Something New Around Every New Year...

On New Year's Eve 2007, I was invited to help a very good friend with the logistics of the party he threw to ring in the new year. I created a VIP space using equipment my friend had provided and it turned out very nicely if I do say so myself...

After going home to change my clothes, I returned to the party where I was introduced to one of my friend's close friends, a guy I will call Teacher. The Teacher and I spent some time talking about all manner of things before going our separate ways to enjoy the party with those with whom we had come. At the end of the night, the Teacher and I exchanged contact information though I did not really expect that we would be in touch.

A few days later, the Teacher called me up and we had one of the most enjoyable conversations I have had in a very long time. The Teacher and I have continued to have great conversations during which I always seem to come away knowing something I didn't know before or minimally curious to learn about something I had not previously wondered about. For me, this is the very best part of meeting someone new...being exposed to new thoughts and ideas. I am always happy to make the acquaintaince of someone new and interesting, but in this particular case, I feel that meeting this particular person is contributing in the most amazing way to increasing my personal awareness regarding some very important subjects and potentially will make me a more interesting person! Now I don't know about you, but I've gotta love that!

This experience has been so visceral for me, that the following seemed to just spill from my fingertips as I recalled one of the conversations the Teacher and I had shared a few days earlier. Never had that happen before...


LEARNING by Sharon J.

Illumination arrived.
Unexpectedly and quite by surprise,
With no more intention than the sun has
Each day as it brings light to the dark places of the earth.

The light came.
Without the trouble of formal introductions,
Without fanfare or trumpets to herald its arrival
Nor the pulling back of curtains to announce its presence on stage.

The darkness departed.
And with it, the willingness to know less.
In its place, two things…knowledge and fear;
The fear a manifestation of all the new knowledge required.

The night evaporated.
Allowing the dawning sun to vanquish the fear
Creating space for the new knowledge to take root
Encouraging exploration and internalization of the new knowledge.

The spirit bloomed.

Why I LOVE, Love, love BLOGGING!

Today, while strolling down Ladylee's street, I bumped into an old friend! I can't even tell you how happy I was to see her again; and though I've never actually met her in person nor have I ever actually heard her speaking voice, believe me when I say I could not have been more happy to see her there if we had grown up right next door to each other! Bumping into Chele over on Ladylee's street like that made me realize how much I LOVE, Love, love blogging and what it brings to my life.

Over at Ladylee's, in the last week I have empathized with her over the relationship that she and her father have failed to enjoy to this point in their lives, learned a lil' sumthin' sumthin' about being more dedicated to my writing endeavors, and just had a plain old good time with her and her peeps!

I went from Ladylee's place over to the new space Chele now occupies. There I found that I could indeed hear her TRUE VOICE once again and I realized with glee that the more things stay the same the more they seem to change and I was sooooooooooooo glad.

After I left Chele's, I decided to stop by Diva's and found her there loving her some Scribe as always! The Diva has decided to accept a very worthwhile challenge, one that challenges her to encourage her husband every day and to pray for him with his knowledge every single day. "What a worthwhile and noble thing to do!", is what I found myself thinking. I was impressed if not surprised knowing how very much the Diva and Scribe love each other and cherish their marriage. Not married myself nor involved in a serious relationship currently, I quickly copied the link to this page on her blog to send to my BFF in the hopes that she would choose to follow the Diva's lead and pray for her own husband.

Traveling by blog helps me to get a more clear picture of what good looks like when it comes to really significant other material. From the stories the Diva shares about Scribe to the amazing discovery that REAL MEN DO TALK AND THEY CAN WRITE (will wonders never cease) that hanging out with brothers like That Johnson Boy, Luke Cage, and James Manning elucidated, I believe that I have been more capably equipped to choose better for myself in the future.

Stopping by the ATL over the last couple of days, I found Fergie (whose smile was a gift from the beautiful pair of eyes in the collage above) and Nikki at the Infinite Ink (hands down the best photographer around....check out her gallery) both slightly disgruntled over differing issues. Fergie took issue as do I with this whole idea of cloned animals being used to perpetuate the food supply in America with no mandates for identifying the food products as having been derived from cloned animals. Nikki on the other hand was commenting on the increasing practice of overlaying Dr. Martin Luther King's speeches (and our heritage) over popular music a practice which in my opinion in some situations diminishes the importance of these speeches and desensitizes many to Dr. King's tremendous contributions to society.

From the ATL I went to Charlotte for some Serenity and then took a quick jaunt up to see Safa where tranquility and peace always await me.

