Through The Eyes Of Leon Jackson Boone

As I look back over my life, it was a good ride. I experienced many potholes along the way. I'm not tired yet. The last thing I think about is death. I am not afraid of it. Why should I be? I can't do anything about it. It's just a sleep. I can't move as fast as I once did, but I can still dance. This may be surprising to some; I still have fun with my wife. Someone may ask, "How often?" I will say to them, "Stop hating." It would be foolish to ignore the bad, the good, and the ugly in my life. Those experiences caused my faith in Christ Jesus to be stronger. My faith in Jesus made it possible for me to be here seventy-five years as of January 17, 2014. I hear what I want to hear, see what I want to see, and remember what I want to remember. I realize that I am only important to myself. And to preserve whatever life I have left, I must be cooperative with matters of confrontation. Exhaustion will kill you before old age. I refuse to call myself old. I call myself blessed. To those people who think that they are too old to enjoy life and that they are walking through one of life's valleys: Perhaps you are trusting in your exhaustion, not in God. And you are thinking this is how you are supposed to feel as years pass you by. You don't have to be older than you are. When your load gets too heavy to carry, don't give up-this is an opportunity for God, in Christ Jesus's name, to take charge of you. There is no competition or stereotypes in God; just be who you are. Refuse to give up your happiness because you are older and instead think about your accomplishments and enjoy all of your abilities. The thought of loneliness and bitter disappointments brings self-pity and fear. When you dwell too long on bad circumstances, it will make you feel old and rob you of peace of mind. Respond to the love of God-you no longer need to speculate upon the quality of your life. It is good because God is good.

As I look back over my life, it was a good ride. I experienced many potholes along the way. Im not tired yet. The last thing I think about is death. I am not afraid of it. Why should I be? I cant do anything about it. Its just a sleep. I cant move as fast as I once did, but I can still dance. This may be surprising to some; I still have fun with my wife. Someone may ask, How often? I will say to them, Stop hating. It would be foolish to ignore the bad, the good, and the ugly in my life. Those experiences caused my faith in Christ Jesus to be stronger. My faith in Jesus made it possible for me to be here seventy-five years as of January 17, 2014. I hear what I want to hear, see what I want to see, and remember what I want to remember. I realize that I am only important to myself. And to preserve whatever life I have left, I must be cooperative with matters of confrontation. Exhaustion will kill you before old age. I refuse to call myself old. I call myself blessed. To those people who think that they are too old to enjoy life and that they are walking through one of lifes valleys: Perhaps you are trusting in your exhaustion, not in God. And you are thinking this is how you are supposed to feel as years pass you by. You dont have to be older than you are. When your load gets too heavy to carry, dont give upthis is an opportunity for God, in Christ Jesuss name, to take charge of you. There is no competition or stereotypes in God; just be who you are. Refuse to give up your happiness because you are older and instead think about your accomplishments and enjoy all of your abilities. The thought of loneliness and bitter disappointments brings self-pity and fear. When you dwell too long on bad circumstances, it will make you feel old and rob you of peace of mind. Respond to the love of Godyou no longer need to speculate upon the quality of your life. It is good because God is good.

Be Who You Want to Be After years of struggling with being African Americans in the greatest country on earth, the United States of America, we are still not equal. As a preacher, I preach to tell the common people that there is hope in this country. There is no pure race in our country. This world doesn’t belong to any one civilization. The world is smaller than ever before. We need to respect one another and allow God to help us have confidence in one another. We need the vision to acknowledge the rights of all people. The grievances we have with one another are racial and large social groups discrimination, and we must face it. We must encourage self-esteem for all people. When you don’t know who you are, you can’t be who you want to be. I am convinced that we can profit a lot by being cautious. Don’t turn your life over to someone else for his or her approval. Respect yourself. I want to encourage people to believe in their dreams. In order to make your dreams come true, you must believe in yourself. I want you to know that people on top of the world do get slapped in the face by life’s disappointments. There is help if we have an attitude of faith. Be mindful of what you share with other people. Some people are superstars only in their own minds. These people live on the edge of life.. Bullying comes in different forms. This mysterious behavior that comes from other people will stop you from making smart choices. Every person goes through a change in his or her life. But failure could be a step forward in your life. If your plan has failed you, use your disadvantage to your advantage. Our enemy walks with us daily. The only remedy for an emotional heart ache is your faith in God. Faith is holding on one day longer.

From 1865-1866, James accompanied the director of the recently established Museum of Comparative Zoology on a research expedition to Brazil. This critical, bilingual (English-Portuguese) edition of his diaries and letters includes reproductions of his drawings. This original material belongs to the Houghton Archives at Harvard University.