My (Short) Thoughts

I am here sitting just trying to make sense as to why another black body had to be snuffed out before his time. Why did another black life have to be taken from his family, from his friends, even from acquaintances.  That his son had to break down on national TV yelling Daddy, Daddy ...

As I sit here I am more than just infuriated, sad and depressed that this has happened AGAIN.  But with all these feelings one thought kept coming to mind "Something has to change and change now." This thought has got me moving towards action and moving towards change with like-minded individuals.  With a need to make this change in a unified manner showing this nation that it is not their right to continually execute us anywhere in this country without any recourse ...

This has to stop ... there has to be a point where we figure out that this is not something that we should get used to any longer ... there has to be accountability, there has to be change period ... Now I know that I don't have any of the answers but I do know that a collective of black minds can definitely come up with solution for the problem facing some many black bodies in the here and now. We need to do something and do it now ... 

Because of Them ... We Can!!!

Hey all I know I have shared a post with you all recently but I came across a few things and it sparked the this blog because I think it would be a travesty if I did not share this as soon as possible lol.  Now today is MLK Jr. Day and it is the day in which we celebrate his life and struggle.  He put his life on the line thereby granting us the freedom we have today to be able to walk outside without being harassed (now lets not get fully into this factor as we can talk about the stop and frisk and the various other policies designed to disenfranchise ppl).  Yet we as a people have found ways in which to blatantly disrespect his legacy and life with flyers like the ones posted on these pages: 

http://www.bet.com/news/national/photos/2014/01/twerk-for-mlk-the-worst-martin-luther-king-jr-party-flyers.html#!011615-national-mlk-martin-luther-king-day-fliers-5-twerk;

http://massappeal.com/the-worst-mlk-day-weekend-party-flyers/

Now when I first saw these flyers I wanted to respond in the in this manner:

And while I agree with the sentiments of Mr. McGruder and feel that this sketch, while funny, hits the head on the nail regarding several topics, I started to think for a minute on how Dr. King would really have felt in a situation like this.  While thinking this it came to my attention that the groups that come up with these flyers are in the minority as seen in the fact that the Twerk for Freedom party was cancelled and a party was held to honor his legacy at the venue (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/17/freedom-to-twerk-party-michigan-martin-luther-king_n_4618928.html).  After seeing this I came to better understand that Dr. King, after feeling the anger shown in the clip above, probably would have used these opportunities in order to unified people allowing them to have a better understanding of each other, even if they are within the same race.

That is what I feel Dr. King's legacy was, one of unification where he would reach out in order reconcile even with his vilest foes.  He would want us to do the same.  To reach out and educate those that some may feel have completely degraded our race.  We cannot give up because we have a new generation coming in our place and if they are not taught our history then it will become just that ... HISTORY ... I for one will not allow that to happen and will do what I can in order to make sure that will not.

This actually leads me to my next and last point, our future.  The children are our future as Ms. Houston so eloquently put and without our influence they can and will be lead down the wrong path.  Now many are doing things about it but I have come across this one effort that really hit me.  The movement is call "Because of Them ... We Can" and it is a photographer doing her part.  You can check out the work on her Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/EuniqueJonesPhotography) but in essence she is stating that because of the many black leaders and innovators that we or our children can also be the next great leader and/or innovator.  She is showing this through photos ... I think you should go check out the page and see for yourself why I am inspired by it :-)!

With that I bid all adieu ... Let us work together to fully realize the Dr.'s dream!  Be blessed and enjoy the rest of your day!!!  

My GOD is Real!!!

Hey all, I hope the new year is treating you all right and that you all are moving towards your goals.  I must say that this year has started off pretty hectic but I have a feeling that it is going to be incredible and I am looking forward to the coming year.

