On February 18, 2010 Tyrone Edwards from 1LOVETO posted on his facebook this simple request: “leave a C O M M E N T Describe Love to me -”

Everyone, including myself, replied to his status right away, or so I assume. For the most part everyone had varying definitions of love with some key similarities here and there, while some people had no description at all and described it as feeling you get. But he brought it to my attention one day that someone had posted a child’s definition of love in response to his request and said that it was amazing. I never went back to review what that person wrote and now that I have I’m so glad I finally did.

I would post the name of the lady who responded, but since I don’t know her and I don’t have her permission I won’t. I looked high and low online to find the source of this story so that I could give proper credit, but so far I haven’t found the original writer/researcher.

So here it goes…

A Kid’s Definition of LOVE

A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4-8 year olds: What does love mean? The answers that they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined.

“When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn’t bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That’s love.” Rebecca - age 8

“When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.” Billy - age 4

“Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.” Karl - age 5

“Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs.” Chrissy - age 6

“Love is what makes you smile when you’re tired.” Terri - age 4

“Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK.” Danny - age 7

“Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss.” Emily - age 8

“Love is what’s in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.” Bobby - age 7

“If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate.” Nikka - age 6

“Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday.” Noelle - age 7

“Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well.” Tommy - age 6

“During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn’t scared anymore.” Cindy - age 8

“My mommy loves me more than anybody . You don’t see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night.” Clare - age 6

“Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.” Elaine-age 5

“Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford.” Chris - age 7

“Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day.” Mary Ann - age 4

“I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones.” Lauren - age 4

“When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you.” Karen - age 7

“Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn’t think it’s gross.” Mark - age 6

“You really shouldn’t say ‘I love you’ unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget.” Jessica - age 8

And the final one — Author and Lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked about a contest he was asked to judge. The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child. The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman’s yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there. When his mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said, “Nothing, I just helped him cry.”

–

This is simply precious.
Photo by: Mica Wiltshire

Everything & Anything

Just now I logged into my Facebook and read a status update from a fabulous woman by the name of Olunike Adeliyi. I actually met her before at one of Trey Anthony’s writing workshops and since then we have kept up with each other here and there about what the other is doing. If you don’t already know her she’s an actress with an amazing spirit and most recently landed a regular role on CTV’s Flashpoint.

Her status that sparked my attention was: If you had only one song playing in your ear for the rest of your life, which song would be?

While I love music and there’s so much I’ve heard throughout my lifetime I would undoubtedly come back to Closer by Goapele. This song speaks to my life at every moment and it never gets old for me. I’m constantly thinking of and/or actively trying to get “closer to my dreams,” no matter what they are.

If you don’t already know give the video below some play.

Closer - Goapele

Closer to my dreams
It’s coming over me

Some times it feels like you never gon’change (Never gon’change)
But you never choose to walk away

Everything & Anything

I Want to Be Evil
Eartha Kitt
selected lyrics

I’ve posed for pictures with Iv’ry Soap,
I’ve petted stray dogs, and shied clear of dope
My smile is brilliant, my glance is tender
But I’m noted most for my unspoiled gender
I’ve been made Miss Reingold, though I never touch beer,
And I’m the person to whom they say, “Your sweet, My Dear.”
The only etchings I’ve seen have been behind glass,
And the closest I’ve been to a bar, is at ballet class.

Prim and proper, the girl who’s never been cased,
I’m tired of being pure and not chased.
Like something that seeks it’s level
I wanna go to the devil.
…
I want to wake up in the morning
with that dark brown taste
I want to see some dissipation in my face
I wanna be evil, I wanna be mad
But more that that I wanna be bad

Everything & Anything

Brown skin people and dark skin people always have something to say about light skin people. Like I don’t wake up everyone morning knowing I’m light skin. Like somehow I forgot. Like somehow I don’t know that in the winter I get paler with every snow fall. Like I don’t know that I’ll never get as dark as you even if I lay in the sun everyday.

