Weekly Musings on Life, Love, and Politics – Week 6

Let’s get right to it…the latest weekly musings!

  1. While there are times when we won’t always be up and happy, it’s during the times we’re down when we should empower ourselves with hope. If we can’t find it within ourselves, look to the inspirational and uplifting journeys of others who made it through. This may be just what we need to hold fast and securely to our hope.
  2. When our elected officials are unable to compromise on bills that impact the very people they represent and they let their personal interests impact their ability to fight for what’s right, you have to wonder who they’re really standing for? Do they forget why they’re in office? Do they forget they stand for all and not just the people and organizations they keep in their back pockets?
  3. I have to admit that I’ve often been caught off guard and amazed by the level of hatred, intolerance, and ignorance expressed in comments to political news articles in the weeks following the election. I probably shouldn’t be. But one thing’s for surethis nation is not as progressive as it’s oft proclaimed.  There’s still a long, LONG way to go.
  4. Loving someone is easy. Maintaining a relationship with themnot so much. What should keep the relationship strong are the very things which brought you together. This, along with the desire and willingness to see the relationship (and each other) prosper and grow.
  5. Sometimes we have to ask people what they want (outright). Forget the guessing games. If we were mind readers we’d be in a different realm. We’re able to proceed confidently when we all have an understanding of the purpose and mission of why we’re here. Otherwise it’s bullshit.  When time and money are at stake, bullshit deserves no seat at the table. Unless it’s a bullshit convention, bullshit should never be allowed a seat at any table.
  6. It’s a shame (for others) when you do your best to give people what they want (and then some) and it’s still not good enough.  No matter how good it is they’re never satisfied. What strength and fortitude it takes to deal with this on a regular basis (especially if it’s at work or at home). Realize it’s not always you, sometimes (or a lot of times) it’s them. Just don’t let it ruin your confidence or self-esteem. Don’t let it change you. Don’t let it stress you out. It’s all part of the process of learning how to work and deal with people.

A Dear Shout Out

This goes out to all who have been my supporters,
To all those who helped and continue to help keep me grounded.

Thank you for the love.
Thank you for your care.
Thank you for simply being there to lend your ear, your heart, and your spirit.

I appreciate every single thing you’ve done for me.
For only words may never suffice to convey how much you inspire me,
how grateful I am to have you in my life, and how much I’ll always love you.

Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.

From Prevail: Poems on Life, Love, and Politics.

Related Posts:
Announcing the Release of My First Book – “Prevail”
101 Days Project: Prevail

Weekly Musings on Life, Love, and Poltics – Week 5

My apologies for the delay, but here are the latest weekly musings:

  1. If you lose the battle, always remember to bow out gracefully.  Don’t continue talking trash in your defeat.  It will only cast a dark(er) light on your character.  May even make your supporters question why they ever rooted for you.
  2. Laughter is an infectious tonic that can bring light to any situation.  It’s one of the Creator’s natural cures.  Try it.  You’ll feel so much better.
  3. While it can be hard maintaining a positive outlook, even when everything around you is suggesting otherwise, you’ll be better for it.  Believe it.  The power of positivity (and faith) will help you conquer ANYTHING!
  4. Our relationships give back what we put in them.  It may be easy to blame our partners for what we aren’t getting, but remember relationships are joint ventures.  We always have to check ourselves first before we have the audacity to check our partners.
  5. Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Valentine’s Day are everyday, not just on the days specified by the calendar.  We sometimes break our necks to go out of our way on these particular days to show our families and friends how much we love and care for them.  Some could say it’s a bit foolish.  We should strive to show our loved ones what they mean to us every day of the year, not just on holidays and special occasions.
  6. Instead of waiting until New Year’s, maybe we should try making changes, resolutions, and setting goals on our birthdays.  What better day to commit to life changes than on the anniversary our birth?

Until next time, enjoy your week!

Love Real and True

Somewhere along the way I found love.

But it didn’t happen the way I thought it would.
It was quite different from my dreams—
Wasn’t always so nice and pretty.
It was quite different from my fantasies—
Was sometimes better than I could ever imagine.
Was not always what I expected.
In love, if you just have to have expectations—
     expect the unexpected.

In my experiences with love and relationships,
I realized—
That love doesn’t always happen or arrive the way
     you want it to
     Or the way you dreamed it to.
Love comes in the way you need it most.
And you may not realize it,
You’re often blind to this mystical, magical thing.
And maybe that’s why I was afraid.
Maybe that’s why I was scared and ran away—
Because it didn’t come in the “right” package,
Because it didn’t meet all of my requirements
     On “the list”.

