January Nablopomo

I just signed up for January's Nablopomo. I am on a roll, so far, so I thought I would just keep going. I think my official start to Blog365 was in October or November when I started posting daily.

The theme for January is CHANGE. I am doing better with the whole theme thing...I think if I just come up with a game plan, I can do the theme. It also makes me less likely to write some meandering post that says very little.

I have thoroughly enjoyed the Thanks-Giving of December (hopefully, anyone reading has enjoyed it, too). I like having the opportunity to think about all the great people in my life. Obviously, there are more people I could add. These were some of the major players and I hope to continue to thank people in my world.

Change is good. I have to keep telling myself that. Easy to say, hard to believe sometimes.

Letter to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on the 40th Anniversary of his Death

Dear Dr. King-

I am not African American and I cannot understand how it must feel to be judged and oppressed because of my skin color. Regardless of that, you have always been one of my heroes. You died when I was less than a year old, but I always felt your presence in the world from the time I was a child.

Today it has been 40 years since your assassination. I watched videos of your life and the last days and the years have not assuaged the grief that I feel for the loss of your life, the loss of the leader who could actually lead the United States to the next level. Your dream is still not a reality. Even as Barak Obama is running for the Democratic nomination for U.S. President, it is so obvious that we are not where we need to be. Poverty, oppression, racism and the disenfranchisement of black individuals and other minority people are still the norm. Some things have changed, but not enough.

As I sat at my computer today, listening to your voice speak prophetically that you had "been to the mountain top" and "seen the other side" that you "might not get there with you", I wept. Wept as if it was the first time you moved me so. It is not the first time. Nor the last.

In honor of your life, I am posting videos to commemorate your dream, your life, your great work and hope. It is difficult not to try to imagine what would be different in our world if you had not been taken from us.

In loving memory

Jean


"The Last Days of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (from MSNBC)



Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s last speech



Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr's "I have a Dream" speech from the March on Washington

A quote from Oprah Magazine

This quote is from an old issue of "O Magazine"...

"I have come to believe...that what is most important to me must be spoken, made verbal and shared, even at the risk of having it bruised or misunderstood."

Audre Lorde

I believe this quote but I am still struggling with it because so often I do get bruised or misunderstood or both. I try to improve my communication skills at all times - can I be more clear? How can I convey this more effectively? Usually, I am too wordy. I realized a long time ago that the world's problems start with too many words.

I think "too many words" is really a good motto. If you look at how we talk to children, we get a glimpse into how people best learn - at their most primal, at their most basic (where we operate when we are tired or distracted...aren't we always tired and distracted? or is it just me?) Listen to how we talk to our young children - "No." "Good job." "Want a cookie?" "Stop it." "Come here." We believe that we all develop this complex listening system and yet, most people, if asked to do a multi-part task will only follow the first and maybe the second directive before they get distracted by something loud or shiny or just plain more interesting than trying to remember what the heck they were just doing...

Too many words.

April showers

When I get done with NaBloPoMo for March, I will come back to my first blog and pay more attention here. I have overcommitted with too many blogs. I really wanted to do NaBloPoMo though, so it was good. It got me into the habit of posting everyday and learning about how to post YouTube embeds, etc. It has been a good thing. I think I will return my efforts here to complete the Blog365 project on Wild Rumpusing.

BlogAffair - 37 Days

I am in love with a blog right now...

http://37days.typepad.com/37days/

First off, Patti (the author) writes brilliantly and about issues that make my heart hurt - racism, homophobia, women's issues. Her blog from a couple of days ago has a brilliant clip from YouTube with Tracy Chapman singing, "Fast Car" (see January 2008 post "Missing Roby").

I have looked at this blog before - down the rabbit hole I fall into when I am looking at blogs - but I never really took the time to look around and read.

Of particular interest to me today were the following:

Stop doing insignificant work in the world

Women wake us up - Tracy Chapman

I wish I could articulate what happened to me while I was reading her posts - I just felt my throat swell and my heart got that achy feeling when I know that there is something more in this world that we are all meant to do. I was inspired by this and I hope I can hold on to the thoughts that I had and the convictions that I have to be a better person, to try to build a better community and to teach by example.

Since I included her lyrics before, I wanted to add a clip of Tracy Chapman singing "Fast Car". And I added "Talking about a Revolution" for good measure. This is thanks to 37days. I used the embed feature so that people could watch the clips. Then I think they should go to her blog and read.

Tracy Chapman singing “Fast Car” video – from http://37days.typepad.com/37days/ and YouTube



Tracy Chapman – “Talking about a Revolution” 1988

Blog365 Check in

When I started on the Blog365 journey, I thought I would just be here on this blog, but it turns out that I have spread myself a little thin. I have one blog for my reading journey - although I have made little progress in that arena. I have another that I think is just different. I don't know why I have both, but for some reason, they seem to serve different purposes.

The other one is www.pinkmakesmehappydaily.blogspot.com. I wanted to do NaBloPoMo and so I started really posting over there on a daily basis. Luckily, when I read the rules for Blog365, it said that you don't have to post to one blog - just post daily. Early on, I missed a day or two, but I have tried to make up some of the days. I think I will be ok by the time I get to the end of the year.