I'll be there

Michael Jackson!~Paul Deo, artist-New Orleans
www.pauldeo.com

I wanted to wait a few days to see where I wanted to go with this but I was bushwhacked with what I see as unneccesary, tacky, calloused ,needless comments about the death of Michael Jackson. It appears to me in the mind & hearts of some there seems to be some level of perverse pleasure in dancing on a human being even before his once amazing life had completely drained away. I know we live in a different time today where shattered souls, fractured ones may think that somehow this behavior is alright.

Perhaps in that world it does, but...

Perhaps it wishful thinking but even those who want to make a mockery of a life snuffed should have somewhere in their hearts a small fragment,a microscopic shred of common decency for a family who have lost someone they loved. No matter where you are in your belief, good grief have respect and courtesy for his mama , his children and his siblings.

If you have never lost a child and it don't matter if the "child" is 50, please for a moment let them have a moment. How is it benefiting you or any one in the world for that matter for you to restrain yourselves. How is that fleeting moment or rush worth it to be so heartless& cruel. It wouldn't matter if if was Michael Jackson, performer or Mike Jackson, the garbage man, a mother has to bury her son. No one should have to endure that pain. I refuse to believe we have regress to a level of barbaric behavior that we are immune or without moral conscious thought for the suffering of another.

A quote I saw once at a funeral hall when I buried my grandmother stated "How you treat the dead is how you will treat the living".

Search, please, dig hard, borrow, buy or appropriate for a moment, a shred of humanity. I would pray that no one would dance on your grave or make a mockery of your life..then to, maybe they will considering the behavior of some in the world today.





When all the vultures, exploiters, critics have been satiated from picking the marrow clean and move onto a new prey, long after for a moment the shock subsides, recedes and return sometime/many times return in waves, long after people return to their lives, the music and the artistry will remain. A mother will still have lost a son, brothers and sisters will still have lost a brother.





And innocent children will have lost a father.

I know I probably have more to say later but I felt for a moment I needed to address this. As someone I know commonly says "vake what you want and leave the rest alone".

So touching was Sister Janet dignity despite her grief...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLxXqbjdrKI





It won't cost you much and might even save you...





Look.. I see a new heavens and a new earth.. where mouning nor outcry or pain will be no more...the former things will have passed away..."

Don't Stop.. Never Enough...We Get Him... Yeah!

I am planning on writing an essay but my brain is till processing. I know what direction I want togo but now I have to wait for the words to appear...

But right now I want something up.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_hz2am90Hk&NR=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hK3Y1Ehv9c&NR=1

Rare footage from back in the Day

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPQmHwALAck
My fave J-5 video

J-5!
J-5!
J-5!

And from a far distance part vantage point I marvel over the dance ability/choreography...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7MmEMrCRfc&NR=1

and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WjOn5TNjBM&NR=1

MJ and Oprah
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpJ72hjmPDk&feature=fvw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCqQ2JcQWGs&NR=1

Mirror Mirror off the Wall

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxdqUMaymbA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcflAMl0XSw

"Man In The Mirror"

I'm Gonna Make A Change,

For Once In My Life

It's Gonna Feel Real Good,

Gonna Make A Difference

Gonna Make It Right . . .

As I, Turn Up The Collar On MyFavourite Winter Coat

This Wind Is Blowin' My Mind

I See The Kids In The Street,

With Not Enough To Eat

Who Am I, To Be Blind?

Pretending Not To See Their Needs

A Summer's Disregard,

A Broken Bottle Top

And A One Man's Soul

They Follow Each Other OnThe Wind

Ya' Know'Cause They Got NowhereTo Go

That's Why I Want You ToKnow

I'm Starting With The Man InThe Mirror

I'm Asking Him To ChangeHis Ways

And No Message Could HaveBeen Any Clearer

If You Wanna Make The World A Better Place

(If You Wanna Make TheWorld A Better Place)

Take A Look At Yourself,

And Then Make A Change

(Take A Look At Yourself, And Then Make A Change)

(Na Na Na, Na Na Na, Na Na,Na Nah)

I've Been A Victim Of A Selfish Kind Of Love

It's Time That I Realize

That There Are Some With No Home, Not A Nickel To Loan

Could It Be Really Me,Pretending That They're Not Alone?