But once you get past want and arrive at need—
It’s like a new world.
You feel complete.
You are fulfilled in ways never known before.
You desire nothing more,
Because you got a love that’s real and true.

© BuddahDesmond

Weekly Musings on Life, Love, and Politics – Week 4

Without further adieu, here are the latest weekly musings:

  1. Tolerance is limiting.  It leads to a dead end road.  It means that total understanding, respect, and empathy are not possible, because one is not able or is unwilling to embrace that which is different from oneself.
  2. You’ll be amazed at how much better you feel and how much the world opens up to you when you get out of your own way. 
  3. Rejection is unavoidable.  If you’re “lucky enough” to have yet to experience it, don’t worry… It’ll happen.  It’s foolish for any of us to think that we’re so good or so untouchable that everything belongs to or is meant for us.  Not so.
  4. Unless you have a plan or recommendations on how to make life as we know it better, STFU!  We can be so quick to complain when things don’t go the way that we want them to.  Complaining is useless.  If you want to make a difference, you have to collaborate with those than don’t share the same beliefs or ideals as you.  By doing that, we can get the change that will benefit everyonenot just you or those like you.
     
  5. Sometimes the best opportunities are those that come about by accident or those that we create ourselves.  We have to be open to all possibilities.
  6. Love manifests from within.  It’s so easy to be led astray when you can’t find it within yourself.  Stop looking out, and start looking within!

Power of Love: A Contemporary Aside (from ‘Prevail’)

Nothing’s worse than men obsessed with power,

Having the all-consuming ability to exercise control and influence 
     over others,
Like beasts foaming at the mouth with the high of going in for the 
     kill.

Maybe it’s the elevated nature of the position,
This putting-on-a-pedestal type treatment.
Or it’s simply a common case of ego,
When all of the attention has blown one’s head up to the size of a 
     Goodyear blimp,
When arrogance and ignorance have taken the place of humanity, 
     decency, and common sense.

There’s this godlike attitude,
This I-can-do-no-wrong mentality,
This holier-than-thou, my-way-is-the-only-way-because-there-is-no-other-way frame of mind.
But let me put it to you quite simply—your shit stinks too.

You may make decisions about the economy, education, 
     healthcare, defense, and other facets of our government and 
     society.
But you will never have the power to control the heart,
For the heart cannot be contained.
You will never be able to control anyone’s ability to love,
For love is divine.
You will never be able to tell anyone who they can or cannot love,
For love is essential to living.
Like breathing,
It’s a natural thing
That cannot be controlled by man—
Love is too powerful.
It’s stronger than man.
Continuing to push the issue
Will not make it any better.
Continuing to push the issue
Will make things worse,
Causing us to divide even further.

Love is not a choice.
And who you happen to love
and who happens to love you is not an alternative lifestyle.
There is nothing alternative about love.
Love is an essential part of life.
Essential to feeling complete.
There is no substitute;
There is no alternative to something we all have an innate need 
     for and right to experience and share.
Love will forever reign supreme.

Prevail: Poems on Life, Love, and Politics is available at iUniverse, Amazon (Paperback | Hardcover | Kindle), Barnes & Noble, Book-A-Million (Paperback | Hardcover), and other retailers.   

BuddahDesmond Reading Poetry at OutWrite 2012 [VIDEO]

There’s something about performing that makes it unlike anything else on this planet.  The energy you get from the audience is intoxicating.  Performing gives you a natural high that can take hours, even days, to come down from.  I’ve said it before but performing takes me to a higher, deeper, spiritual place.

It’s been a few months but I’m happy to share excerpts of my poetry reading from the head / heart / soul event as part of OutWrite 2012.  This fabulous event took place at the The DC Center on August 4, 2012.  I will always look back on the event with much joy, as it was an honor to read alongside talented poets/writers such as Rashid Darden, Monica A. Hand, and Red Summer. 

BuddahDesmond reading “Power of Love: A Contemporary Aside” from the “Love” section of Prevail

BuddahDesmond reading “Tonight” from the “Life” section of Prevail

 

Video of my entire reading will be forthcoming.  Prevail: Poems on Life, Love, and Politics is available at iUniverse, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, and other retailers.  If you like it/love it, please spread the word.  

