Soul Stitch

Of knits and (k)nots, consider p(er)URL Won, too and t'ree...

“Lord, give us weak eyes for things which are of
             no account and clear eyes for all Your truth.” ~ Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1855)

“Almighty God who has sent the Spirit of truth unto us to guide us into all truth: so rule our lives by Thy power that we may be truthful in thought and word and deed. May no fear or hope ever make us false in act or speech; cast out from us whatsoever loveth or maketh a lie, and bring us all into the perfect freedom of Thy truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord.” ~ Brooke Foss Westcott (1825-1901)

“Lord, I have time,
            I have plenty of time,
            All the time that You give me,
            The years of my life,
            The days of my years,
            The hours of my days,
            They are all mine.
            Mine to fill, quietly, calmly,
            But to fill completely, up to the brim,
            To offer them to You, that of their insipid water
            You may make a rich wine such
            As You made once in Cana of Galilee.” ~ Michel Quoist     

To Peace

It lives in Salaam, shalom and even Shlomo. While Salem, Salome, salami and other related words
might have developed contrary implications to it over time, the soul purpose is peace.

The Biblical King Solomon has long been touted as one of the wisest people ever born. It was the highest frequency of his energy that recently came to mind during a conversation on human nature and its sometimes supernatural feats of (in)humanity. When the dynamic discourse visited suffering, namely from abuse of all kinds, we agreed that the conditions were likely to create further sexual and/or emotional deviance in the victims; forms of perversion or power-seeking that seemed to narrow one's options to the plight of pimps and prostitutes. An old testament of the latter is key to today's post, so there's no need for alarm regarding my choice of words or corresponding song. Lord knows Life gets down and dirty sometimes, so I'm grateful for the omnipresence of what poet Nancy Thomas calls a "Hard God".

The third chapter of 1 Kings presents the former prince-turned-preacher with two members of the aforementioned profession. Bittersweetly, Solomon's family -- the root of Jesse that branched into adulterous parents; homicidal, incestuous siblings and then the Messiah -- had yielded all the practice he would need to provide right leadership like that which discerned the liar from among the pair of freaks, so to speak. Due to earnest relations with the Most High, the options expected, if not encouraged, by the family's dysfunction expanded to include the proverbial fifth element of prudence.

Having argued or otherwise engaged with foolishness before, I understand what it was to be mistaken, however briefly, for the same. For example, receiving "Again?" as a response to my first and only sharing of serious events with some believed to know me well followed by a third-party feeding of information only they knew was enough to pause my calling on them even for dire reasons. As 1 Kings 11 and Nehemiah 13 attest, the false dominion of his many wives' deities and thighs would temporarily confuse the king and dim his light. In our respective seasons, the merit of consecration (cleansing and setting something aside for spiritual purposes) became clear to us both. Past mistakes were rendered powerless save to inform and enhance the positive, larger Message.

The earlier conversation's good spirits as well as the classic Jodeci remix track that came to mind reframing the king's activity grew distant from the perpetual present and notion to post here. With the delivery of a raw diet women's health newsletter subscription on this morning's wings, I was subject to the ticklishly blessed assurance that "If you think it's about your thighs, it's not" and encouraged to share my sentiments anyway. May It all serve God's will well. Case closed.

TRINITY TALKS: Filles et...

Happy June! 'Tis the season, better yet the 'soular' slice, of sunshine's peak and the heightened (outdoor) activity that often comes along for the ride. As the month of May closed, so did the fullness of my attention to a scrolling news feed when I peeked at its mention of some dark happenings in the Sunshine State and in Maryland. In the time it took to leave home for the day with a kiss to his girlfriend and characteristic Bible in hand, what is currently considered the influence of "voodoo" and/or the illicit use of not-quite-"bath salts" is responsible for allegedly transforming a young Miami man into a naked one shot and killed by police to stop him from possibly raping another man before eating 75% of the victim's face off. About five (and not 28) days later, a Morgan State University student admitted to killing then eating the heart and some brain matter of a fellow student. A melange of violently ingested or thrown human organs have also popped up in at least three other U.S. locales. Yes, folks, it seems zombies of sorts are somewhat popular news outside of Hollywood and other circles. I choose not to highlight any more about it than that. 

With this month's 30 days in my sights, yesterday's endless eschatology encouraged other media that referred to times like these being mentioned approximately once in every 30 Bible verses. The 'coincidence' then led me to select a focal chapter with 30 verses for June. The book of Daniel frequently addresses prophecy at large. However, its chapter 3 is one of those 30ers, displaying the seeds King Nebuchadnezzar sowed in the lives of people like Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah that would later bring him face-to-face with a beast nature of his own. I don't know if said former king ever ate people and not just the grass he grazed, so the book/chapter I chose is Proverbs 20. Please feel free to join me in a verse per day meditation on it and whatever helpful interventions God places in our hearts to maintain right Spirit in this hour of humanity. Should we ever meet and I ask you the above question, may the Truth of our matter(s) purely be yes.