Now people who know me know that I am a believer of Jesus Christ and this is going to be the topic of my blog today.  Well at least a disturbing trend that I have been noticing when it comes to the intellectual discussing my faith.  Now anything I say is out of love but it has been really disheartening the way in which unbelievers address me when we are having a regular or cordial conversation and I happen to say "GOD willing" or use GOD in any context.  Of course this happens more frequently online, but I am noticing it happening in regular conversation.  Now I am not preaching to the person but once I mention the LORD their response have been troubling me.  

Now I know the world is supposed to disparage my belief but until recently I have not heard the disparaging comments personally.  Yet some always feel that they are doing me a favor by basically stating that I am an idiot for following Jesus Christ.  Of course they try to cover up that simple fact with "pretty" and "big" words telling me that a man of my intelligence level should know better than to follow a fairy tale.  They try to use "fact" after "fact" to disprove my faith and show that only a fool would believe anything about my belief.  Basically because I have faith in something that is not seen or can't be touched then I must not have the intellectual power in order to think for myself and choose the path I wish to go down.

Now I explain this to each person I have a conversation with about this topic but since this is a trend, lets nip this in the bud right now.  My choice to follow Jesus Christ is MY CHOICE!  No one has the same path in life as another person and as our path differs so do our beliefs.  I love each and every person but to disparage my faith based off of your experiences is never the way to go.  I came to my decision after various experiences and through rigorous study and they all lead me to the fact that Jesus is the Alpha and Omega.  That is were MY life lead me, so there is no reason to insult my intelligence just because that was my choice.  Now I dont push my faith on anyone (people who know me know this to be true) but I allow my life to be an example for others to follow and if you decide to follow Christ because of my example then GOD be Praised.  Therefore as I do not push my opinion on anyone thus I would greatly appreciated if you did not try to force me to believe what you believe.  Because as your life brought you to your place my life brought me to mine.  I know this applies to other Christians who also have noticed this disturbing trend.

In closing I just leave you all with two things ... One is a verse from 2 Peter 4: 14-16, which states: 14 If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. 15 If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. 16 However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.  

And two one of my favorite songs right now by the United Tenors and the title of this blog "My GOD is Real"

Enjoy the rest of your day and be blessed!!!  Until we meet again!!!  Love you all and GOD love yall too!!!

2014 and Beyond

Good morning/night all!  It is finally here ... The New Year!!!  I just rang it in with family and still having a wonderful time!  During this time I decided to slip away to rock out this post.  We all know that no matter how we look at it 2013 was definitely one for the record books.  There were so many up and downs, triumphs and failures, beginnings and endings that we say we are living life in the now.  Now I know many may be able to say this at the time they were living, but I can say that for myself that this year has been eye-opening. 

For myself I have noticed that I am starting to understand the way in which to live my life to the fullest.  Now I have always have the philosophy of living to the fullest under the LORD's watchful eye, but I can say that the LORD has finally opened my eyes and allowed me the understanding necessary in order to fully comprehend this statement.  2013 has shown me that if I want something (no matter what it is) to pursue it to the fullest and leaving nothing to chance.  It has also taught me to be completely honest laying out a plan for myself that I know that I can accomplish with the tools I have in front of me allowing me to become pretty efficient in living life to the fullest now and not later.  As a result I have had many happy moments but also have had my share sad/hurtful moments but still very thankful for all of those moments.  In addition, I have had many great moments with others but have also made others sad or hurt them.  I am thankful for those moments as well, but also apologize to those I have hurt hoping we can move forward into 2014 in a better place.

Though 2013 was one for the record books, I must say that I am looking forward to 2014.  I don't do New Year Resolution because I feel if you want to do something you should do it right away not waiting for a special period in order to get your best life now.  But I do plan on still living my best life now, getting my mind, body and soul in better positions then they were in 2013.  In that vein I plan on keeping it up with the working out, reading more and continuing to live my life for my LORD and SAVIOR.  As a friend just told me and I FULLY concur that GOD gave us another year, so it is only right that we live it to the fullest in HIS NAME!  

