, even as a young girl. It was embracing the different, rather than that ethnocentric thing of shunning the
different. That was where her mind took her.”

“She was very determined to be remembered for a life of service and thought that service was really the true measure of a life.”