A “Life is Good” Kind of day…

Today I experienced an all-time high while attending my oldest daughter’s graduation from California Western School of Law… the tears ran down my cheeks as I tried to hold onto my composure sharing this experience with her. As I sat there watching her every move I wondered what I have done in my life to deserve her; to deserve this opportunity to witness her experiencing the high reaching this major accomplishment in her life…always questioning is my nature, sometimes to the point of wearing myself completely out… The pride I felt being her Mom cannot be expressed in words.

Quote…

“Writing and reading decrease our sense of isolation. They deepen and widen and expand our sense of life: they feed the soul. When writers make us shake our heads with the exactness of their prose and their truths, and even make us laugh about ourselves or life, our buoyancy is restored. We are given a shot at dancing with, or at least clapping along with, the absurdity of life, instead of being squashed by it over and over again. It’s like singing on a boat during a terrible storm at sea. You can’t stop the raging storm, but singing can change the hearts and spirits of the people who are together on that ship.”

-Anne Lamott

Dear Every Woman I Know, Including Me…

I feel the following article articulates with such precision  how many of us as women verbally butcher & emotionally assault ourselves into depression over each and every line on our face,  & the number on the scale. I have found myself at times literally crying while in the shower after weighing myself; now how sad is that! It is without a doubt time to stop emotionally & physically abusing ourselves and begin embracing the beautiful human beings we are… I hope you enjoy the article.

There’s never a better time to start loving yourself than right now. Author Amy Bloom tells women everywhere how.

By Amy Bloom

A few years ago, I was at a lunch for the launch of a TV show called How to Look Good Naked. (Do I need to say that the host was a slim gay man and the soon-to-be-almost-naked were all women? Can we even imagine a show in which men try to improve their appearance before the big reveal in the boudoir?) The middle-aged woman sitting next to me almost spat out her white wine. "How to look good naked?" she said. "Wear clothes!"
I wish that helped. But after 58 years of being female, I’ve come to the conclusion that a healthy, positive body image is hard to find, and neither caftans nor liposuction nor photoshopping is the answer.

:: Shine On:: by Julie Henderson

Everyone and everything are moving around me at light
speed. I am sure that some days I must look like one of
those die hard monks in Tiananmen Square, standing at the
epicenter of a busy intersection like an anomaly exhibiting
her humanity. My arms are at my sides, my posture is
upright, my eyes are closed, and I have a look of peace

How Taking One Small Step Can Change Your Life…

Can taking one, small step really change your life? Proponents of kaizen think so. (And for the record, so do I.) Kaizen is a means of making great and lasting change through small, steady increments. Kaizen’s practical roots are based in the Japanese management concept for incremental (gradual, continuous) change (improvement): breaking tasks into small, manageable steps.

Overcoming Procrastination: 6 Steps to Getting It Done

If you are like me you have found yourself putting off things to do that you know would be good to get done. We procrastinate on exercise, getting the taxes done, cleaning the house, making that phone call and getting our work done. You tell yourself, “I know I should do it,” but you seem to come up with a million great excuses for not doing it. Then you find yourself criticizing yourself for not getting it done. The next day the cycle starts again — “It would be great to get it done,” “I have other things to do,” “It’s too unpleasant,” or “I just don’t want to do it.”

16 Harsh Truths that Make Us Stronger…

It takes more courage to reveal insecurities than to hide them, more strength to relate to people than to dominate them, more manhood (or womanhood) to abide by thought-out principles rather than blind reflex. Toughness is in the soul and spirit, not in muscles and an immature mind.

- Alex Karras

The Desire to Change: You’ve gotta want it…

If you desire radical change in your life, you must WANT radical change. In today’s vlog I riff about the importance of surrendering to our desire for change. If you don’t truly want to change then you’ll continue to stay in the same cycle. I encourage you to join me in the ego outing process and share a habit you’ve had trouble changing. Getting honest is the first step to true surrender.

 

Flying Lessons

by Jen Lambert

My close friend has a book out. I just read it cover to cover, and although I’ve read most of those poems in various forms throughout the past couple of years, the collection still brought me to tears. It’s a gorgeous expression of passion and heartache, yearning and loss. It’s the paradoxical exhilaration and grief that surround the metamorphosis of woman to wife to mother and then that the long flight back to find the woman again.