A Willow Deeply Scarred,

Somebody's Broken Heart

And A Washed-Out Dream(Washed-Out Dream)

They Follow The Pattern OfThe Wind,

Ya' See

Cause They Got No PlaceTo Be

That's Why I'm Starting WithMe (Starting With Me!)

I'm Starting With The Man InThe Mirror(Ooh!)

I'm Asking Him To ChangeHis Ways(Ooh!)

And No Message Could HaveBeen Any Clearer

If You Wanna Make The WorldA Better Place

(If You Wanna Make TheWorld A Better Place)

Take A Look At Yourself

AndThen Make A Change(Take A Look At Yourself And Then Make A Change)

I'm Starting With The Man InThe Mirror(Ooh!)

I'm Asking Him To Change HisWays

(Change His Ways-Ooh!)

And No Message Could'veBeen Any Clearer

If You Wanna Make The WorldA Better Place

(If You Wanna Make TheWorld A Better Place)

Take A Look At Yourself AndThen Make That . . .

(Take A Look At Yourself AndThen Make That . . .) Change!

I'm Starting With The Man InThe Mirror,(Man In The Mirror-OhYeah!)

I'm Asking Him To ChangeHis Ways(Better Change!)

No Message Could HaveBeen Any Clearer (If You Wanna Make TheWorld A Better Place)

(Take A Look At Yourself AndThen Make The Change)

(You Gotta Get It Right, WhileYou Got The Time)

('Cause When You Close YourHeart)

You Can't Close Your . . .YourMind!

(Then You Close Your . . .Mind!)

That Man,

That Man,

ThatMan,

That Man

With That Man In The Mirror

(Man In The Mirror, Oh Yeah!)

That Man,

That Man,

That Man I'm Asking Him To ChangeHis Ways(Better Change!)

You Know . . .

That Man No Message Could HaveBeen Any Clearer

If You Wanna Make The WorldA Better Place

(If You Wanna Make TheWorld A Better Place)

Take A Look At Yourself

AndThen Make A Change

(Take A Look At Yourself And Then Make A Change)

Hoo! Hoo! Hoo! Hoo! Hoo!

Na Na Na, Na Na Na, Na Na,Na Nah

(Oh Yeah!)

Gonna Feel Real Good Now!

Yeah Yeah! Yeah Yeah!Yeah Yeah!

Na Na Na, Na Na Na, Na Na,Na Nah

(Ooooh . . .)

Oh No, No No . . .

I'm Gonna Make A Change

It's Gonna Feel Real Good!

Come On!(Change . . .)

Just Lift Yourself

You KnowYou've Got To Stop It.Yourself!

(Yeah!-Make That Change!)

I've Got To Make That Change,Today!

Hoo!(Man In The Mirror)

You Got ToYou Got To

Not Let Yourself . . .

Brother . . .Hoo!

(Yeah!-Make That Change!)

You Know-I've Got To GetThat Man, That Man . . .

(Man In The Mirror)

You've Got ToYou've Got To Move!

ComeOn! Come On!

You Got To . . .

Stand Up! Stand Up!Stand Up!

(Yeah-Make That Change)

Stand Up And LiftYourself, Now!

(Man In The Mirror)

Hoo! Hoo! Hoo!

Aaow!(Yeah-Make That Change)

Gonna Make That Change . . .Come On!

(Man In The Mirror)

You Know It!You Know It!You Know It!

You Know . . .

(Change . . .)

Make That Change.

Isaiah 65:17-23

I finally found this wonderful in MJ's on words to Ed Bradley "the most autobiographical song about who he is". For ones who pooh-pooh believe what you want. If you have any kind of a willing to listen heart, show some heart today to pay attention to any of the lost boys (or girls)out here who may not have a place (or MJ's gift) to say:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVJscGa5vbc

Childhood
Written and Composed by Michael Jackson.
by Michael Jackson 2007

1959-2009 Isaiah 65:17:23


Have you seen my Childhood?