They say, “black is beautiful” but they keep riding me like I’m not a part of that movement. Like I should find a way to do more than I can about it. Like somehow I asked to be two shades from a white girl, sorry, make that one shade.

But fuck it, let ‘em point it out. Because when it comes down to it I’m not going to change and I’ll probably have kids that look just like me. So when you see him or her playing in the school yard with your kids feel free to crack another joke because he or she will be ready for all the dumb shit you have to say. Because we all know you will still think your jokes haven’t gotten as old as your wrinkly as has.

Peace.

Everything & Anything

“Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need, but not every man’s greed.” - Mahatma Gandhi

Essentially Gandhi was talking about our desire to “keep up with The Joneses”. Some people are just never satisfied, and this is the society we live in. Too many people are looking at what everyone has and comparing themselves to those people. I can tell you right now that that is the most crowded, and shortest road leading to dissatisfaction.

No matter how much stuff you accummulate it’s never going to be better than what you had before. Ever. Because stuff will always be stuff, and the more stuff you try to get the more you’re just going through life living up to a standard of living that doesn’t exist. You may think it does because all the glittery and expensive things you have say so, but chances are you passed the bar you set along time ago. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not against people wanting more for themselves, but once you’ve started to compare yourself to others and you’re using them as a measure for your success you’ll never be successful. Ever.

People say, “money is the root of all evil,” and I disagree, because money is just money. Its a piece of paper with lettering and numbers on it. WE are the root of all evil. The values we attach to money is what leads to greed. We dictate how we feel about it, and so that is what money becomes.

“Nothing succeeds like the appearance of success.” - Christopher Lasch

I am not naive. I know we live in a materialistic world where the “haves” rule, and the “have-nots” get schooled. And of course money makes the world go round simply because we need it to survive. Gone are the days when we can plant some crops and herd some cattle to take care of our basic needs, so I understand the importance of money to our survival. I also know that everyone’s definintion of progression and their ways of achieving happiness is different. Still, using another person’s life as a mirror for your own greatness is an attempt that will fail everytime because you will never see yourself clearly. You will continue to consume everything you don’t need. You will never be pleased, and that I know for sure will always keep you envious.

In the end you are your own person, so set your own goals. Know what’s best for you. I believe that if you just do what makes you happy and for the right reasons you will be happy, forever.

So those are my thoughts that were sparked by a conversation I just had. Let me know what you think, good or bad.
Peace.

Everything & Anything

The saying goes, one person’s trash is another person’s treasure. Fair enough. Some relationships fall apart or weren’t much to write home about in the first place so although each person in the relationship may feel like the other one is worn out and used goods, that person might be the breath of fresh air another person has been looking for. I mean a lot of people only become great in a relationship because they’ve had practice and eventually learn to understand the do’s and don’ts of commitment.

So where am I going with this? Exactly wherever it has taken you to. Truthfully I just found this in one of notebooks I was going through. I have so many laying around that are mostly from my school daze and I can always find things written down here and there. So this is really where this comes from. Its over a year old but its still relevant. Take it for what it is, or isn’t.

Peace.

Notebook Findings

Sometimes we do things knowing full and well what the outcome will be. We know the kind of reaction our actions will create. We are fully aware of the impact of our decisions make no matter how we try to justify it. But still, we can’t help enjoying the moments before it all comes crashing down.

Afterwards, when the dust has settled and the hole is revealed people ask us, how could you do such a thing? How could you be so hurtful? And while we fumble around for an answer that might redeem us a little bit, if only in their eyes, the most defiant voice in our head is shouting, “Because I wanted to!”

And because we know anyone residing outside of our brain may never understand our actions we refrain from our true answer and dismiss what happened as an anomaly, a chance happening, cleverly disguising it as being so far out of our control that we “can’t believe it happened” either.

This is what we do when gravity has pulled us towards things at the most untimely moments.

So what should we do, enjoy the ride or pull the ‘chute?