Well I guess I will end it here!  GOD LOVES YOU ALL (and I do too) and lets move forward together so that we can show everyone that 2014 will be another year for the books.  All in all GOD IS GOOD and continues to show His mercy and grace upon us in all that we do!!!  I thank you all for reading and be continually blessed; time to head back to the fam!!!  

"The System" and its "Errors"

Hey blogging world, I hope all is going well. Yesterday, I saw a post on Facebook that made me think and I decided to share it on my own fb page. Later I viewed the video again and this blog post is a result of it (after viewing it a few times to figure out as much as I could ... but I know I missed something. Actually will be asking ya'll for some help about that later). As a disclaimer some of my points may seem harsh but hey it is just an opinion and you are welcomed and invited to disagree in a respectful manner.

First, here is the video that spurned this post. Watch it and let it marinate:

Now that you have experienced the awesomeness of that video ... lets dissect it together. I will only hit on three points that I thought were the most interesting since if I sat here and dissected his entire spoken word I would be here for a while. Now I feel the best place to start would be at the beginning. Mr. Powell starts off with a powerful statement (in paraphrased form): the system don't want us here right now since we live in a system that is designed for us to fail, essentially dictating what we do and say. That is a very interesting way in which to start his performance (which is the way he always starts it, found other videos featuring him performing the system). I say interesting because he starts with his conclusion and then goes into how "the system" achieves this point. As a trained attorney we do this all the time especially when writing a decision or memo. It allows us to get straight to the point without the reader guessing what the conclusion will be. So they already know the ending and are just guided through the how. Definitely an interesting approach. Now let dive into the meat of the matter.

Second, the "system", Mr. Powell states, defines everything that is essential to popular culture even defining what is "swag"/"trending". He goes on to describe the ridiculous "need" that seems to surround our culture, from the incessant want for the new Jordans or Fendi bags to the need to talk about the many sexual encounters you have had in your life. This description is sad but true, as we saw this past weekend with the release of the Gamma 11's. The lines at the sneaker stores were ridiculous. There were fights over these sneakers and screams of triumph when some received their pair. The fact that this actually became news shows that the "system" has done its job in creating an insatiable need for consumer goods and placing that need in the homes in order to gain more followers. This "need" leads to an emasculation of the male and misguided women as they are being raised by the television instead of their parents (lets leave that there at this moment, but go see my other post "Black is Beautiful" for more explanation). When they are raised by the television these children begin to copy the the values that are being preached through the media, leads in my opinion to men who create a defense mechanism of aggressiveness and women who see marriage as "trendy". Therefore, this starts a vicious cycle; by providing this need for consumption (in general), it allows the system to define what "popular culture" is and then this "popular culture" defines what is needed in your life. All for the simple fact that they (the system) cant have them (the blacks)"thinking for themselves".

Moving on and finally, he talks about "Operation Exploitation" which the "system" has initiated in order to keep blacks from being successful yet thinking they are by throwing money at a person. As we all know money is the defining factor at how successful a person is in life and as a result many sell their souls in order to achieve this meager monetary goal. As money becomes the goal these negroes(ERROR) these people become vessels that the "system" can use to their liking. Hmmmm lets use the example he does. The common rapper today typically sucks (well at least to me), but seems to have an immense following. It is because of this following that we always hear how hip-hop is slowly yet surely destroying our entire culture from the inside out (as we saw when "the system" was scanning our popular music [hip-hop] it almost crashed). Most rappers today speak mostly about self-destructive behavior and the ones that don't are usually ostracized as "wack" or not "bout that life". They speak about the "need" that was spoken briefly about earlier but also about a general distrust for authority figures, a glorification of the "thug life" (drugs, prison and the like) and a complete disrespect for women and education. This reaches the next generation and slowly starts to whittle away at those who dont want to think for themselves and to be lead by the masses. Therefore, creating a generation of exploited young men and women who follow the pack to destruction but avoid accountability at the same time since they are just following the crowd.