I'm searching for the world that I come from

'Cause I've been looking around

In the lost and found of my heart...

No one understands me

They view it as such strange eccentricities...

'Cause I keep kidding around

Like a child, but pardon me...

People say I'm not okay

'Cause I love such elementary things...

It's been my fate to compensate, for the ChildhoodI've never known...

Have you seen my Childhood?

I'm searching for that wonder in my youth

Like pirates in adventurous dreams,

Of conquest and kings on the throne...

Before you judge me, try hard to love me,

Look within your heart then ask,

Have you seen my Childhood?

People say I'm strange that way

'Cause I love such elementary things,
It's been my fate to compensate,

for the Childhood (Childhood) I've never known...

Have you seen my Childhood?

I'm searching for that wonder in my youth

Like fantastical stories to share

But the dreams I would dare, watch me fly...

Before you judge me, try hard to love me.

The painful youth I've had

Have you seen my Childhood....

I cannot say anything more right now but my condolences to the families of

Ed Mahon, Farrah Fawcett and vhe King of Pop, Michael Jackson

My all time perennial favorite of Mr. Jackson:Earth Song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8muMo0fw_M

Wigs, Butterflies and other Crazy things that can Happen on a Sun Sun Monday (for a Free Woman)

Wigs, Butterflies and other Crazy things that can Happen on a Sun Sun Monday (for a Free Woman)

By JHM©09


Can I Parler sans fards? ( to speak openly)?

I have to be frank and said everything started on Sunday and heated up on Monday for me. Some have known that I had been talking for awhile about returning home to New Orelans this year but timing had not been right. A place I had been looking at rather casually and had actually veto ended up being revisited this week with renewed interest. After trying to find it on Google Earth unsuccessfuly, I enlisted the aid of someone else and thankfully they found it!

Upon my searching out the neighborhood an adjacent street caught my attention. It sounded vaguely familiar but I did not know from where. And then it struck me, my parents, when I was a wee, newly born itty bitty one, lived on this adjacent street! So I went on a search after confirming it on my birth certificate & found the place which literally was 3 blocks over from the house I am getting.

My 1st thoughts were “hmm so I am really returning to my roots”. My 94 year old mother confirmed the house which was boarded up after Katrina. While doing this something clicked in my head from a article I read upon arising today on the Power & the Vision” of how some people, many times spend their whole lives:

“it's interesting that most work makes us look downward, while dreams lift our eyes to the sky. While you're keeping that nose to the grindstone, make sure you keep your head up to see where you're going”.

I've always known I was going somewhere even if the “where” may not always be clear & apparent to me and even less to others. As the artist, Karen Bethea , said to me today” I believe some people are being positioned in many aspect for some things big to happen. And if you are in the right place at the right time and ready, you will be there to reap large benefits”.

Of course those benefits may be different things to different people. But what is clear if you are not there you will reap absolutely no thing but the same old thing. And the same old thing can get really old, you can start to tolerate what’s intolerable, suffer in silence, get smaller, shrinking down and expectations narrow and then you are stuck miserable, bored and not filled.

Not even knowing why or worse how you got there…

And even worse, how to get yourself out of it.

So while looking into my little garden courtyard, I saw my 1st butterfly of the season. It was beautiful sort of a yellowed lime or a limed yellow color almost translucent. I found myself smiling and wow I get to see some before I leave. And then I stepped out into the garden and though it was high noon fed my plants, watering the ground, being soothe by the act though my thoughts were grumbling over some of the plants still not in the ground and other bulbs I will not get in the ground when it hit me, a missing link of my “Bringing it on Home” project I want to implement once I get there. It was part of a proposal that was not accepted a year and a half ago when I thought I was going elsewhere.

But here was a golden opportunity to bring this vision into fruition! And what a better place then New Orleans with its transformation in action now to do this! If that butterfly had not graced my garden on a Sun Sun Monday I might not have stepped outside to water and subsequently gotten the idea.

Of course I am not attributing anything mystical to this. My mind was relaxed, clear and comforted which allowed my creative juices to flow and with it the vision came & the idea resurfaced with a plan.

