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Sunday, January 31, 2010

Be Blessed: Positive Thinking is Easy (Really!)

Everyday as we go about our daily tasks, we are constantly having inner dialogs - Some good ("Girl, you are working that outfit today!")and some bad ("Why even bother... that's never going to happen!".

I have realized a long time ago that there is no way to perfectly remove the negative chatter... it's job is to distract and steer you from your path, and it diligently goes about it's job. What we can do... is ensure that we don't steer, that we don't bend, that we don't pause and doubt ourselves.

One method that has worked for me is a mantra I created when I was a teenager. "Whatevah, money..." It's my particular Brooklyn-girl way of saying "Talk to the hand, man... You have no power here!" Another method is the weekly incorporation of a specific affirmation, one that is specific to what you are currently wanting to work on (love, success, wisdom, growth, peace of mind, etc.).

Either print the words out, or write it down, and place it somewhere you will be able to look at it every single day (Bathroom/Bedroom Mirror, the Fridge, etc.). Each time you glance and read these words, you will be making it a part of the inner chatter in your mind. You will be giving yourself a terrific opportunity to change your life, by simply starting within. With every sunrise, we are blessed with a new day and a new opportunity to love, strengthen and heal ourselves.


I'd like to share with y'all an excerpt from a book that I have found immensely helpful. Shakti Gawain's Reflections in the Light: Daily Thoughts and Affirmations is a book that has 365 affirmations, one for every day of the year. When I first bought it, I would diligently read the day's message every morning when I woke up and every evening before retiring to bed. As the years progressed, I made an almost divination game out of it: I would hold the book to me and ask my higher self to guide me to the affirmation I need to work on in a particular week. And I would turn the pages until one jumped out at me.

The below affirmation is the first one in the book (January 1st). May it inspire you to take a fresh new start and strengthen you with positivity.

Saturday, January 30, 2010

A Little [JOHN COLTRANE] for a Saturday Night

I am so in love with this song! It's a bitterly cold night here in Brooklyn, so I am nestled under the covers, listening to music. When this song started playing, I jumped up and pulled out my laptop because I knew this would be the perfect "for a Saturday Night" song!!!



John Coltrane "Naima"

Friday, January 29, 2010

DOPE: "somebody almost walked off wid..." Ntozake Shange

I have heard rumors that Tyler Perry is making a film adaptation of "For Colored Girls..... ". I maintain an "optimistic, but wary" stance about that.

Anyway, Buena Batiste (who I just discovered searching for this monologue) is fantastic in her performance, so I give her a big two thumbs up for that.



somebody almost walked off wid alla my stuff
- Ntozake Shange

somebody almost walked off wid alla my stuff
not my poems or a dance i gave up in the street
but somebody almost walked off wid alla my stuff
like a kleptomaniac workin hard & forgettin while stealin
this is mine/this aint yr stuff/
now why don't you put me back & let me hang out in my own self
somebody almost walked off wit alla my stuff
& didn't care enuf to send a note home sayin
i was late for my solo conversation
or two sizes to small for my own tacky skirts
what can anybody do wit somethin of no value on
a open market/ did you getta dime for my things/
hey man/ where are you goin wid alla my stuff/
to ohh & ahh abt/ daddy/ i gotta mainline number
from my own shit/ now wontcha put me back/ & let
me play this duet/ wit silver ring in my nose/
honest to god/ somebody almost run off wit alla my stuff/
& i didnt bring anythin but the kick & sway of it
the perfect ass for my man & none of it is theirs
this is mine/ ntozake 'her own things'/ that's my name
now give me my stuff/ i see ya hidin my laugh/ & how i
sit wif my legs open sometimes/ to give my crotch
some sunlight/ & there goes my love my toes my chewed
up finger nails/ niggah/ wif the curls in yr hair/
mr. louisiana hot link/ i want my stuff back/
my rhytums & my voice/ open my mouth/ & let me talk ya
outta/ throwin my shit in the sewar/ this is some delicate
leg & whimsical kiss/ i gotta have to give to my choice/
without you runnin off wit alla my shit/
now you cant have me less i give me away/ & i waz
doin all that/ til ya run off on a good thing/
who is this you left me wit/ some simple bitch
widda bad attitude/ i wants my things/
i want my arm wit the hot iron scar/ & my leg wit the
flea bite/ i want my calloused feet & quik language back
in my mouth/ fried plantains/ pineapple pear juice/
sun-ra & joseph & jules/ i want my own things/ how i lived them/
& give me my memories/ how i waz when i waz there/
you cant have them or do nothin wit them/
stealin my shit from me/ dont make it yrs/ makes it stolen/
somebody almost run off wit alla my stuff/ & i waz standin
there/ lookin at myself/ the whole time
& it waznt a spirit took my stuff/ waz a man whose
ego walked round like Rodan's shadow/ waz a man faster
n my innocence/ waz a lover/ i made too much
room for/ almost run off wit alla my stuff/
& i didnt know i'd give it up so quik/ & the one runnin wit it/
don't know he got it/ & i'm shoutin this is mine/ & he dont
know he got it/ my stuff is the anonymous rip[ped off treasure
of the year/ did you know somebody almost got away wit me/
me in a plastic bag under their arm/ me
danglin on a string of personal carelessness/ i'm spattered wit
mud & city rain/ & no i didnt get a chance to take a douche/
hey man/ this is not your perogative/ i gotta have me in my
pocket/ to get round like a good woman shd/ & make the poem
in the pot or the chicken in the dance/ what i got to do/
i gotta get my stuff to do it to/
why dont ya find yr own things/ & leave this package
of me for my destiny/ what ya got to get from me/
i'll give it to ya/ yeh/ i'll give it to ya/
round 5:00 in the winter/ when the sky is blue-red/
& Dew City is gettin pressed/ if it's really my stuff/
ya gotta give it to me/ if ya really want it/ i'm
the only one/ can handle it


Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Miss Moon's Musing About: Adulthood (As Seen on TV)

I am 32 years old... so I have been an adult for over a decade now. And I can honestly say that until very recently, I did not enjoy my adult years. My 20s, put plainly, sucked. And I blame Hollywood for it. LOL

It all started when I was 17 years old and saw the movie "Reality Bites"... About Gen X College Graduates going out into the Real World! Man, was Janeane Garofalo, Ethan Hawke and Winona Ryder cool as hell! I envisioned my life being a chocolate-coated version of the movie!






I wanted to be just as creative and quirky and counter-cultural as they were.... until 2007. And then..... I saw "Love Jones"!!! Whooooo, chile!




I was 20 years old and I thought the Universe was sending me a celluloid version of what I had in store for the next decade. The passion, the culture, the music, the dope ass, awesome life!










Sadly, my 20s was not as eventful or passionate as Nia Long's character, Nina. Which I guess could be a blessing in disguise, since she spent the entire movie pining for Darius (Larenz Tate), only to finally get it together a year later, being drenched in the cold cold rain.... sorry if I'm giving a spoiler! LOL

All-in-all, I really shouldn't complain. My twenties weren't so horrifically bad. I did a lot of growth work, which has made me the woman I am today. And my life is pretty damn terrific now.

So instead of kvetching about my 20s, I will end this trip back to the 90s with two of my favorite songs from "Reality Bites" and "Love Jones".... enjoy, y'all.



Squeeze "Tempted"



Lauryn Hill "The Sweetest Thing"

Peace from Brooklyn!