Rise Above

I really like this song. Like it comes on and I find myself still and listening, can feel my emotions build with the tension in the song. It's sad and that's okay.

I'm not this huge U2 fan. I mean, I own most of their albums and love a lot of their songs, but if you asked me to list my top five bands, I wouldn't even think to include them. Definitely not a fangirl.

But.

When I was at Starbucks, we had a leadership conference in New Orleans. It was post-Katrina, there were 10,000 of us and we had one day of company-related activities and classes, and one day doing volunteer activities in the community. 10,000 people swarming into a city to work with Rebuilding Together and get a shit ton done in the time they were there. (A drop in the bucket, I'm sure, but I still get choked up that Howard Schultz planned this kind of a leadership conference. Talk about corporate social responsibility.) Anyway, our last day in NOLA we had that big rally meeting where everyone piles into a stadium and there's a special speaker. Ours was a mystery and we were all wondering who it would be, and then Bono comes onstage.

Bono.

And 10,000 of us were on our feet freaking out. Well, 9999 because my friend Roger was tcfs. But OMG! BONO! And then, why? What the heck does Bono have to do with Starbucks. It turned out that Starbucks had partnered with (Product)Red and Bono had come to speak with us about the organization and how our involvement would positively affect it. That man is an evangelist. And good lord, I respect that.

So today I'm thinking about what I'm going to do in the world. How can I rise above this little life in this little house with these little concerns?

"You see, idealism detached from action is just a dream. But idealism allied with pragmatism, with rolling up your sleeves and making the world bend a bit, is very exciting. It's very real. It's very strong."
Bono

xo. kb.