Everything & Anything

I was browsing through You Tube some time ago for gawd only knows what now, but just before I started searching for what I wanted one of the videos in the featured videos section caught my eye. The man in the still shot was wearing the mask from the movie V for Vendetta and a grey zip up hoody. Had I never scene the movie I wouldn’t have thought anything of it but because I remember the movie being really good I clicked on the video. Shortly after I was led to the channel called MadV and came across some interesting videos. The one that I’m posting below really got me. It was so simple and plain and the accompanying soundtrack went well with what’s going on in the video.

The messages in the video are an inspiration for humility and compassion, they’re a portrayal of honest feelings and it really just points out how affective a few words no longer than the length of one palm can be. I really enjoyed watching and I think you might too.

Enjoy!
Peace.

We’re all in this together

Everything & Anything

…not cool enough for you but is really cool with that, so just cool on the attitude. When you’re done making stank faces and giving fake embraces you can find me over there writing the cool off your face.

That’s my word.
Peace.

Is it too soon to be reposting my own stuff? Naw, never! When something is good it never gets old. The above statement is a repost of my own words that is almost a year old. I still get chills over ill ish I did even if its just a random (but true) thought I had one predictable day.

Everything & Anything, Poetry

I should have blogged this as soon as it happened, but ahhh I didn’t.

I went to the Jay-Z concert in London on the 29th (of October). I really really wanted to go when he was in Toronto on the 31st but I had a la familia birthday party to go to and it was a must attend sort of deal so there was no way around it. Fair enough,  I had seen Jay before when he came with Mary J. Blige so it’s not like I was completely missing out BUT the only difference was this time I knew Drake would touch the stage. It’s Toronto so he had to, I don’t see why he wouldn’t anddd because Jay supports his music. I missed out on the other concerts Drake had (womp womp) so I really wanted to take this one in because it was sure to be legendary.

Anyhow, I ended up having an amazing time at the London concert. I sang along and danced to my heart’s content. There’s just something about a Jay concert that you can’t duplicate. The vibe is through the roof, the music is phenomenal and since it’s just him on stage the whole experince is oddly intimate. The crowd hangs on his ever word, hand gesture and verse. Even when he’s not rapping and just stands there the crowd starts chanting, “Hova, Hova, Hova…” until he continues. Track after track we went insane beause the genious emitting from the mic was epic.

MTV had aired a US performance a couple weeks before the concert so I already knew at the end he would shout out people in the crowd. I was in the second row from the stage so I knew there was a good chance he would see me. I tried to contain my excitement for that possibility. I felt very sure it would happen but still didn’t prepare myself if did. I guess I just assumed he would simply point me out and keep it moving if anything. Well he did a little more than that it was one of the best experinces I’ve ever had!

This is how it went. I had my hands above my head clapping along with the biggest grin on my face. I was thinking “It’s gunna happen, it’s gunna happen,” and just as I was thinking that we locked eyes. Yes, locked eyes. And he said,

“I see you girl in the striped shirt!”

And then he pointed to me and asked me a question and then pointed to my fiance. I had no idea, and still don’t, what he said specifically. We think he said something about me being with him (my fiance) and either commenting on him being lucky or me making him look good. Either way my smile got even bigger. All I could do was say “Yes!” LMAO with my hands still in the air clapping regardless of what he asked me. He could have asked if I bit my toenails and I would have still been excited. Ok, that’s a little far fetched but you get the picture. It was an amazing moment. AMAZINKKK!

For the rest of the night we struggled to replay the moment and figure out the question. Till this day we still don’t know what he said but we’re confident it was something really good. All the way home I was still freaking out in the car saying crazy stuff like, “Jay-Z talked to us!! We had a conversation!! He might actually remember my face if I see him again. I wish I knew what he said, if we meet again I’ll ask him.” Of course I was in over-exaggeraiton mode but it’s JAY-Z, if you’re not on a high off something like that then you’re…a loser. 

Every time I think about what went down that night I get excited all over again. London did us well and I will see him again the next time he tours.

I LOVE Jay-Z. 

Everything & Anything