Hats

I'm a soldier,

Bearing arms in defense

Of a country,

Of a dream,

Of an ideal

That I hold high

Like a banner

Flapping furiously

In the changing wind of circumstance.

I am a traveller,

Always on the move

A rolling stone

Leaving moss gathering

to sedentary harvesters

The blessed holders of calling,

Dutiful guardians of tradition

Sages of age old lore.

I am a martyr

Self-effacing,

Not daring to express

The things that lie within

Sacrificing self,

Silencing opinions,

In the interest of

the common good,

Taking on the world,

Yet frozen in the presence of one.

A clown on stage,

A hero on page,

A doctor in the field

A paralytic in emotion,

A healer,

A killer,

Positive,

Purely pessimistic,

Joyous in anger,

Angry in sorrow,

Flying high in jubilation,

Breathing in the air of exhilaration,

Plummeting til impact

With meteorite force

Scorching unexpecting ground.

I am a magnet,

I attract, I repulse.

I am many things

Yet nothing at all

I could mean the world to someone

Yet nothing to most.

And these are the hats that I wear,

The masks I put on

The roles that I play

The layers I must peel away

To get to the core,

The Grail that is the object

Of quest for simple truth

SoulJah Bwoy

These are the innards;

The deepening;

The dark and light;

The dusty, musty, crusty

Ignored-til-forgotten corners

of the Soul Jah gave

this warrior boy.

Born in a protected thicket;

Sheltered from the battle

raging in surrounding fields;

Transplanted in a quiet clearing-

A stone's throw away

from the grenades and bombs

minefields

gnawing swiss cheese holes

in the living earth around

the boy with the Soul Jah gave.

The sheltering bubble

reflects the glow of violent fires

whose penetrating heat

threads sweaty crystal beads

on the surface skin of

this boy fighter Soul for Jah.

Armed for the war,

Stubborn fear nibbling

at the marrow of the Soul Jah made.

Distracted from the mission

by shiny worthless fossils

whose age gives them the allure of treasure-

Cunning, crafty, artful dodger;

Aged vice and snare

whispering,luring;

Sights set, cocked and aimed

at the Soul Jah bwoy.

Born from the wisdom of ancestry;

Nurtured by a mother Soul of Jah;

Lying covered under arms everlasting;

Transported on eagle wings;

Facing storms on mountain tops;

Resting in the valleys;

Oasised at living springs;

Camouflaged by love,

being everything and nothing-

Fierce and tender,

Shaded by day,

Hidden by night-

Growing from the seedling Soul Jah sowed,

Into the strength

Of the Soul Jah meant to become

the Warrior Man.

Mr. Perry

It has taken me wayyyy too long to make mention of a man who is an inspiration to me- and to many others as well. Not only is he immensely talented (playwright, actor, composer/ song writer, and the list goes on) but he is a man of tremendous faith and a very down to earth individual. If you haven't figured out who I'm referring to, let me end the suspense. I'm speaking of none other than Mr Tyler Perry- the man who gave us Diary of a Mad Black Woman, Why Did I Get Married, and the recently released Meet the Browns.

Of course, this little enrty would be nothing if I didn't mention Tyler Perry's most popular and beloved character. Y'all know who I'm talking about! Yup! Madea. That sharpe-tongued, gun toting, tell-it-like-it-is grandma.

I'm all excited over the upcoming Madea Goes to Jail. I saw the play and if the other movies are anything to go on, I smell a hit! Can't wait til it comes out. Unfortunately, it would seem that we have close to a year before we get to see it- the film's slated for release on Spring 2009.

Well Tyler, keep it up bro and PLEASE DON'T KEEP US WAITING TOO LONG!

Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou! What more can I say?! I love her persona, the work she's done to help change her world and ours, the way she opens herself up to share her experiences with millions of people she will never meet but whose lives she's touched, is touching and will continue to touch...

Thank you Maya Angelou!

I've just placed two orders for my first Maya Angelou books. I've known of her for quite a while. I'm just sorry it's taken me this long to explore her work. But I guess it's true what they say, nothing happens before it's time. I guess I've reached the point where her work holds more relevance for me than it would have before.

More to come...

Fear Factors

Fear is a natural part of life. We all fear something. Even if many of us are ashamed (or even afraid) to admit it, trying to hide our perceived weakness behind a façade of bravado. But lying to ourselves and the world around us doesn't solve the problem. It doesn't make the fear go away. Rather, it tends to compound the situation, adding fear to fear. To our initial comes the fear of being found out, fear of not simply having our vulnerable side revealed to all and sundry but also fear of being exposed for the liars that we are.