This is just light sprinkling of what I got from this spoken word. Yet there is so much to dive into here. That is where I call on you. What did you get from this performance? Is it as powerful and I make it out to be or just another negro (ERROR) spouting nonsense? Let me know in the comments and lets talk. Well now back to enjoy my vacation, yall have a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year! As always GOD BLESS!

Inspiration for that Procrastination

Good afternoon everyone! It has been a looooooonnnnnnngggggggg time but I must say it feels good to be back. Now I know you are probably asking yourself, why havent yall heard from me in at least a year and a half and I will respond to that by saying I am sorry. When I started this blog I wanted to schedule myself to write something new and encouraging at least once a week. I severely fell off of that schedule and as a result I have not had a new post within a while. I really thought that no one was reading this and that I was not making a difference in what I was saying to really matter. Even though I would hear from ppl every once in a while that they came across my blog and thought there was some good stuff on it, I still didn't feel motivated/inspired enough to actually get back on the horse and start writing again.

Hopefully, this is the revival. I say this because I have recently been inspired by a friend of mine to get back to it. We were talking about procrastination the other day and several things hit me off of what was discussed. First, procrastination is a a delay of things that we put off to the next time or when it is more convenient. But the problem is we never come back to a more convenient time. We put it off indefinitely always stating that we will come back to it fully ready to attack the task at hand. This leads to the vicious cycle of procrastination. Breaking this cycle moves me into the my next point and the title of this blog: inspiration. It is when you become inspired my friend states that you want to move pass the "I can wait" to the "Lets do it now". Once your passion has been rekindled you will go with a new found life to attack the problem that you have been procrastinating over. The problem is acquiring this motivation/inspiration.

Which leads me to the next thing that I took from my discussion. She stated that in order to become inspired you should start small and build upon it. For example, if you want to write "the next great American novel" but have trouble starting it because you know the task would be arduous, she suggest that you write one sentence a day. Yeah I know I was looking like she was crazy too but she went on to explain herself and from doing that the logic hit me. When you write one sentence a day after a while it wont be a task any longer and you would start to look forward to actually writing that sentence. This small trick hit me because in addition after a while of doing these small things they will snow pile into something bigger and greater than its individual parts! So if it is that novel, sentences would soon become paragraphs, paragraphs would soon become chapters and eventually chapters become sections! Therefore, the small steps start you moving along the path to your passion.

Another quick tip, sometimes take a break (but not for too long)... Sometimes you need to rest your mind (or your body) so do that. Do something else during the time you set up to do your passion. Help your mind/body engage in something completely different, but just remember to come back to that passion. In addition, to giving your mind/body that break you will see that you will come back with a new perspective on the way you look at the original task ready to move away from the procrastination! As of right now that is all I have to say on the topic. I could possibly go on for more but remember small steps :-). I may continue this with a part 2 later but as for now lets leave it here.

I look forward to continually sharing my ideas and thoughts with yall in the coming year. Moreover, I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Make 2014 your year to move in whatever path you have set for yourself. Finally, if you have been procrastinating make 2014 your year of INSPIRATION moving forward towards that goal. Love you all and GOD BLESS! PS: I will say again it feels good to be back!!!

Black is BEAUTIFUL, point blank!

Hey everyone yeah I know it has been a while but something has been on my mind for the past few days that I would like to talk about. First, lets take a small journey on how I came to this topic. Growing up I was taught that my skin color is a badge of honor and never let anyone demean or take that badge of honor away from you. Also, growing up in Brooklyn, NY, I have always seen love for the most part (especially growing up in Brownsville) of my ppl when dealing with one another. So it was a shock to find out that as I expanded my experiences (living in different areas as well as improving my educational status) that there was a sort of hatred for people who were of a darker-complexion on our color spectrum by none other than black people. At first I brushed it off, considering the few ppl that I met who voiced these opinions as ignorant and didn't know any better when it came to the beauty that is a black woman, no matter what complexion. But as I came across more and more people who felt the same way, it started to bother me more, but I still ignored the need for action.