So now what do wigs have to do with all of this?

Whenever I am ready for a change, I get the urge to cut my hair. Some women will identify with this. I’ve worn a curly blond fro for almost a decade and now I am bored, not knowing what I wanted to do as I am not prolific with hair. I knew I wanted to change the color, wasn’t sure what style when I decided to look up wigs which can evoke a different mood experimenting with different looks without a permanent investment. So I found three. One is reminiscent of a period of Erykah Badu’s many looks or a 1970’s earlier Pam Grier style.

Yet another of an earlier Phyllis Yvonne Stickney, an actress and comedian I admire. Sharp clean and distinctive and one of a style I enjoyed on Gabrielle Union. Understand, I am not a 59 year old woman looking to be 16 who is aspiring to look 25 (years old). I am not going to lose me, but a fresher transformed me is where I want to be.

So among a lot of smaller but weird things that occurred today, these were the thing that swung my day’s rhythms. I never got to my "to do list" for a Sun Sun Monday, but that’s ok because what needed to be done was indeed done.

How cool is that? ©09

Textural RhythmsExhibition in New York

Congratulations Carolyn & artists!

You will continue to rock...

http://www.folkartmuseum.org/default.asp?id=2377

International sounds

How infectious is this!

Group is: Magic System

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sF22ZLWP8Zo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8u1GNOMTso&NR=1

A Different Sort of Wisdom

Flower in Colbalt ©09 photograph by Diana Stock Prescott

"Smart people learn from their own mistakes and wise people learn from others insights”~ Christoph Purita

I appreciate the comments, though I cannot take credit for the garbage truck story. I was smart enough to read it, get it and share it, for which is then a course of wisdom..

Don't Let them Bring You Down...

Candle in the Mirror photograph ©09~Courtesy Of Diana Stock-Prescott

“People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within.” ~Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

THE LAW OF THE GARBAGE TRUCK

How often do you let other people's nonsense change your mood? Do you let a bad driver, rude waiter, curt boss, or an insensitive employee ruin your day? The mark of a successful person is how quickly they can get back their focus on what's important.

Sixteen years ago I learned this lesson. I learned it in the back of a New York City taxi cab. Here's what happened: I hopped in a taxi and we took off for Grand Central Station. We were driving in the right lane when, all of a sudden, a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his breaks, skidded, and missed the other car's back end by just inches! The driver of the other car, the guy who almost caused a big accident, whipped his head around and he started yelling bad words at us.

My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was friendly.

So, I said, "Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!" And this was the taxi driver's reply, "Many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it. And if you let them, they'll dump it on you. When someone wants to dump on you, don't take it personally...just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. You'll be happy you did."

So this was it: The 'Law of the Garbage Truck'.

I started thinking, how often do I let garbage trucks run right over me? And how often do I take their garbage and spread it to other people: at work, at home, on the streets? It was that day I said, "I'm not going to do it anymore."

I began to see garbage trucks. Like in the movie 'The Sixth Sense',the little boy said, "I see dead people." Well, now "I see garbage trucks." I see the load they're carrying. I see them coming to drop it off. And like my taxi driver, I don't make it a personal thing; I just smile, wave, wish them well, and I move on.

One of my favorite football players of all time, Walter Payton, did this every day on the football field. He would jump up as quickly as he hit the ground after being tackled and he never dwelled on a hit. Payton was ready to make the next play his best.

Good leaders know they have to be ready for their next meeting.

Good parents know that they have to welcome their children home from school with hugs and kisses.

Leaders and parents should know that they have to be fully present, and at their best for the people they care about. The bottom line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks take over their day. What about you? What would happen in your life, starting today,if you let more garbage trucks pass you by?

Here's my bet: you'll be happier.

Life's too short to wake up in the morning with regrets,

So: Love the people who treat you right.

Forget about the ones who don't.

Believe that everything happens for a reason.

If you get a chance...TAKE IT!

And if it changes your life...LET IT!

So which Life Lesson are you on?

Written By Regina Brett, 90 years old, of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio



1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick.
Your friends and family will. Stay in touch.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.
; 16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood.
But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood.
38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.
41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
42. The best is yet to come.
43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
44. Yield.
45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."

