What Sets Your Heart on Fire?

I hope that everyone has something that sets his/her heart on fire. Something, that if you just think about it, it makes your heart glad.

Anyone who really knows me, knows that there are many things that set my heart on fire: a good sermon, any outdoor activity, a great free hip hop concert, a museum, jazz, a great date, a good book etc. As you can see, my heart is set on fire quite often.

My students tell me that everything that I read makes my heart glad, and they are sort of right but not quite right. I do love books and quite a few make my heart glad, but not one book sets my heart on fire like Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston.

When I think of the main character, Janie, taking the risk and going off with her Teacake, makes my heart glad. A woman deciding that she was going to do what she wanted to do, regardless of what anyone thought, and deal with the consequences, is enough to make my heart shout.

Here are some of my all time favorite quotes from Their Eyes Were Watching God that make me smile when I think of them:

"Put me down easy, Janie, Ah'm a cracked plate."

"There are years that ask questions and years that answer."

"Now, women forget all those things they don’t want to remember and remember everything they don’t want to forget"

"She didn't read books so she didn't know that she was the world and the heavens boiled down to a drop." 

"He drifted off into sleep and Janie looked down on him and felt a self-crushing love. So her soul crawled out from its hiding place,"

You'se something tuh make uh man forgit tuh git old and forgit to die."  WOW!!!!!

So Ah'm back home again and Ah's satisfied tuh be heah. Ah done been tuh de horizon and back  and now Ah can set heah in my house and live by comparisons."

I could go on and on but.........................

Today and everyday, I will focus on things that set my heart on fire. Will you do the same?

Here are some other things that set my heart on fire:

Zora, daring to smoke cigarettes in public when

it was viewed as inappropriate for women.

Riding my bike with Tammy on the National Mall



A first lady who is fit, sets my heart on fire!



The Great Outdoors!

Me with friends in Los Cabos on my birthday.

Tuskegee's Homecoming! The Best Homecoming in the land.

At a dinner with the niece of Zora Neale Hurston

What sets your heart on fire? Holler......