Fear keeps us trapped. Until we learn to confront our phobias, we will remain ever enslaved to them- and that is a terrible fate. Confrontation is a word we dread. Yet it is also a term that has become so used and abused that I've come to wonder if we really know what it means. Does it necessarily involve a huge bloody battle? Maybe. But that would depend on the situation. One of the things I've been most amazed by, is the realization that sometimes release can often come quietly. When we stop fighting, and look at ourselves for what we really are, making a conscious decision to deal and not run.

Getting to this point, however, is something else. It is often a long and agonising journey but one that we must make in order to come to a breakthorough. The thing is, that we mostly want to tough it out by ourselves, as if we have something to prove. The sad part is that Help is standing near waiting. Just waiting. Waiting for us to drop the act. Brush that chip off our shoulder. Swallow our pride and ask for Aid.

Why then is it so hard to do that? Why are we humans so stubborn? So complicated? I guess if I had the answer to that I wouldn't be sitting here writing this entry.

The whole enchilada

Ever get to wondering about the small stuff? Why does it seem that everytime we hit a little bump in the road we end up taking ages just to rise above it?

Take a simple thing like our bills. Why is it that the end of the month proves to be such a depressing time for so many of us? Or what about "love". (Yes, I used the L word!) So often we spend our time obsessing over our relationships- or lack thereof- that we let so many wonderful opportunities for love and so many great people pass us by. All because they aren't what we're looking for- or think we want.

Someone once said, "contentment is not the fulfillment of what you want, but the realisation of how much you already have". So why not step back awhile and take in the whole thing- the big picture as it were. I don't know about you, but I'm getting tired of not being able to tell the forest for the trees. I'm starting to think that part of living means stopping so you get a chance to take it all in. How many of us would be so much better off if we did just that. How much pain and regret we'd save ourselves and others, if we could just learn to appreciate what we have, value the little things and stop sweating the small stuff.

Tortoise Wisdom

Could you be any slower?

Said the hare to Brother Tortoise,

Why, I could run to the edge of the world

and back and you'd still be on your doorstep!

I don't mind all that Brother Hare,

replied he in slow deliberate tone,

As long as I reach my destination,

I don't mind at all how long it takes.

The years wore on

and Brother Hare continued to run

He zipped and zoomed

til he almost flew

growing faster with each passing day.

Brother Tortoise kept on his steady gait,

never faltering in his discipline,

he watched the hare rush

madly toward the end of his days.

It was the same for the hare's son,

grandson and down the line,

Blowing through life

At the speed of sound

Seeing but never undertanding

hearing, but never listening.

The tortoise's life was not so

He received the greatest prize of all

for you see,

in taking the time to live,

Brother Tortoise really lived.

Michelle Williams

Michelle is back and I'm loving the first single "We Break the Dawn."

I know that so far I've avoided going on about music and singers and whatnot. But I think Michelle deserves special mention here. Loved her gospel albums, and I was a bit worried that she's fall into the caricature of the mass- produced RnB/ rap albums, but if this single is any indication, this album shows great promise- can't wait to hear the whole thing.

I'm still hoping she does a few more gospel albums though :)

Lord of the Rings

At the risk of sounding like I'm departing on the very late train, I'm going to talk about the Lord of the Rings. Yes, the Lord of the Rings, although some may wonder how you could go from singing the praises of Paulo Coelho to Tolkien, well, that's just how it is.

In any case, what has brought me to the subject is that I've come across Tolkien's famous trilogy in audio book format (thanks in large part to the same person who introduced me to Coelho). I first "read" (or should I say, "listened to") the Hobbit and was so taken in that I continued on to the Lord of the Rings. All four books are read, unabridged, by the same person- Rob Inglis. That man has the gift of story telling in his voice. And at the risk of falling into cliché, I will say that he brings Tolkien's character's to life! His voice changes as he switches between narrator and character, and among the characters themselves so that you even come to recognise certain voices- Gandalf's for instance. He even SINGS the songs that occur frequently across the books! That's probably one of the greatest parts and without a doubt constitutes a large part of the charm of the work.

I'll bring it to an end here by simply encouraging anyone who gets the chance to give a listen to these audio books to grab the opportunity and do so! Once you begin, you won't be able to put them away til the end (that is if you appreciate that sort of thing). One word of caution- remember, they are unabridged recordings, so while it means that you won't miss a single word from the original books, it does make for several hours of listening. It's a long listen but an enjoyable one nonetheless.

