Thursday, November 27, 2008

My Gratitude

Only a wee hour into this Thanksgiving morn and I am filled with gratitude for my place in this world. I am thankful for the people I love and the life that we share. I am thankful, too, for the unknown faces and lives that I will one day greet, with an open mind and an open heart.

Save a turkey.


Kwa Volodiya - Mahlathini Nezintombi Zomgqashiyo [zShare]

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

A First Offering...

Start with the greats, right?

Nansi Imali- Ladysmith Black Mambazo [zShare]
Idoda Yejazi Elimnyama- Amaswzi Emvelo [zShare]


More coming soon.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

What Makes You BEAT?

As our world--from our neighborhood block, to city limits, to planet Earth as a whole-- each day becomes more expansive, more detailed, more populated, more aware, more integrated, and more convoluted, our options and available opportunities grow--allowing us to make more decisions, welcomed or not, and more precisely create a path for our own life. In other words, we're no longer limited to the few positions necessary to create a functioning community, nor do we need to remain within the narrow paradigms handed down to us by our cultural fathers. We've been born during an era of a globalized world and our boundaries-- both physical and cognitive--have transcended that which our parents knew.

So...in this state of awareness, it seems of utmost importance and more vital than your morning cup of coffee, or favorite record on a bad day, or the need to compare yourself with all around you in effort to identify your identity, we ask.....WHAT MAKES YOU BEAT? What's the INDESTRUCTIBLE force driving you to live and love and love how you're living?

My snare rolls when I drink when I'm thirsty

My cymbal crashes when I eat when I'm hungry

My toms bark when I have so much energy, I can exhaust myself surfing, or ballet dancing, or running

My bongo thumps when I sit down in a library and realize I have access to a lifetime of learning

My bass quakes when I see my family and friends smiling, able to afford education and healthcare, and engage in work that inspires them and allows them to be themselves.

My heart BEATs when I use my potential and energy to help create a world where more people have a drum set and can BEAT their own INDESTRUCTIBLE force; creating a just world comprised of educated, healthy, more peaceful, and economically independent and socially responsible people where the music plays loudly because we're happy we've come out of the shadows of fear and false competition and realize we're increasingly awakening to our true human potential. xo