MORE QUOTES & INTERESTING PERSPECTIVES

“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.”

-Arthur Ashe (1943-1993); American tennis player, social activist

 

“Compliments are the helium that fills everyone’s balloon; they elevate the person receiving them so he or she can fly over life’s troubles and land safely on the other side.”

-Bernie S. Siegel M.D.; Author

The Self-Esteem Repair Kit

By Martha Beck
O, The Oprah Magazine

Of course you can feel wretched about wrinkles, jowls, thinning hair—all the slings and arrows of time and mortality. You can try to fight back—giving new meaning to the words in vain. Or you can rise—serenely, even happily—above i

Stop Being So Hard on Yourself

From the June 2008 issue of O

By Valerie Monroe

Everywhere we turn, there are images of gorgeous women, constant reproaches to the reality of us, with our real bodies and un-Photoshopped flaws. We’re not buying it anymore. We’re tackling the critics—from the parents and teachers who favor the prettiest children to look-ist employers to the most hurtful of all, that nasty, catty girl who lives right behind our eyes.

Not long ago, I sat in my office, chatting with a friend. “I want to talk to you about your face,” I said. “Oh my God,” she said, looking stricken. “Do I need a facelift?” (I forget that people think I have a right to be openly critical of their appearance because I’m a beauty editor.) No, no, I said; I only wanted to know what she saw when she looked in the mirror.

A Compact Guide to Creating the Fitness Habit…

Post written by Leo Babauta.

A new year, a new slate of resolutions.

Perhaps the biggest resolution at New Year’s is to get fit — start exercising, start eating right, and all that jazz.

But resolutions never last. As you might already know, I’m not a fan of resolutions.

Instead of creating a list of resolutions this year, create a new habit.

Habits last, and they lead to long-term fitness (and more). They require more patience, but they are worth the wait.

It doesn’t interest me

“It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing. It doesn’t interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dream, for the adventure of being alive.

If I had my life to live over by erma bombeck

If I had my life to live over, I would have talked less and listened more.
I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained and the sofa faded.
I would have eaten the popcorn in the ‘good’ living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace.
I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.
I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.
I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.

Quotes: Interesting Perspectives…

“If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.”

― Mother Teresa

“Three things in human life are important: the first is to be kind; the second is to be kind; and the third is to be kind.”

― Henry James

Writing is a concentrated form of thinking…a young writer sees that with words he can place himself more clearly into the world. Words on a page, that’s all it takes to help him separate himself from the forces around him, streets and people and pressures and feelings. He learns to think about these things, to ride his own sentences into new perceptions.”

Don Delillo

Cinderella

by Angela Soelzer Ragosa

Yesterday I awoke very early due to the fact I had another attack of insomnia in the middle of the night and never really fell back into a deep sleep or the stage REM as the experts call it. I’ve always thought REM was a comical way of describing a mode of deep sleep due to the fact REM stands for rapid eye movement.

Well, when I’m suffering with insomnia, I have oodles of rapid eye movement, it’s just that my eyes are flung slap open, and appear to be the size of saucers and my mind is racing like the Indianapolis Speedway. Enough about REM—that is not the point of this writer’s blog.

We’re all part mother by julie henderson

I was driving and thinking about angels and androgyny… about the Soul’s genderlessness… about my lack of interest in upholding polarized, contrived, socialized divisions long enough to protest their restrictions…

it’s all just fiction anyway…

… And anyway

We’re all part mother.

Julie Henderson

the Holstee manifesto

“This is your life. Do what you love, and do it often. If you don’t like something, change it. If you don’t like your job, quit. If you don’t have enough time, stop watching TV. If you are looking for the love of your life, stop; they will be waiting for you when you start doing things you love. Stop over analyzing, life is simple. All emotions are beautiful. When you eat, appreciate every last bite. Open your mind, arms, and heart to new things and people, we are united in our differences. Ask the next person you see what their passion is, and share your inspiring dream with them. Travel often; getting lost will help you find yourself. Some opportunities only come once; seize them. Life is about the people you meet and the things you create with them, so go out and start creating. Live your dream, and wear your passion. Life is short.”

metamorphosis

“Any transition serious enough to alter your definition of self will require not just small adjustments in your way of living and thinking but a full-on metamorphosis.”
— Martha Beck

What would your perfect day resemble?

