Patience

patience

Whether were talking about blogging or life in general, we have got to start being more patient with one another. As soon as we see something different, be it a viewpoint or belief system, so many of us are ready to throw in the towel. The concept, however, of networking is to learn from each other, and to build while gaining insight along the way because the fact of the matter is that we don’t know everything; which means that everyone you meet will always have something new to teach you. Their eyes have seen what yours have not and their strengths may in fact include what you are still striving to obtain for yourself and vice verse. We can’t be in such a hurry to condemn and to judge someone’s actions because we can’t see how it is relatable to our lives at this very moment. The most cowardly thing I’ve seen online, for instance, is when one blogger chooses to disagree with another person’s blog but instead of approach the person directly, to this person’s dismay, they have to read about it in that person’s post and then guess whether or not they’re the person being spoken about. If this sounds confusing and juvenile that’s because it is. I see this many times on Facebook and sadly it has not escaped the blogosphere but is something people seem to do often on social media. Not that this has happened to me personally, I’m just using this as an example. It is never good to assume and always worth it to ask questions. Nothing anyone says or does is always about you personally. You see, patience is everything and covers many different angles. So it’s easy to miss something if we can’t control our emotions and are quick to fly off the handle. Did you really think no one on the internet would ever disagree with you? Ever? I allow varying viewpoints on my blog because that’s the real world. As much as we would like to make our blogs our own little world in the corner of a room it doesn’t work like that. It’s not going to always be lollypops and rainbows, but sometimes there will be a little thunder. Reaching people is not just about sitting around the table talking to people who already believe exactly as you do because it’s no growth in that. For this reason, I allow people to have disagreements here because it’s that way in life. Being flexible doesn’t mean to give up what you believe in, it just means to understand how to navigate the world around you. Leaders are born from patience.

Growth

black-woman-deep-thought-sitting-chair-background-47558591

“There is always something to do. There are hungry people to feed, naked people to clothe, sick people to comfort and make well. And while I don’t expect you to save the world I do think it’s not asking too much for you to love those with whom you sleep, share the happiness of those whom you call friend, engage those among you who are visionary and remove from your life those who offer you depression, despair and disrespect.”

– Nikki Giovanni

This Should Be Interesting ….

Reading_glasses

Somehow, I knew it would come to this. Constant watery eyes, blurred vision, and a deep passion for reading and writing, even when there’s not sufficient light (dangit you smart phone screens). Why am I not surprised that I need glasses? I haven’t gone in yet, but I do believe I’m nearsighted. I’ll definitely have to get some really cute ones! Me with glasses though? This should be interesting lol. I’ll post a selfie if things turn out the way I think it’s going….

Blogger Support: Fact or Fiction?

That one follower who likes every one of your posts no matter what it is. Ever wonder if it’s real? Yea, me too.

No, I don’t believe in fake followers. I believe every subscriber is flesh and blood, despite their reasoning for doing so. I do, on occasion, wonder: when you like a post, do you click that button because you really like or agree with the content? Or is it just to show your support for the blog you just followed? And if it’s to show support, do you think it helps or hinders the blog? I mean, you can tell if someone is truly engaged or if it’s just a routine type deal so I’m just wondering. I suppose you can call this a random Sunday thought. (Hey, I like that) Do you engage blogs you follow because you are interested in the perspective or just to give the illusion that you are since you followed them? Personally, since starting this blog I’ve come to enjoy interacting with other blogs. It fulfills my need to be of service and it also helps my own blog because people generally tend to give back, not that I support for this reason at all, it’s just one of the perks to blogging. As they say, “to get support you have to give it” If the people aren’t coming to you, you have to go to the people. But I only like posts I really like or find useful in some way so I’m just wondering. What kind of blog support do you engage in? And which in your opinion is more effective? Are you a silent supporter? That is, you shake your head in approval and shout your, “That’s rights!” into the screen with no intent of seeing your words in print. No matter your method, are you sincere in your support? Is it fact or fiction?

Yours, Not Mine

“What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? I answer a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. To him, your celebration is a sham: your boasted liberty, an unholy license: your national greatness, swelling vanity. Your sound of rejoicing is empty and heartless. Your denunciation of tyrants brass fronted impedance; your shout of liberty and equality, hollow mockery. Your prayers and hymns, sermons, and thanksgiving, with all your religious parade and solemnity, are to him, more bombast, fraud, deception, and hypocrisy–a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages. There is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices more shocking and bloody than are the people of the United States, at this very hour.” – Frederick Douglass, July 5, 1852

Courage

Close up portrait of a young african american woman looking out window when working on laptop

I know that it is never easy

to wear scarlet letters on your skin

to take history

and C-section her calendars

for the stories

that didn’t make it

until you find the authenticity

of truth

like consciousness

beautiful

but delicate

see through

and cutting

like shattering glass

piercing the spirit

and slicing through flesh and bone

so no one looks at the news the same

but for those of you

who have cherished her summers

kissed her springs

embraced the coldest winters ever

and dared to wear her degradation

on your lips

for your courage to find the other pieces

of her

the parts society is too fearful

of hearing

she bathes in your smile

because you loved her, truth

saw her delicate

and fragile

torn between the additions

and subtractions

that multiplied her sorrows

until her parts were divided

ripping her reality from the pages of scripture

like confused tongues

and babblings

snatching her away

from the breast of wisdom

like coal painted faces

minstrel shows

whitewashed genesis

cream-colored pharaohs

but she is not interested

that you feel sorry for her

history

she needs not of your pride

not of your bonafie hustlers

in prophet suits

not of your street corners

not of your liquor stores

not even of your religion

for her stone coated roses are too heavy

to place upon your caskets

for even in death

you have honored yourself

above her

truth

needs not of your chocolate bars

for history is tired of eating

she is sick

to the brim

with prophecies

and worries

and concerns

and birth pains

over those who wear her burden

like the colors of their skins

but she is thankful

that they have chosen to rather be humiliated

than to deny her

and this poem

is for all

their bravery.