A Ya Ya day~What an Amazing Awakening it 'tis!

You cannot speak that which you do not know. You cannot share that which you do not feel. You cannot translate that which you do not have. And you cannot give that which you do not possess. To give it and to share it, and for it to be effective you first need to have it. Good communication starts with good preparation.~ George C. Fraser

Yesterday I had a d'light*full day.

I actually spoke very eloquently, passionately and sincerely taking my authority in a matter that had to be cared for with a couple of people that had been long overdue in adjusting. It had been decades in the making. It was not something necessary for a Made for Tv Movie, but it was so forever more there is no doubt or question in my humanity, my belief and dreams. I will not go into what it was all about as I have no desire to embarrass or publicly need to do so. And in all fairness how would they have known if I had not said anything, choosing instead to swallowed again and again and again which in the finally anaylsis was me living a lie that had been proposed as truth then morphing into an unconsicous belief. A lie was told but I very passively, unconsciously opted to live, instead of throwing it off as the debris that it was.

This moment was not planned, it was simply that time had come. My focus that day was completely opposite from what did indeed happend.

Without drama or fanfare, I stated my case. Respectfully, truthfully & passionately. They listen.

I do not know if they heard.

And it does not matter since it was not a Movie made for Tv.

We will just say it was one of those "Ya Ya Sisterhood/ Towanda/I'm every woman" like moments that I can realistic enough to know may happen again with someone as life ain't over by a long shot. I so know my weight challenges had been in part because of anger & rage that had been swallowed again and again until it spilled over onto my bones. It took me years to acknowledge to myself in a very cellular way without excuses or justification of how angry I was and how much I had swallowed.

Make no mistake I am a pretty happy person and despite a lot of things. I had managed to have a pretty good life, but always in the corner of my mind was this anger...

And now there is no more room.

Here,I have to use a friend, a Ya Ya warrior woman in her own right words eloquently described of how it felt after her liberation day:

"I think a lot of us know subconsciously that it is a lie we are living but we are afraid of letting go and making space for whatever may come in its place.

WE almost dread change and when the universe finally sees that we are not going to let go it steps in and hits us with a whammy and we have no choices we kind of stop holding our breath and breathe out all that knotted, tied up poisonous anger inside that we have tried to bury with food or cigarettes or things or money.

WHAT AN AMAZING AWAKENING IT IS.

Colours take on a new brightness and things which were dark become clear and you find you actually can fly and are strong enough to handle anything. Fear is the bondage we place on ourselves. Faith and change are radical concepts but of the freedom and the colour and the love one finds when you let go and put down what you have been carrying. It pours out of everything and the fear just evaporates.

The corporeal part of you remains the way it is unless you wish to work on it but the spirit is free and so much more discerning and there is so much free beauty around us to fill in the dark spaces; I visualise a stained glass window with the sun streaming through the colours and falling on flagstones and irradiating them as well. There will be spaces remaining which are not filled but they enhance what the now holds. through their very contrast. Sometimes there are truths you have known and colours within which you have covered which only a loving Heavenly Creator can see and must do something about and the means may initially not be pleasant but oh the end!

The end is a Stained glass Rose window of multiple hue shedding light on all who pass beneath it. The end is a rainbow with a pot of molten rich gold velvet so soft and warm and all enfolding for you to put on and warm yourself in. It is diaphanous so that others may bask in it's light and form. It is freedom, true freedom that you may love yourself as a self in the now. I hope you understand the glorious feeling that I am trying to convey with these images. These are divinity. Each one of us can discover this. I wonder how many people do".

I could not have said it anybetter...

I had such a liberating Ya Ya day yesterday. I knew this time was coming as I've worked long and hard, sometimes veering off the trail to look at something, lollygagging, being distracted but then finding my way back to the happy trails. My now emptied room took a lot of time a lot more and far longer then I would have cared for and probably wore some people out in the process as I kept looking through boxes of stuff that was so dusty and faded it made me wonder why in the Sam Hill did I keep them around?

