singer-actor, writer-director
Recently I’ve spent time in New Orleans, a city ravaged by human shortcomings and natural disasters. Residents who have lived through these storms of life, and those who have returned, do so because of something they love: music, food, architecture, culture, friends or family. Together they co-operate and endure life’s hardships, selflessly. I also observed that they celebrate each small success with a joyful noise, food, dance and prayer. Even death often turns into a huge celebration of that departed soul and all that he or she achieved in life. There’s a place in their hearts where their love for something in this city is stored. In that place, in their hearts, they keep a resolve to overcome the challenges, and keep their spirituality alive, with a real and palpable feeling of promise, hope and purpose. If love and co-operation can do so much in one city, against all the odds, perhaps more of the same can reach critical mass to change our world.