Blame it on the Year of the Ox - or the year of hugs and kisses, "ox", as I'm calling it.
What got me started was seeing how so many commentators are falling over themselves to be the first to say of the new American president, "Show me." A prime example is an article by Michael Valpy in the Globe and Mail, which quotes Lewis Lapham, one of the nation's great political writers as saying, "At this point, Obama is still an image and we don't yet know what's behind it. I certainly don't. I've listened to him make a lot of speeches and I still have no idea."
And then I got to thinking about how you can tell a lot about a man by the way he kisses... And, well, one thing led to another.
(An aside to Michelle. I don't really want to kiss your husband. As a speechwriter, I like to collect great lines. The title of this post is an homage to one of the greatest opening lines I've ever read, "I wish Giovanni would kiss me." It's from Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert.)
Seriously, though, while pundits play "the jury's still out", the rest of us are getting down to the real work of responding to the new President's call to service. Men and women like you and me are putting the skills acquired in their careers to work on the world's greatest challenges... I call these people the New Radicals.
Each Saturday I'll be telling the stories of ordinary people doing extraordinary things. Meet newly-minted New Radicals as they appear in each field, every sector, and around the world. And learn about what the New Radicals you met last year are doing now (see archived articles).
Another remarkable man's words come to me across the centuries - those of the Persian poet, Rumi. He was writing about devotion, but his thought applies to service as well, "There are a thousand ways to kneel and kiss the ground."
Please share your thoughts about how you're planning to serve in the year of hugs and kisses (Obama was born in the Year of the Ox, by the way). Comment below, or email me directly at julia@wearethenewradicals.com.
Follow Julia Moulden on Twitter: www.twitter.com/juliamoulden
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So, kissable or not, time will tell. Meanwhile, let's get to work.
PS. What is this phobia with tongues, below? Seems to me to be an under appreciate
Let us celebrate those qualities in men and women, and we can get out of this mess the last 8 years have been leading up to. Men and women out there: we've got a lot of growing up to do.
I was born in the year of the Ox, no wonder I get him. :)
Kiss and hug to my new First Family. Barack, Michelle, Malia and Sasha, you guys are awsome!
The one thing that I truly admire about our new first family is that they really adore each other. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that. My bet is that we would all be much better people if we did the same thing within our own families and communitie
Where's the sign up list to be part of President Obama's immediate family?
This is the new President and time to give respect where it is due.