What would your perfect day resemble? What would your schedule be like, what would you eat? Would you get dressed and go out for the day to your perfect favorite place, or would you stay in your P.J.s snuggling up in the comfort of your cozy bed? What music would you listen to… or would you have perfect silence all around you or would you be with family & friends or deliciously alone for the day? What would you look like? Would you be just as you are today or would you opt to be 10lb.s thinner or 10lb.s heavier? Would you be in love with someone or happily loving yourself & on your own? Would your home be full of family’s thoughts, feelings & voices or filled solely with thoughts of your own? Would you dance by the light of the moon or enjoy the evening with a favorite read?

my willing, spilling words…

I am…

thread

bare-

ly-

breath-

ing…

I am…

a

marching

woman

warrior

with

many

whys…

weeping

as

the

numbness

is

seeping

deeper.

life…

“To offer no resistance to life is to be in a state of grace, ease, and lightness. This state is then no longer dependent upon things being in a certain way, good or bad. It seems almost paradoxical, yet when your inner dependency on form is gone, the general conditions of your life, the outer forms, tend to improve greatly. Things, people, or conditions that you thought you needed for your happiness now come to you with no struggle or effort on your part, and you are free to enjoy and appreciate them – while they last. All those things, of course, will still pass away, cycles will come and go, but with dependency gone there is no fear of loss anymore. Life flows with ease.”

― Eckhart Tolle

Movie Quote…

Sometimes the brightest light comes from the darkest of places.

-from the movie Puncture

Inspiration…

The best way to find out whether you’re on the right path? Stop looking at the path. André Gide wrote, “A straight path never leads anywhere except to the objective.” To know whether you should be turning from the path you’re on, you have to be alert to the signs you see along the way. The practice of looking for the strong moments in your everyday experience and tipping your life toward them will serve you immeasurably. Here are some indications that you’re moving in a strengthening direction:

I Am and I Am Not

by Rumi

I’m drenched
in the flood
which has yet to come

I’m tied up
in the prison
which has yet to exist

Not having played
the game of chess
I’m already the checkmate

HUMMINGBIRD

by Julie Henderson

Lately I’ve been laying low you know avoiding the places lots of people go because before I even arrive I already know what you’re all thinking collectively and when I get up real nice and close I listen to your thoughts individually and it’s not because I asked and most of the time it’s not because I care It’s that my own transparency is thinner than the air we’re all swimming in and it floats in the water earth wind and fire until I’m ready to retire but your thoughts are also busy getting thinner and just when I approach you your shame makes you dimmer

Why Blogs Love Lists

I stumbled upon this blog (great blog btw) today while surfing the net and thought you’d enjoy this post…so, Enjoy & Kudos to Eden Eats Everything for this hilarious post!

by: Eden Eats Everything.com

I’ve been browsing my old blog entries. Cringing and with a puke bin beside me. And I realized something:

“Holy Googlesex (my new favorite word)! I am obsessed with lists!!! “

But after a few quick blog readings, I realized that everyone is obsessed with lists. I am unique, just like everyone else. So I thought about why we love lists so much and you guessed it:

I decided to list those reasons:

1) We like simplicity

When I wrote, “Reasons I’m not reading your blog“, my orignal title was: “A Few Annoying Things about Blogs That Are Annoying And Then Some Other Shit I Just Kinda Threw in There Because I Got Distracted By Quinoa and Angry Birds.”

I posted it and only two hits. Both from me, checking why no hits. Obviously, no one likes quinoa or angry birds cause I was sure that was a selling point.

2) Lists Are Versatile

Lists can be both pee-in-your-trousers hilarious or very deep and meaningful. Take for example my list of 10 Things Jews Do On Christmas. That is a way lists can be some what humorous. But want to cry from a list? How about Schindler’s List? Deep, stuff. Coincidentally, both these examples involved Jews. Oy.