In their own unique way, each of the bloggers or their representatives pictured above as well as scores of others who have not been displayed or mentioned here today broaden my horizons over and beyond any geography I would ever be able to travel even if someday I were to win the POWERBALL. From each of the bloggers I read, I find I take away something of value. In some cases it is a thought I never had before, an idea I might never have gotten around to conceptualizing, or a joke that brings a smile to my face I might otherwise have missed experiencing. In other cases, I have been helped to face difficult situations in my own life, I have been given the insight to better understand myself and others, and I have been given the gift of helping someone else to better understand themselves. In all cases, I feel like after a very short while passes with me making regular visits, I am received like I am a long-lost and cherished relative who is happily being welcomed home again! That my friends is love and as most of you know and Luther Vandross and Gregory Hines sang (bless their dear departed hearts),

There's Nothing Better Than Love!

So, this post is a tribute to all of you bloggers who have contributed to my life's happiness in ways most of you will never truly know. I want you ALL to know whether you are mentioned by name or not and whether or not there was an available image of you I could steal from your blog (ROSE and DP!) or not, you are all family to me. I will be forever indebted to each and every one of you for all that you have brought to my life and all that you continue to bring each day. By some miracle, you all always seem to be here blogging away about whatever it is I need to read, learn, know....just when I need to read, learn, or know it....

AND THAT IS WHY I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE BLOGGING!

Let's Get Serious

Last night I had the distinct pleasure of chatting that infamous Oldgirl Ladylee up on the telly. She and I are both writers who aspire to be published authors, so as I'm sure you can imagine the conversations could go on forever.

I love, love, love talking to the OG because no one else on earth motivates me to get serious about my writing like she does. From talk of technique to crash courses on creativity this sista schools me in the gentlest, firmest way possible. I probably have mentioned before that I met the OG in a writer's seminar back in 2005, and man am I glad I did. That first meeting went something like this:

Sharon: (showing up late for a crowded seminar and standing in the center aisle with bewildered look on her face as she tries to find a seat)

Other participants: "SEATS TAKEN!"

LL: "You can sit here", as she moves over so I can sit in the seat next to her.

Sharon: "Thanks!"

Sharon: "Where is my pen?" (whispering as she searches for the pen she forgot to bring)

LL: "You can use this one." (handing over her own pen to this disheveled basket case)

Sharon: "Thanks!"

Sharon: "Wow! That was really good; but I still need more information about writing details."

LL: "Yeah, that was pretty good, that Anita seems to know her stuff. I know this great book I will send you..."

And that as they say was the start of a great friendship. The funny thing is, that in the two years that have flown by since we first met, nothing much has changed. She is still very focused and dedicated to writing something everyday. While I on the other hand still have very little focus and am still chronically late, bewildered, and trying to figure out technique. As a matter of fact, last night's conversation ended like this:

LL: "I know this great book I will send you..."

What Makes You Feel Like Doing Stuff Like That?

You Are Periwinkle

You're very intuitive and sensitive. You often know other people better than they know themselves. You're also quite optimistic, and you think well of yourself and others. You know your dreams will come true.

What Color Blue Are You?

Today, was one of those days that was a mix of all things. It was good AND it was bad. It was relaxing AND it was hectic. It was carefree AND complicated all at the same time. As is so often the case when I am frustrated, confused, or just plain confounded in my personal life as I am today, I tiptoed into the lives of others by way of the internet and blogland. Happily, I found a comment from a young lady called Sissy who you can find here. Her comment in a nutshell kinda brought things together again for me. Call it ego if you will, but there was just something so nice about seeing in writing, "I like your style and enjoyed my time here, I'll be back for sure!".

Anyway, I ventured on over to "oh-spare-me", Sissy's blog and found the blue quiz I posted at the top of this post. Now once or fifty-eleven times over the years, I've been told that I'm pretty damned gullible when it comes to things like these quizzes. I am always amazed because they are typically spot on when they describe me based on the answers I give to their questions. I have been told time and time again that these things work by giving broad-stroke, generic descriptors that would apply to the majority of any population being analyzed. Now for all you new friends I am making, let me just say that I am actually one of the sharper knives in the drawer so don't take what I'm saying here the wrong way....I' am not a candidate for the swamp land your great Uncle Dumbass left you; is that clear? Okay with that said, here goes ego alert number two....I BEG TO DIFFER....most of y'all are no periwinkles :b!!!. I know I am periwinkle (and proud of it too dammit!); but I would also have to say that very few if any of the people I run across casually or get to know in-depthly are made of much of the same great stuff described in this analysis of the periwinkles of the world.

Daily it seems, I find myself wondering why he did that or why she did not do this. I am often asked how I could do such a generous thing as this or why didn't I go tee-totally off when this or that person did such and such a thing to me. It got me to wondering in the words of the old school classic, 'What Makes You Feel Like Doing Stuff Like That?'

I'm definitely no authority, but as they say, I think we are who we are and we do what we do and it is just as simple as that. That being the case, Sissy thanks for your comment this evening, I don't know what made you feel like doing stuff like that, but I sure am glad something did!