But rather then waste one more precious moment on wondering they were tossed away. Not tossed aside so they could be put back but tossed out!

And how gloriously, juicily, decisively liberated I felt.

Later in the day in my mailbox was to small packages that made me grin. One was one of my rewards for reaching a milestone, a big one for me. I had seen a vintage pair of checkered Mod sunglasses circa 1964 & treated myself to them. And are they not only fabu, looking great on me to boot! I was delighted and was showing them to several friends who really like them.

However, there was one person present, one which I've had to back off a few paces prior saw them and gave a lukewarm "oh they are so you" which wasn't very sincere, more of those "well I do not care for them how dare you wear them and they are not appropriate for a woman of your age , but if it makes you happy okaaaay" tone of voice to show her disapproval.

I let her tone and words roll right off my back as I neither needed or asked her permission to have them. She's done it before over a period of time. I have no seen her as being against me, just not necessarily for me. When she has been far meit was always on the terms she decided for me.

It did not rock my joy I got iv where she is coming from.

I've dealt with some people unfortunately most of my life who have attitudes like that and have allotted them to lessen my joy. But not after having a Ya Ya day like yesterday!

Golden hugs and sunshine from this one Sassy Lassy who has repacked her Sass & carrying it with her!

Say You.. Say Me

No change of circumstances can repair a defect of character.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson, writer

Finding fault with everything you see

We all know people who just like to complain. It seems that no matter how good they have it, they're always spreading negative energy. Even the best, most painstaking listener can have trouble with someone who finds fault with everything around them. You can shine even in the worst situations if your character is strong.

If you're starting to see the "dark side" too often and find yourself blaming your circumstances on other people, take another look. If you think a change of scenery will solve all your problems, think again. Change can be good. Moving on to new things can be an exciting chance to stretch yourself and break a rut.

But it's important to start with yourself when you're finding things to improve.

No matter where you live, work or play, the only constant is you.

You can't escape yourself.

Change on the outside will have no effect on your happiness or fulfillment unless you change on the inside, too.

Linking Up

http://www.playingforchange.com/episodes/9/Change_Is_Gonna_Come

http://galan05.wordpress.com/

First link makes me want to pack up and take the 1st thing smokin' to go home.

It and the latter link makes me want to get out to see the world some more!

Enjoy

Yeah u Wright

Wonderful singer. I hear remanants of Traci Chapman in her voice.

Song is called Stop from 2005 but she is airing on WWOZ-New Orleans as we speak...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ll_G4QFYVhA

And one of my favorite Nat King Cole's; Nature Boy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLOPPv6GE7k&NR=1

Easy Like a Sunday Morning...

One of those waking up at 4 am and unable to return to sleep. I decided to head out at day light and shot my garden before the sun came out. It was very sweet outside and pleasant.

You Lift Me Up...

When things go wrong don't go with them.~ Elvis Presley, rock & roll icon

Lifting yourself up and continuing forward

Healthy Reflections http://www.sparkspeople.com/

Does it ever feel like trouble follows you around and won't cut you any slack? Sometimes it feels like you can't buy a break and everything you try just makes things worse. Who could blame you for feeling sorry for yourself or not forgive a little self-destructive behavior? Bad idea. The new, healthy way to spend down times is to lift yourself up and operate at a higher level. Remember that what happens to you is not who you are. It's history. It's past. Your true self takes that history and decides how to make the best possible future out of it. You have the power to keep your attitude and values from driving into the ditch along with the events in your life. From defeat, you can still emerge victorious.

Don't need No Words...

Blind Willie Johnson 1897-1945

the raw, powerful "Dark Was The Night, Cold Was the Ground", where he sings in wordless hum and moans about the crucifixion of Jesus. This song was a "moaning" piece related to the Bentonia school of blues practiced by such "eerie voiced" artists as Skip James and Robert Johnson.

Dark Was The Night, Cold Was the Ground was included on the Voyager Golden Record, sent into space with the Voyager spacecraft in 1977; this piece was used in the widely seen science show Cosmos: A Personal Voyage by Carl Sagan in 1980.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNj2BXW852g&feature=related

From 1927:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7R8RuOagzck&feature=related

What It Looks Like

"To be nobody but yourself--in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else-- means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting". ~E.E Cummings

This remark by Cummings, a poet, made wonder why on earth would one have to fight to be fully themselves having the courage of their convictions or living a fruitful productive life?