3) They Help You Skim

I have a feeling everyone reads a blog they don’t actually love to read. Maybe they know the person and just want to support them, maybe the blogger always comments on their blog so they feel the need to return the favor…Regardless, sometimes, posts can be humdrum and a list can make it simple for us to just skim, get the basic gist, and still manage to write a thoughtful comment.

quote by Annie Dillard

How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. What we do with this hour, and that one, is what we are doing.

Annie Dillard – The Writing Life

Becoming the Person You Were Meant to Be: Where to Start…

We begin to find and become ourselves when we notice how we are already found, already truly, entirely, wildly, messily, marvelously who we were born to be. The only problem is that there is also so much other stuff, typically fixations with how people perceive us, how to get more of the things that we think will make us happy, and with keeping our weight down. So the real issue is how do we gently stop being who we aren’t? How do we relieve ourselves of the false fronts of people-pleasing and affectation, the obsessive need for power and security, the backpack of old pain, and the psychic Spanx that keeps us smaller and contained?
Here’s how I became myself: mess, failure, mistakes, disappointments, and extensive reading; limbo, indecision, setbacks, addiction, public embarrassment, and endless conversations with my best women friends; the loss of people without whom I could not live, the loss of pets that left me reeling, dizzying betrayals but much greater loyalty, and overall, choosing as my motto William Blake’s line that we are here to learn to endure the beams of love.
Oh, yeah, and whenever I could, for as long as I could, I threw away the scales and the sugar.
When I was a young writer, I was talking to an old painter one day about how he came to paint his canvases. He said that he never knew what the completed picture would look like, but he could usually see one quadrant. So he’d make a stab at capturing what he saw on the canvas of his mind, and when it turned out not to be even remotely what he’d imagined, he’d paint it over with white. And each time he figured out what the painting wasn’t, he was one step closer to finding out what it was.
You have to make mistakes to find out who you aren’t. You take the action, and the insight follows: You don’t think your way into becoming yourself.

We Wear the Mask

We wear the mask that grins and lies,
It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,–
This debt we pay to human guile;
With torn and bleeding hearts we smile,
And mouth with myriad subtleties.
Why should the world be overwise,
In counting all our tears and sighs?
Nay, let them only see us, while
We wear the mask.
We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries
To thee from tortured souls arise.
We sing, but oh the clay is vile
Beneath our feet, and long the mile;
But let the world dream otherwise,
We wear the mask!

 Paul Laurence Dunbar

How To (Finally!) Keep Your New Year’s Resolutions

If you’ve failed to keep your resolutions, Martha Beck has a way for you to succeed this year: by joining forces with the people you least resemble (and, often, most want to throttle).

By Martha Beck

Last year four of my friends—Marlene, Ellie, Karla, and Chip—all resolved to get in shape and lose weight. Now, these people had never met, so the odds of their making exactly the same resolution were…actually quite predictable, since pretty much everybody puts fitness on their New Year’s resolutions list. There are rumors of humans who’ve never resolved to eat less and move more, but until scientists discover concrete evidence (hair, fibers, DNA-smeared doughnut boxes), we must assume they exist only in hallucinations of ordinary people who’ve been weakened by months and months of dieting.
At any rate, by last February all my friends had fallen off the resolution wagon and were munching their way to larger clothing sizes and a profound sense of failure. Something similar may happen to you this year, whatever your resolutions.If it does, don’t blame your weak will; blame isolation. Research shows that humans tend to do difficult things much better in teams and groups than on their own. I suggest that this year you seek a specific type of goal-oriented companionship I call the Fellowship of the Resolution.

 The Virtue of Motley Crews
If you loved J.R.R. Tolkien’s TheLord of the Rings (or hated it but absorbed the plot because of peer pressure), you’ll recall that the Fellowship of the Ring was a team consisting of hobbits, humans, a dwarf, a wizard, and an elf. Although these species usually avoided one another, their disparities turned out to be essential for saving Middle Earth. The Fellowship met monsters only a hobbit could trick, caves only a dwarf could spelunk, spells only an elf could counter, and orcs whose strength could be overcome only by Viggo Mortensen’s flexing of his facial muscles, paralyzing the beasts with acute awareness of their inferior looks.
When it comes to New Year’s resolutions, you, too, need a Fellowship. But it’s not enough to enlist your longtime BFFs—the buddies you’ve known forever, who think and act just like you. As Tolkien’s story suggests, the key to success is teaming up with people who are emphatically not on your wavelength. This is especially true in behavioral patterns called conative styles.

