Less Really Is More!

Seize the Day, My People!

On the Road by Jack Kerouac

In the book Things I Should Have Told My Daughter by Pearl Cleage, Pearl mentioned the book On the Road by Jack Kerouac:

"I am reading Jack Kerouac's On the Road and it wonderful, wonderful, wonderful! Where has this book been all my thirty years? I love it"

After reading that statement from Pearl, I wrote that title down, did a little research on On the Road, downloaded On the Road, and read it.

According to the website Sparknotes, "On the Road gave voice to a rising, dissatisfied fringe of the young generation of the late forties and early fifties. It was after the Great Depression and World War II and more than a decade before the Civil Rights movement and the turmoil of the '60s. Yet, though it has been fifty years since the events in On the Road, the feelings, ideas, and experiences in the novel are still remarkably fresh as expressions of restless, idealistic youth who yearn for something more than the bland conformity of a generally prosperous society."

In this book Dean Moriarty and Sal Paradise roamed all over the United States around the year 1947.  Dean had recently been released from jail and newly married, and Sal was a young writer. Together, they met interesting people, have very unique experiences, and by the end of the novel, they both had significantly changed; they both seemed like old, thoughtful men by the end. Because of their changes, it seemed like they had been on the road for much longer than three years.

I can see how this book would speak to the heart of a person who wants to live and live life freely. Reading this book, I thought about the idea of not having responsibilities and being able to freely travel the world without giving much care to tomorrow.

This was not the most exciting book at all, but their was something about it that kept me reading...I think I was curious to know where Dean and Sal would end up. I definitely wanted to understand their lives and was able to do that through the people that they met and their adventures on the road.

I would recommend this book maybe? It did speak to me, but not sure if I would have missed much if I had not read it. Sometimes I read just to be able to have a wide range of knowledge, and that is the main reason that I would recommend this book.

Jack Kerouac (1922-1969)

Read, Read, and Grow!

The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat by Edward Kelsey Moore

Yesterday, I attended a book club meeting with my sorors and friends....

Yea, I absolutely love discussing books with these wise women, but what I love more than discussing the books is the fellowship and great food...Books, Food, and Wise Women equals PERFECTION!

At this book club meeting, we had a bonding activity which was baking and decorating Delta Sigma Theta cookies. You should have seen us in the kitchen talking, baking cookies, laughing etc. I am strongly encouraging ALL women to consider finding a circle of trust, make time for that circle, and value it. (People need other people AND women DEFINITELY need other women.)

Our book this month was The Supreme's at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat by Edward Kelsey Moore.

I read this book while I was in Ghana. Yea, I made time to read while I was away, and I instantly liked this book. Edward did a great job of setting a warm tone by allowing the reader a peek into the tight-knit community of Plainview, Indiana.

There are three main characters: Odette, Clarice, and Barbara Jean. They are good friends and have been friends for a long time. We got to experience their lives: the ups and downs, and the one thing that continued to come up at our book club meeting is the idea is that there is no normal; we get to create the life we want, and whatever we create is normal.

All three women in this book had different lives, different experiences, and different personalities, and through it all, they all created normal.

What is normal and not normal has been something that I have been struggling with, and I left the meeting feeling comforted in knowing that there is no normal.

My People, I am highly recommending The Supreme's at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat, and not because it is deep or highly literary, but because it is a book that may warm your heart.

It's the first day of school, and I am excited about NEXT!

Happy Monday, and Happy Reading.......

Keep Your Eyes On the Prize....

Don't Get Distracted My People; Keep Your Eyes on the Prize!

"He Went to the Woods....."

I'm back in Virginia, and the first thing that I noticed as I was in the cab on the way home is the brightness and cleanliness of my surroundings....Gratitude!

It's 4:41am, and I am wide awake. In Ghana it is 8:41am and by 8:41 in Ghana, we were up and at it. I guess my body is still on Ghana's time...Go figure!

This morning I am reflecting on my many blessings, and know that I do not take not one of them for granted....

I am trying desperately to live life deliberately, and in Ghana I tried my best to spend as much time as possible just being and allowing everything else to be, and that happened mostly during our van rides. I tried to take every person and view and capture it in my mind so that I could pull on those memories when I returned home.

Being home I have thought a lot about not trying to put everything in a neat little box but being ok with not knowing and being on an eternal search for knowledge and not necessarily truth, because the truth is relative.....

I wish that everyone who is reading this blog could have come along with me on this incredible experience, but since that was not possible, I'll give you a glimpse into some of my favorite parts of this experience:

Cotton Tree

Making of Kente Cloth

"The Door of No Return"

View from one of our hotels

At Cape Coast Slave Castle

Making dye to dye cloth

A Slave Castle

Elders in a Village

In front of a poster of a female warrior!

Our fearless driver!

At the museum and home of W.E.B. DuBois

The Hoods of Dr. DuBois

Burial site of Dr. DuBois

A Ghanaian Bike Shop

Our guides for the trip

My Ghanaian name, family name, and family symbol

“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practise resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms.”

Henry David Thoreau, Walden: Or, Life in the Woods

It Was All About Kente Cloth Today!

I'm Home, My People!

I'm Home!

"I'm coming home

I'm coming home

tell the World I'm coming home

Let the rain wash away all the pain of yesterday

I know my kingdom awaits and they've forgiven my mistakes

I'm coming home, I'm coming home

tell the World I'm coming"

lyrics to "I'm Coming Home" by J. Cole 

My People, I am in Ghana, and I feel right at home...

Wednesday night in the airport, I kept singing the words to the song "I'm Coming Home," because I felt like I was on the way home...

I arrived in Ghana, and I instantly felt happy; I feel like I belong.

Everyone at the airport was extremely welcoming, I met up with the five other people in my group and our group leader, and our journey began.

These first two days have been completely awesome with good food, fellowshipping, a five hour road trip to Kumasi, a visit to a museum and cultural center that both honored the Ashanti people, and I am still anxiously waiting to see the slave castles and the W.E.B. Dubois home and museum.

Here is a glimpse of my first few days in Ghana:

The President's House

A bar/restaurant

A Museum

and Ghanaian Beer of course!

My People, I'm Home.....Tell The World!

Ghana... slowly checking things off of my bucket list!

Do you remember last summer when I did a weekend cycling trip, and after listening to Alice, a fellow cyclist, I decided that I would travel to Ghana this summer, a place that I have always wanted to go? Read that blog here!

Well, there is power in the spoken word. Just stating that I was going to go to Ghana this summer caused me to start putting the plan into motion. Tomorrow, I will be on a plane heading to Ghana.

Declare what you want for your life and watch how whatever you declare will manifest. 

"A Dream Comes Through Much Activity!"

Happy Tuesday, My People....