Related Posts:

  1. OutWrite 2012 Was a Success
  2. 101 Days Project: Prevail
  3. Day 72: Prevail (Title Poem)

101 Days Project: Prevail

 
One of my biggest accomplishments this year has been the release of my first book Prevail: Poems on Life, Love, and PoliticsPrevail was self-published through iUniverse and released the summer of 2012.  Prevail is an eye-opening collection of poetry inspired by personal experiences, history, culture, and social issues of the last 10 or 12 years.  Varying in subject matter, voice, and tone, this work touches on the ups and downs, highs and lows, trials and tribulations, and the many facets of life, love, and politics during this time period. With a style that is, at times, proselike, unconventional, raw, and in-your-face, Prevail seeks to offer an underlying message of strength, persistence, and triumph.

The feedback on Prevail has been quite positive, thus far.  There’s nothing like sharing your work and seeing it have an impact and connect with others.  Nothing can describe the feeling.  

I’ve shared a number of poems from Prevail on my blog and some other posts related to promotional opportunities for the book.  If you haven’t had the chance to check them out, please do.  

Remember, no matter happens in this life–we must PREVAIL! 

  1. Announcing the Release of My First Book – Prevail
  2. Day 86: Gone Too Soon (from Prevail)
  3. Day 75: Flash In The Pan 
  4. Day 72: Prevail (Title Poem)
  5. I’ll Be Appearing at OutWrite 2012 in DC
  6. Day 79: OutWrite 2012 Was a Success
  7. 5 Minutes, 5 Questions With… BuddahDesmond on JoeyPinkney.com

Other Prevail Poems:

  1. I’ll Never Understand
  2. Past, Present, and Future
  3. Normal?
  4. When Hate Kills
  5. Luther Is Love (A Tribute to Luther Vandross)
  6. The P/H Factor – Phyllis Hyman: Tribute to a Sophisticated Lady
  7. Politricking

Prevail: Poems on Life, Love, and Politics is available at iUniverse, Amazon (Paperback | Hardcover | Kindle), Barnes & Noble, Book-A-Million (Paperback | Hardcover), and other retailers. 

Day 94: The Ultimate

Your tongue dances all over my body.
Your kisses walk upon my face.
Your hands swim into my skin.
Your valley is my playground,
once I enter I never want to leave.
Your love saved the stomach of my heart from being
     love-starved.
Your mind nourishes my mind.
Your body is the sculpture of my passion.
Your are the essence of perfect love,
And I am your reciprocal makeup.
We are two rivers,
Connected by a stream of love.
We flow into each other
Sharing, giving, transporting, and providing nutrients,
     nurture, and nourishment.
The ultimate is this existence of love.
© BuddahDesmond

Day 92: The Kitchen, My Other Home

One of my favorite things to bake – Cream Cheese Pound Cake
Aside from the stage, studio, and classroom, the kitchen is my home.  I’ve been in the kitchen since I was about 7 or 8 years old.  Learned so many things from my mother and grandmother in the kitchen (still learning).  I’m so glad I received this gift.  I come from a long line of gifted cooks/bakers, especially on my mother’s side of the family.  Good food (and drink) has been just as much a centerpiece of family gatherings as the communion and the entertainment (mostly us acting crazy and talking cash shit—doing what we do best, in other words…lol).  There’s nothing wrong with loving good food, especially if you’re blessed enough to make it, share it, and enjoy it!  
One of the things I’ve learned over the years with cooking/baking is that food truly tastes good when you’ve put your heart and soul into it.  The love emanates through the food and touches the spirit.  This is why people enjoy it so much, and why we find some eating with their eyes closed (totally enraptured with the taste, how it makes them feel, and memories it conjures up).  The best advice:  if you’re not feeling it—step away from the stove!  Put the utensils down and the pots and pans away!  Get out of the kitchen and call for takeout/delivery!  Because the food will tell the story.  I apply this to many of my creative gifts and talents.  I have to feel it.  I have to be able to get into to it.  I can’t do it just for the sake of doing it.  If I’m not feeling it, I can’t do it.  It’s that simple.  
So let me get back on schedule.  I have a Honey Cornbread, Orange Cream Cheese Pound Cake, Baked Yams, Buddah’s Teriyaki Pork Chops with Apples, Onions, & Peppers, and Spinach to make. Happy cooking, baking, and eating! Enjoy!