Listen…if Beyonce' never sings another song hearing her sing Listen from the Dream Girls soundtrack just blew me away. Gosh, the feeling that came over me while driving in my truck listening to my daughter’s CD ran chills down my spine. Since I love melodies I was drawn to the song because it had a smooth sound; then I was drawn even closer because of the words. It seemed like somebody opened up my head and pour out my words to music because not a day earlier I’d just told my husband and my children that they don’t listen. Maybe I was hormonal as I was driving but when she sang, “I’m not at home in my own home. And I tried and tried to say what’s on my mind. You should have known….” I cried all the way home. It’s hilarious thinking about it now because I probably sounded like a blubbering drunk – there’s nothing worse than a person trying to sing while crying. Anyway……
Listen….This morning that word & the song came to me and it steered me away from the original message for this week; I suppose this message stemmed from two meetings that I was in on yesterday. At two separate locations and times of the day this seemed to be the main focus for both. In my earlier meeting we discussed how morale had taken a nose-dive and that no one seems to be listening to the needs and concerns of another. In fact one colleague said, “no one cares what’s going on with you at 8:59 or 5:01” and though I hated to admit it she was right. Her statement drew me back to the sky-high days of gas when no one seemed to care that it was costing some of us an arm, a leg, and three fingers to get to work weekly; to us all they cared about was that you were at work. The second meeting that I attended basically had the same concerns – people felt that they had been pouring their hearts out for justifiable reasons but no one was listening. They had concerns, but nobody heard them. I couldn’t help but wonder if we had become a generation of people that don’t care. Selfish robots - I don’t care about your feelings, I don’t care what you think, I don’t care how I make you feel. Has the world become so selfish that we have become a care-less society? Now-a-days it seems that people feel that if it’s not about them then it’s not important. Supervisors are less compassionate, family is less considerate, and friends are getting less supportive. “A generation of people that don’t care…” What I learned overnight from both of these situations was that all people wanted was to be heard, to be understood, and for someone to “act” like they cared. Are they asking for too much? “I tried & tried to say what’s on my mind, you should have known. Now I’m done believing you. You don’t know what I’m feeling….”
Listen…As my daughters and I sat at their bus stop this morning I had to scold Breyona about always having to have a comment at the end of everything I say; ohhh the days of being 13 and knowing everything. It wasn’t until I said “listen” to her 3 or 4 times that the word rang into my memory. “Sometimes all you need to do is be quiet and listen, you don’t always have to have something to say – LISTEN!” I said. My youngest, Shay, said, “Just like Beyonce’s song, mommy.” WHAT!?! How could she have known? Nobody knew that but God and I. There’s no way that she could have heard the still small voice this morning. Listen….Hmm…sometimes all a person wants to feel is that someone cares; that someone knows that life is a little rough some days and that if I can’t do anything else I can always listen. If I call you with a question, call me back with an answer. If I have a problem, help me find a solution. If I say I need three fingers, somebody lend me a hand. Sometimes all a person wants is to be heard……”LISTEN to the song here in my heart…” NSBIG
~Stay Prayed Up! ~ CLICK ON THE LINK
Friday, January 30, 2009
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
A PRESIDENT WITH SWAGGER
Swagger (v) – to walk or strut with a defiant or insolent air. Gosh it doesn’t take long before the words that we use on the streets are found in the dictionary.
While talking to my brother last night I mentioned that my best friend says that Obama has a strut like my uncle Larry; one of those back in the day “cool brother” walks that says I’m confident in who I am. My brother, with excitement in his voice said, “Obama has a swag about him.” As I watched our new president and his wife dance their first dance as President and First Lady I couldn’t help but smile because I noticed the “bop” that he had in his “slow dance;” boy did that “bop” bring back memories. Life was a little simpler back then (in an article written last year I talked about how some of our problems melted away with the right song). Watching the Obama’s dance to Etta James just made you feel like everything was gonna be alright. As I watched my president I couldn’t help but think of the many people that were watching the very same thing; people, who like myself, was sitting back wondering how can I take myself to the next level. I can’t speak for everyone else but taking a look at life in general has taken on a whole new meaning for me – and to my people, now there’s no excuse; being “black” doesn’t work anymore (to be honest it never worked).
As I watched our new President walk I could see what Cheryl saw; he does kinda walk like my uncle Larry; he had a smooth walk. Remembering my uncle Larry reminded me of how entertainment can sometimes play a roll in a person’s life. When we were younger I always saw the similarities in my uncle and his friend Sam – they were a carbon copy of Lamont and Raulo from Sanford and Son; I don’t know if was intentional or whether this was just their association with the men of their times. As I thought more about it I realized that the younger generation tends to gravitate to certain images; back in the day it was a positive image, but things, like life, change – I remember my nephew was Snoop Dog reincarnate – he had the walk, the talk, the attitude and today I see so many baby T.I.s, & Lil’ Wayne’s. Unfortunately now-a-days our children are drawn more to images that are not necessarily positive role-model images; they are grander but not necessarily better. The pickings of role models are very slim these days – men (all races) are either hard or too soft. Women are either soft or too hard. Confusion – either I work all day like mom & dad or I’ll forego the education and make a living rapping or playing ball. Ten years ago I had a saying that no one could convince me otherwise. The saying was, “If a 5 minute song or a 2 hour movie can change the way I’ve raised my child, then I, as a parent have failed.” As much as I would love to say that this still rings true, I can’t. Oh, I’m still a good parent that will crack their heads to the white meat, but for me and others life has become full and we are working longer & harder – yes, this was true before TV had innuendos & movies were just plain dirty. This was before records had curse words and music videos turned into porn. This was before video games were violent and you could dial up sex on the phone. This was before society told me how to raise my child and the young became wild and wicked. This was before mommies borrowed their teenaged daughter’s skinny jeans because they were tighter and fathers were getting high with their sons.
