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Showing posts from January, 2015

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If Everyone Does a Little, No One Has to Do a Lot: A Lesson in Collective Responsibility

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If Everyone Does a Little, No One Has to Do a Lot: A Lesson in Collective Responsibility The thoughts have been hitting me hard lately, and I realized I need to get back to blogging on a daily basis. Of course, I’m always doing too much, but I wanted to dedicate some time each day to writing. My idea was to align my blogs with the principles of the Nguzo Saba—so, for example, today being Kujichagulia (Self-Determination), I could write something that connects to that concept. Over time, this content could be compiled into something greater. And speaking of something greater, my family and I are gearing up for a trip to Ghana. That means I’ll be documenting our journey—shoutout to Ms. Sasha, who just got her passport! She’s officially stepping into the world as an international young lady of mystery and leisure. Our trip will take us from Columbus to New York, where we’ll spend a few hours exploring the city before catching a flight to Nairobi, Kenya. We’ll have a long layover there, ...

Not Versus but And

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One day I went to learn from one of my elders. This was over 20 years ago, but I still hold onto this memory, this was a critical shift in my life. This elder was very wise, and he proved it by his work in the community. Let's just say he was an alchemist. Long before people were talking about juice diets he had developed a line of juice and smoothies that could improve your health. I was blessed to receive an invitation from him to sit and conversate with him often. The idea that I wanted to share was brought to mind during a meeting that I was involved in.  I threw out a symbolic idea, that could not be grasped. Not that it did not make sense, but because the images I used were offensive and scary to some.  I dared to discuss a myth that I learned about Satan. I simply stated that in some cultures "Satan is known as the whisperer, and he or it had no power other than being able to present ideas (whisper) to the listener." Now to many of you out there that might throw y...

Curse of Fortuna part 1- short fictional tale

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My father was a different type of dude. He often referred to stories to teach me important life lessons, many of them I didn't understand until after he passed away. This story is one of those, and has proven to be the best so far. On my 18th birthday my father did not show up for my birthday party, but instead asked me to meet him at a coffee shop the day after. Being upset about him missing another major event in my life I showed up with an attitude. When I entered the coffee shop he was sitting at a table alone drinking and reading a book. I approached the table and took a seat, but he didn't immediately notice me. I sat quietly brooding, planning my verbal assault on this man that I felt never really paid any attention to me. Finally looking up at me, and smiling. " I'm glad you came, happy belated birthday." He said reaching his hand out in a gesture of peace. I shook his hand and for some reason my anger subsided, and he began to giggle. "Your 18 y...