Of course then I realize that there is always always, always someone who seem to want for you not to be acceptable of oneself or accepting what is an inalienable right to have a joyously, juicy, delicious golden life. When ones may have embarked on doing things like can make a life, their life shimmer as encased in gold.

Whether it is something as simple as learning to ride a bike at 65, going back to college at 50, even hang gliding (though its not something I want to do) or be like the Scottish woman who all she wanted to do was to fulfill a promise to her mother after years of loving care was to sing, someone had to put her up to put her down.

Anthony Robbins said once about dreaming so big that people will laugh at you. If they are not, you are not dreaming big enough. It don't matter if it not come to fruition, but wouldn't just imagining it can make your life golden? What will success look like to you now or when you reach the goal?

Are your preparing for that eventuality or is it somewhat half cocked, a vague idea of what life will be like. And what if life does not end up being what you envision?


Adjusting your vision tweaking it as you are going through the process is smart & healthy. Even if you have a regression which is also normal having an idea of your vision plan, a guide or outline will aid you greatly in saying on track or a map to guide you back if you were distracted.

A successful plan can engage you into seeing yourself doing something you've only talked about whether it is something as simple as learning to ride a bike at 65, going back to college at 50, even hang gliding (though its not something I want to do) or be like the Scottish woman who set out to accomplish all she wanted to do & that was to fulfill a promise to her mother & herself. After years of loving care she opened her mouth & the world fell in love with her heart's desire, to sing, reached a mega number audience in the process. What she had only dreamt about, she created a vision plan, acted on it & won.

Not the contest which was really secondary, but she won...

She won even as some put her up to put her down. Even the ones who did not want her to change. It was interesting both camps seemed to focus on the same thing; her weight "dumpiness" lack of sophistication, "unattractiveness". Some clamor for an improvement, others wanting none.

But she knew what she wanted, went after it and got it!

Although she did not win the top spot, tabloids trashed her had her in rehab, in a mental health hospital a Boyle gone wild scenario. Yet she was like most of us, an average person with an amazing voice who simply wanted to use it in a larger way. And dared to dream big so much that others took noticed.

And it is well earned for her, you & me. While that might not be our aspiration, your bigness could be something more modest.

Being motivated will only go so far... George Frasier, author of the book Click!;Ten Truths To Building Extraordinary Relationships, said recently:"Motivation alone is not enough. If you have an idiot and you motivate him, now you have a motivated idiot"... It seems apparent, to me, evidence by the gazillion self help books /programs that are out there, that there are tons of people who are motivational junkies enjoying the next rush in hearing ,the speech,, reading the next book, seeing the next inspiring movie, but never quite ever going past that point.

We all may know someone like that and sometimes it is no further then the mirror. And we could all use the infusion, I know I do, because some times we do take detours, get off the track, pay more attention to people who while not necessarily against us but not for us. We can get so close to seeing what success looks like and it can be so awesome we get a wee bit overwhelmed or downright scared and back off the plan.

You go after it, after all, to see what success can look like.

A vision is a very good thing.

One with a plan is an excellent one.

One put into action is supreme.

A vision keeps you excited, keeps it juicy, keeps you from bumping around in the
dark.

It will make you know success when you see it .

Facing the boogyman

All problems become smaller if you don't dodge them, but confront them. Touch a thistle timidly, and it pricks you; grasp it boldly and its spines crumble.
- William S. Halsey, WWII U.S. Admiral

Facing your worst fears

Your worst fears are usually the ones that never happen. Unfortunately, they're also the ones that keep you from trusting yourself and your abilities. Doesn't it seem silly to give up in the face of an anxiety that may be no more real than the fairy tale troll that lives under the bridge? If you approach a possible roadblock with hesitation, it might resist and break your resolve. But if you step forward with confidence, you can climb that wall, even one inch at a time, and pull yourself over the top. It's all about confidence, which you build by facing problems. Then you know that you can take on anything that comes along. The unknown monster under the bed is always scarier than the dust bunny reality.