Mas poesia... La Flor

La flor

Al amanecer,

Yo vi el capullo

Nuevo, inocencia de verde claro,

Salpicado de gotitas de rocío,

Luciendo en la luz del joven sol.

La juventud de una flor.

Luego, el sol en vía de elevarse

Los pétalos empezando su brote:

Tiernos, flamantes, rojos

Rumbo a un fin no lejos.

A media mañana,

El capullito ya no estuvo.

En su lugar se veía

Una flor-

Florita bonita:

Media-abierta, tímida, novata.

Más tarde, el sol instalado

Bien alto en el cielo

La flor ya fue completa-

Grande, encarnada, opulenta.

Inocencia, novedad, timidez

Recuerdos olvidados de

la niñez

De la flor intacta,

Bien sentada

En la copa de sus sépalos-

Viejos protectores,

encerrando óvulos.

Está para empezar otra etapa

Bien lista, madura, integra.

NA MARGEM DO RIO PIEDRA...

I'm continuing my diet of Paulo Coelho. After The Manual of the Warrior of Light, I moved onto By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept. Good cannot begin to describe the book- yet it's the word I choose to use because Paulo's work, as I think I've mentioned before, is just so simply written. That, I think, is the beauty of his writing- it's so deep, and yet accessible to all.

Thank you Paulo!!! Muito obrigado pelas tuas obras!!!

A piece of writing

Growing

A seed was planted

And in its place stands a mighty sequoia

That all see and are awed

Few, if any, remember

The fragile, vulnerable seed

That could have been an easy target

In the unforgiving wild

Or the tender seedling

That could have met its end

At its beginning

After a confrontation with the elements.

I look around and see

Giants whose prowess

Leaves me breathless

Skillful Warriors

Whom I admire and long to resemble

Yet when I look at me

All I see are green, supple twigs

Nothing like the sturdy, woody branches

Of the specimens that surround me.

But now,

As I have gained in height

As my roots have extended themselves

And burrowed deeper into the earth

Coming closer to my Point of Anchorage,

I realise that time brings rewards

And patience is the tool

That will allow me

To extract the precious ore

From the sediment of the experiences

That wash down to me in the stream of time.

So although it is imperceptible

Growth is happening

Every experience is a blessing

There is no way to run ahead

I accept myself

For where I am

It is up to me to absorb

And synthesise the nutrients in the layers

That my roots have penetrated so far

So that I can send them even deeper down

And reach my branches even higher

To one day join the summit of the forest

And take my place

As a stable part of the green canopy

To shelter the seedlings under me.

Paolo Coelho

Been a while since I've added anything to this blog. But I think this little gem is worth putting on. Thanks to a good friend, I discovered Paolo Coelho and his books. To be perfectly honest, I haven't read many of them yet but she suggested that I start with The Manual of the Warrior of Light. So I did. And I have to say, it's very good. Short. But it gets the message across clearly and gives you a lot of food for thought. I think that's what makes this work so amazing.

For anyone who has never read any of Coelho's books or who have but for some reason or the other are not familiar with this one, I highly recommend it! Now THAT's what I call soul food!!!

La Despedida

La Despedida

Se fue hoy

Yo lo vi

Cargando sus maletas,

Despidiéndose de todos.

Se fue hoy,

Y desde la ventana

De la cárcel de mi dolor,

Yo miré y vi

Los últimos abrazos,

Las primeras lágrimas.

Se fue hoy

Lo vi partiendo,

Llevando con él

El pedacito que corresponde

Al vacío que ha quedado

En mi corazón

Y que provoca mi sufrimiento.

Se fue hoy

Y en el huerto

En el que pasamos lindos momentos,

Se ha instalado el invierno:

Todo está gélido,

Blancura hermosa y terrible,

Sencilla, insensible.

Se fue hoy

Dejándome solo, triste, vacío.

Se fue hoy,

Y no me quedo con nada más

Que memorias.

First day on the blog

I'm new to this whole blogging experience so I decided it was time to give it a try. I've never successfully kept a journal before so here goes... I'm not making any crazy promises like "I'm gonna update everyday and keep the world abreast of everything that's going on..." What I will do, Is publish some of my thoughts- in the form of things I've written- and occasionally rant about whatever happens to get me fired up on any particular day.

Well, here goes....