But that need has been reinvigorated by two events that happened recently. Yesterday, I was having a conversation with a female friend of mine about the lack of good men and women out there (which may actually be another one of my topics in the near future), but one of her arguments was the fact that men, who have a self-hatred for themselves and darker complexions, tend to either move towards the fairer complexion within our color spectrum or just jump ship and date completely outside of the race. I thought on this long and hard, remembering all of the people that I came across, whether male/female who felt this way and slightly agreed with her (other than the fact that she placed the blame solely on black men, which we will get to in a few). The next incident happened probably a few minutes ago when I was reading this article (http://www.beyondblackwhite.com/snoop-dogs-daughter-ugly-houston-we-have-a-disaster/, copy and paste and read). Upon reading the several comments on this message board I started to see that this was a virus within our race that needed to be stamped out as soon as possible so that we can move forward as a people.

Now that is a very grandeur statement but how would you go about doing it, I started to ask myself. Well I came up with a two major points to start this process:

1) Finding the source of the Problem: while I see placing blame on a particular party as counter-productive in some ways, I feel by identifying the source at least in some circumstances can place a focal point on what needs to be done. Now I wont say one particular party is to blame but I will place my ideas out there for each party that has a hand in it:
Black Men: Sorry to say but we are the start of this ugly trend. We have allowed European culture to influence us to the point that we see a darker complexion as being "not attractive or ugly". By allowing this to influence us, we demean and chastise very beautiful woman because they don't fit society's picture of beauty. Also, as stated in the Bible we are the heads of our household and therefore have the ability to shaped the ideas and thoughts of the next generation. If you feed into the garbage of what is beauty and don't make up your own mind you can definitely pass along this hatred to the later generation (how do you think Klan members did it). We won't even get into the fact that we are not present in the home because that is a whole other can of worms that needs to be discussed fully in a topic all its own. Getting back to the topic at hand, how can we expect to be treated like men when we don't act like men. Men are NOT supposed to degrade themselves or other because of an attribute that they were born with. That is a coward who does not understand his own worth . . . we will leave it at there . . . for now.

Black Women: Some of the most hateful things I have heard while growing up about complexion and the like came from Black Women. This perplexed me to no end because I wonder how it all started. I can guess what the reason were but they would probably hold no ground since I am not a woman (any female readers out there care to chime in, that would be greatly appreciated). But whatever the reason, women nowadays are the head of the household (once again men we need to do better) and can pass along the appropriate teachings to their children, but that doesnt seem the case (especially from that article . . . )

2) Now that we have a focal point, the next step is to make positive strides in the right direction to fully turn this trend around. But that is where you come in as Black Men and Women. I personally believe that we need to start with this generation so that the trend can take hold. Start teaching our children as well as each other that no matter how you look at it BLACK IS BEAUTIFUL. If it wasn't why would people want to gain a fuller shape, or fuller lips and the like. Our skin tone, body shape and overall awesomeness is mimicked by almost every other group yet we are here hating ourselves. What sense does that make and we wonder why we cant move forward as a people. So at home reinforce this thought pattern daily. Children are very impressionable and if you show them the path they should go they will follow it (they may stray every now and again but they always know the proper path). Show them that no matter what shade or complexion they are that they are beautiful and no person out in the world can take that beauty away from them. Instill this in them and empower them so that they can teach the next generation. This is not the only step but we will leave it there for now (but if you have any others please don't hesitate to comment and place them on my wall.)

This is just grazing this topic and it can definitely be fleshed out a bit more fully, but I have church in the morning and I really wanted to place this topic to the world before I hit the sack. So please view, comment, critique and discuss. Thanks everyone and GOD BLESS.