On a recent trip to Wichita, I took the turnpike, and as I entered the access ramp, I saw a bright orange sign with a warning:  Right Lane Closed Ahead.

As I contemplated the message of the sign, I thought:  If the right lane is closed, does this mean I have to drive in the wrong lane? 

Sometimes decisions are difficult, and we have very few options; but, others can be made by the simple flip of a coin and either heads or tails decides a course of action.

Success and failure are the results of the decisions we make and the paths we take in life.  Robert Frost wrote of this when he penned The Road Not Taken.

Some people find comfort in going along with the crowd, and they choose the well-traveled path. There are others who are either more adventurous or who are willing to challenge the status quo, so they take the road less traveled.

Today is a day set aside to honor Martin Luther King Jr; a man who had a dream; a man of determination; and a man who chose to walk the road less traveled

Dr. King understood that, Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.

While darkness and hatred are a challenge to the ethos of the present day, they’re not race specific. There are elements within each race who inflict acts of darkness and hatred upon their own race as well as others.

To drive out the darkness with love, we need to think intelligently and respond with passion. Too many people, black and white, are reacting with an impassioned zeal that torches buildings, shoots the innocent, and who call evil good and good evil.

As Dr. King said: The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. To be a part of the solution and to help spread the light, we can either be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.