The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance, the wise grows it under his feet.
- James Oppenheim, short-story writer, novelist, poet

The key to happiness


The secret to happiness is not to get what you want, but to want what you already have. If you think about it, most discontent grows from want. We want more stuff, more excitement, more pleasure. When we don't get those things, we're resentful and unsatisfied. Take away the want, and you take away the unhappiness. When your quality of life is tied to your desires, fulfillment is a shadow that escapes your view. Like trying to imagine a new color, the harder you look, the harder it is to see. Does this mean you stop setting goals and striving for a healthy lifestyle and better life? No. It means you can appreciate life regardless of the outcome. It means you can relish the pursuit while accepting the possibility of failure. It means you can still enjoy the ride. Happiness is not a destination--it's a way of life.

Possibilities

A man who wants something will find a way; a man who doesn't will find an excuse.
~ Stephen Dolley Jr.

Do you see possibilities or problems?
www.sparkspeople.com


It's been said that some of the smartest people around would make lousy entrepreneurs. How can that be?

The fact is, some people are so smart they can easily see all of the problems, roadblocks, and snafus that they'll need to overcome to succeed. They can think of all kinds of reasons why their idea won't work.

This knowledge can overwhelm any thoughts of possibilities or dreams. When you think of your goals, do you focus on the positives of making it happen, or the negatives of potential barriers?

To reach your goals, you gotta really want them. More importantly, you gotta really believe that you can do it.

Think more about why you CAN make it happen instead of why you can't.

Koko Taylor 1928-2009 Queen of the Blues

1967 footage @ age 48:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkyklIiHdlQ&feature=related

Here she is in 2008 singing in honor of Morgan Freeman @ Kennedy Center

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUmkbhxfFVQ&feature=related

Interview "Baby Please don't Dog Me":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajEaxCS3iB4&feature=related

And"Wang Dang Doodle"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLFgroDqAsI&feature=related

Ready...set...G R O W ! ~from Jewel Diamond Taylor

by Self-esteem Dr. Jewel Diamond Taylor

http://www.jewelmotivaves.com/

Founder of Women on the Grow, Conference Speaker, Author and Life Coach

"See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland". Isaiah 43:19 (NIV)

As you make room for God to do a new thing in your life, you must have the courage to do a "new thing" for yourself. Growth requires pressing, consistency, dedication, purpose and courage. Don't wait until you are sick and tired of being sick, tired, broke, lonely, stuck, abused, invisible, frustrated and desperate.

It's time to do a new thing!

If you have been quiet... it's time to speak up.

If you have been isolated and shy... it's time get out, socialize, network and meet new people.

If you have been a spender... it's time to be a saver.

If you have been discouraged... it's time to get up and be grateful.

If you have been a receiver, it's time to be a giver.

If you've been procrastinating... it's time to take action.

If you've been angry and holding a grudge, it's time to let go.

If you have never ventured beyond your local area... it's time to travel.

If you think it's too late for you...it's time to change your thinking and self-worth.

If you have been stuck on stupid... it's time to walk in wisdom and integrity.

If you have always been the giver... it's time learn how to receive.

If you seek escape and comfort in the wrong places and things...it's time to learn how to cope in healthy and smarter ways.

If you receive invitations to gossip or argue...it's time to decline the invitation.

If you are always wearing your superwo(man) cape... it's time to delegate.

If you worry too much... it's time to start trusting God.

If you are always late and unorganized... it's time to start being punctual and reliable.

If you have been prideful, closed and defensive... it's time to be teachable.

If you are afraid to learn how to drive, use the computer, learn a new language, go salsa dancing, start your own business, tell the grown children to move out, go on an audition or interview or find a new church home that really feeds your spirit, teaches the word of God and blesses the community...it's time to do a new thing!

God wants to do a "new thing" in your life...but first you have to rid yourself of clutter, fear, limited thinking, poor choices and clinging to what is familiar, safe and comfortable.

Ready...set...G R O W !