As I watched my new president I was loving him more as a person; he had the unique swag of my people; a swag that says I have defied the odds. A man that believed he was just as good as everybody else, but he was no better. My president, the role model of today. There was so much about him that made you appreciate yourself. His swag makes you appreciate from whence you came and for what you are. His swag makes you feel like you don’t have to give up who you are for what society wants you to be. As I sat back on the bed watching them and writing this I became excited with the possibilities. Possibilities that, fatherless men will stand up and be the father figure to their children that they didn’t have. Possibilities that, an educated man would treat an uneducated man as his equal. Possibilities that, the day would come when what you wore wouldn’t define who you were (my president jogs with his cap backwards). Possibilities that, it’s okay to speak the King’s English, to receive a good education, to love who you are, and to never be ashamed of being different. When you manage to capture all of that and be comfortable with who and whose you are, then you can’t help but have a swagger. NSBIG
~Stay Prayed Up! CLICK ON THE LINK
While talking to my brother last night I mentioned that my best friend says that Obama has a strut like my uncle Larry; one of those back in the day “cool brother” walks that says I’m confident in who I am. My brother, with excitement in his voice said, “Obama has a swag about him.” As I watched our new president and his wife dance their first dance as President and First Lady I couldn’t help but smile because I noticed the “bop” that he had in his “slow dance;” boy did that “bop” bring back memories. Life was a little simpler back then (in an article written last year I talked about how some of our problems melted away with the right song). Watching the Obama’s dance to Etta James just made you feel like everything was gonna be alright. As I watched my president I couldn’t help but think of the many people that were watching the very same thing; people, who like myself, was sitting back wondering how can I take myself to the next level. I can’t speak for everyone else but taking a look at life in general has taken on a whole new meaning for me – and to my people, now there’s no excuse; being “black” doesn’t work anymore (to be honest it never worked).
As I watched our new President walk I could see what Cheryl saw; he does kinda walk like my uncle Larry; he had a smooth walk. Remembering my uncle Larry reminded me of how entertainment can sometimes play a roll in a person’s life. When we were younger I always saw the similarities in my uncle and his friend Sam – they were a carbon copy of Lamont and Raulo from Sanford and Son; I don’t know if was intentional or whether this was just their association with the men of their times. As I thought more about it I realized that the younger generation tends to gravitate to certain images; back in the day it was a positive image, but things, like life, change – I remember my nephew was Snoop Dog reincarnate – he had the walk, the talk, the attitude and today I see so many baby T.I.s, & Lil’ Wayne’s. Unfortunately now-a-days our children are drawn more to images that are not necessarily positive role-model images; they are grander but not necessarily better. The pickings of role models are very slim these days – men (all races) are either hard or too soft. Women are either soft or too hard. Confusion – either I work all day like mom & dad or I’ll forego the education and make a living rapping or playing ball. Ten years ago I had a saying that no one could convince me otherwise. The saying was, “If a 5 minute song or a 2 hour movie can change the way I’ve raised my child, then I, as a parent have failed.” As much as I would love to say that this still rings true, I can’t. Oh, I’m still a good parent that will crack their heads to the white meat, but for me and others life has become full and we are working longer & harder – yes, this was true before TV had innuendos & movies were just plain dirty. This was before records had curse words and music videos turned into porn. This was before video games were violent and you could dial up sex on the phone. This was before society told me how to raise my child and the young became wild and wicked. This was before mommies borrowed their teenaged daughter’s skinny jeans because they were tighter and fathers were getting high with their sons.
As I watched my new president I was loving him more as a person; he had the unique swag of my people; a swag that says I have defied the odds. A man that believed he was just as good as everybody else, but he was no better. My president, the role model of today. There was so much about him that made you appreciate yourself. His swag makes you appreciate from whence you came and for what you are. His swag makes you feel like you don’t have to give up who you are for what society wants you to be. As I sat back on the bed watching them and writing this I became excited with the possibilities. Possibilities that, fatherless men will stand up and be the father figure to their children that they didn’t have. Possibilities that, an educated man would treat an uneducated man as his equal. Possibilities that, the day would come when what you wore wouldn’t define who you were (my president jogs with his cap backwards). Possibilities that, it’s okay to speak the King’s English, to receive a good education, to love who you are, and to never be ashamed of being different. When you manage to capture all of that and be comfortable with who and whose you are, then you can’t help but have a swagger. NSBIG
~Stay Prayed Up! CLICK ON THE LINK
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