At The Door

Stalk the Clock

Shake off the Shock

Highs and Lows

And So it Goes…

Sleepless Black

The papers Stack

Words that Spill

While she Heals

Break, she May…

Vows to Stay

In the Game

Without the Shame.

ABOUT

My intention in sharing my journal is to share with you…

I write, collage and photograph my world…

I have a passionate love affair with the written word…

I say yes to all things real in life… I choose to live outside the box…

I am not easily swayed from my personal truths and belief-system…

I am a freethinker…

Open mindedness is an absolute for me, it is not subjective.

I hope you find something upon these pages that speaks to you personally…

Thanks for reading!

 

Writing

“Writing is a concentrated form of thinking…a young writer sees that with words he can place himself more clearly into the world. Words on a page, that’s all it takes to help him separate himself from the forces around him, streets and people and pressures and feelings. He learns to think about these things, to ride his own sentences into new perceptions.”
-Don DeLillo

Layoff

Calling Him Back from Layoff

by Bob Hicok

I called a man today. After he said

hello and I said hello came a pause

during which it would have been

confusing to say hello again so I said

how are you doing and guess what, he said

fine and wondered aloud how I was

and it turns out I’m OK. He

10 Thoughts on Optimism

Happiness

Happiness doesn’t just happen; it emerges.

Mistakes

Let yourself make small mistakes. Happiness is not found in perfection.

Method

Treat happiness as a method, not an end in itself.

Joy

Misery may be contagious — but so is joy.

Pleasure

Take pleasure in others’ happiness, as it will augment your own.

Bravery

Optimism isn’t just a shift in perspective. It’s an act of bravery.

Believe

Don’t believe what you hear. Life is good.

Connection

Keep revisiting your connection to spirit. Let it evolve as you grow.

Openness

Respond to life with openness and curiosity.

Action

Don’t wait for your mood to change; take action despite it.

10 Thoughts on Whole Living

Thriving

1.  Just as a seed contains all it needs to sprout, so are you already equipped to thrive.

Growth

2.  You can’t grow without pushing your limits.

Lessons

3.  See your mistakes not as personal flaws, but as the source of your most valuable life lessons.

Empowerment

4.  Think of money as energy; use it to empower, not control, your life.

Resilience

5.  Every moment of suffering brings an opportunity to build resilience

Rewards

6.  With each challenge comes new growth. Engage in rewarding efforts.

Focus

7.  Missteps are part of any process. Stay focused on where you’re headed.

Direction

8.  Find your direction in life by looking where you want to go, not where you don’t.

Worth

9.  Know your worth — and accept nothing less.

Dreams

10. Make this the day you stop dreaming and start doing.

Merry Christmas To You All!!!

A Christmas Photo For You!

Christmas Quote

“I’ve learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way (s)he handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.”
― Maya Angelou

Beautiful insight…

“I’ve learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow. I’ve learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights. I’ve learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you’ll miss them when they’re gone from your life. I’ve learned that making a “living” is not the same thing as making a “life.” I’ve learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance. I’ve learned that you shouldn’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw something back. I’ve learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision. I’ve learned that even when I have pains, I don’t have to be one. I’ve learned that every day you should reach out and touch someone. People love a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back. I’ve learned that I still have a lot to learn. I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

Maya Angelou

Walking Wounded

 

“The real voyage of discovery consists

not in seeking new landscapes

but in having new eyes.”

by

Marcel Proust

 

I consider myself to be among the walking wounded (as I believe… we all are)… and if we as a people have never felt the infinite void caused by losing a loved one… perhaps a Sister, Brother, Mother or Father or quite possibly, your Mother and your Father within a span of six months as I recently did…or you’ve not yet felt the sting of personal failure, the humility while asking for financial assistance, or needing a handout of food and/or possibly food stamps in order to feed your belly that’s been empty with an ache which seems like an eternity… or had to ask for help feeding yourself because you’re too sick to lift the fork. We all get a turn if we’re blessed to live long enough and that’s a fact… I

I’m Walking the Walk

 

I’m Walking the Walk

Photograph by Angela Soelzer Ragosa aka OnMyMindWriter

Today is Day #3 of my new life!
So far this week I’ve been able to log 12 ½ miles of my goal, which is 30 miles each week. Somewhere along the way I stopped putting me on the front burner in my life so… Welcome Back to Me! I feel so happy…proud & most importantly peaceful! It is truly amazing what a good workout can do for your psyche… I asked myself today “why did you ever stop doing something that makes you feel so great?” I’ve yet to answer that question probably because there is no sane or logical answer to it. All I know is…today has been an awesome day and I hope I’m blessed with another day tomorrow.
I hope you too, have an awesome day!

Angela

Disguises

“How strange it is. We have these deep terrible lingering fears about ourselves and the people we love. Yet we walk around, talk to people, eat and drink. We manage to function. The feelings are deep and real. Shouldn’t they paralyze us? How is it we can survive them, at least for a little while? We drive a car, we teach a class. How is it no one sees how deeply afraid we were, last night, this morning? Is it something we all hide from each other, by mutual consent? Or do we share the same secret without knowing it? Wear the same disguise?”

by Don DeLillo

I’ve found a home in you.

I awoke this morning with you on my mind…

memories of how we met and how someday we’ll part… how I knew you were born for me right from the start. our girls, the miraculous shared, the mundane, the madness, the sadness, our love for one another, the friendship we share… our joy, our sorrow, the tomorrows we’ll share…your hands, your feet, your skin, the way you danced in the rain for me, the memory of you washing my hair, the beach we share, our long walks there, your support when I’ve been ill and loved me still… the way you’ve loved our girls without reservation, your willingness always to do more without hesitation… our intimate moments, the worst of times, and everything in between… our I do’s, our I love you’s… your kindness, your touch, your acceptance, your love, your eyes, your legs your voice, your strength, your compassion, your childhood memories… our walks, our talks, our silence, the places we’ve been, the places we’ve yet to see …because of this and so much more… I’ve found a home in you.

Angela Soelzer Ragosa

All That You Have Is Your Soul

Oh my mama told me
‘Cause she say she learned the hard way
She say she wanna spare the children
She say don’t give or sell your soul away
‘Cause all that you have is your soul
Well I was a pretty young girl once
I had dreams I had high hopes
I married a man he stole my heart away
He gave his love but what a high price I paid
All that you have is your soul
So don’t be tempted by the shiny apple
Don’t you eat of a bitter fruit
Hunger only for a taste of justice
Hunger only for a world of truth
‘Cause all that you have is your soul
Why was I such a young fool
Thought I’d make history
Making babies was the best I could do
Thought I’d made something that could be mine forever
Found out the hard way one can’t possess another
And all that you have is your soul
So don’t be tempted by the shiny apple
Don’t you eat of a bitter fruit
Hunger only for a taste of justice
Hunger only for a world of truth
‘Cause all that you have is your soul
I thought, thought that I could find a way
To beat the system
To make a deal and have no debts to pay
I’d take it all, I’d take it all, I’d run away
Me for myself first class and first rate
But all that you have is your soul
So don’t be tempted by the shiny apple
Don’t you eat of a bitter fruit
Hunger only for a taste of justice
Hunger only for a world of truth
‘Cause all that you have is your soul
Here I am, I’m waiting for a better day
A second chance
A little luck to come my way
A hope to dream, a hope that I can sleep again
And wake in the world with a clear conscience and clean hands
‘Cause all that you have is your soul
So don’t be tempted by the shiny apple
Don’t you eat of a bitter fruit
Hunger only for a taste of justice
Hunger only for a world of truth
‘Cause all that you have is your soul
Oh my mama told me
‘Cause she say she learned the hard way
She say she wanna spare the children
She say don’t give or sell your soul away
‘Cause all that you have is your soul
All that you have
All that you have
All that you have
Is your soul

Tracy Chapman

Keeping A Secret

RISE

Today I choose to rise…

 

“We fight, get beat, rise, and fight again.”

Nathanael Greene quotes

key to self expression

 

My key to self

 

expression…

 

Truth