Cherish the Species

"I have considered the days of old, the ancient days, the years of ancient times. I call to remembrance my song in the night: I commune with mine own heart: and my spirit made diligent search."

- Psalm 77:5-6

Before our meeting, a former classmate specialized in entomology, meaning he studied insects. Etymology-loving me was surprised that I had to look the simple-looking word up when he first mentioned his early goals. Having done so, it made perfect sense when group discussions about human nutrition, organ systems or body types and temperaments somehow drew comparisons to some worm, long-legged creature or another. Where most people would hum a ditty, cringe or talk crap about 'la cucaracha', he would probably notice beauty or revere their persistence. Moving quickly from that, it was cool to learn that each member of the small world we tend to acknowledge more in this Spring and the coming Summer season have millions more faces than the few we commonly recognize.

Covering the journey from coarse kingdoms to fine specimen and back, there are seven primary strata. And without doubt there Is God. What comes to mind for me in that regard is popular culture's depiction of Heaven's levels or the whole tones in a Western scale. With the great differences of human beings (snowflakes too), the whole world can agree that music has the power to consistently highlight and harmonize our similarities. Ok. I admit it! Like my friend, it seems I find a way to include what I love in almost every conversation too. 

That being said, Esperanza Spalding's "Radio Music Society" was one of the albums released today. Arriving almost a month after The Robert Glasper Experiment's "Black Radio", the 'ready, yo' theme informs some great moments in the artform. With the exception of a boombox image on the lady's cover art and the now common feature of a third-party on almost all of the group's songs, however, both albums are beautiful snapshots in what should continue forward as high-quality catalogs but don't quite represent what radio looks like for now.  

For instance, if popular broadcasts didn't seek to dull the senses with repetition of *@&%! and instead graced us with the 'hope' to "Always Shine" or more Stokley (of beloved Mint Condition fame), "Ah Yeah"... our days might be "Crowned & Kissed" with the gentle wisdom inherent to simply sitting and sipping the aural tea of a "Cinnamon Tree" or pretty luxuries like those first experienced in '91. No need to look to the left, though. A mellow and effective Nirvana awaits in the midst of the albums' 12/24 selections, due only in part yet dually to another long-time favorite singer, Lalah Hathaway. Wait - I just envisioned an "In Living Color"-era Tommy Davidson. Somebody say Christmas comin'? Wrap it up!

Ms. Hathaway, like the mother she shares her birth name with, exemplifies good speech when the root eu- puts a positive spin on the la tone connected with certain singing or repetitive movements of the tongue as with ululation. Phonetically, the daughter's proximity to "Leila" links the name to blackness. As Ms. Spalding's "Vague Suspicions" and "Land of the Free" did in light of injustices including that which claimed the life of Trayvon Martin, Hathaway's music could easily offer very soothing and centering vibrations during a dark time.

For me, the "silence is the sweetest sound" lyric of 1994's "So They Say" in particular made bearable the doctor's orders to shut up for a couple weeks after a minor throat surgery if I intended to continue as a soprano or just heal properly. The gift of Lalah's captivating contralto provided me with frequent company and then encouragement in the procedure's two-year radius. Grateful to express myself when necessary since being that stubborn microphone fiend, her talent continues to bless my space 'hear' and now as well as the "Endangered Species" and "Cherish the Day" covered on the respective releases. The two albums are otherwise linked by Spalding's farewell-in-stereo "Let Her" about a she who fronted on tampering with a brother's phone at the very least and the Experiment's endearing cover, "Letter...", later in the grand sequence.  

In the opening scripture here, the Psalmist king meditated on Divine inspiration like a song in the night to weather illusory storms. Like a single cell, thought or music note for that matter, the essence of what makes Life special on any given day often goes unseen when generated into this plane of existence until it multiplies like family, is arranged in a unique order, enhanced by a sense of class or the name(s) signifying its actual or desired qualities and honors the established rank & file regarding division. This can be applied well or wrong. Such is the case with healthy or cancerous bodies; plans that build bridges or yield the breakdown of war; symphonies or finally, sad excuses for songs—which none of the above titles are. Over ALL, the Most High has Kingdom Dominion. Understanding this, whether or not an utterance is made, every day can bring a perspective of peace with which to look at and maybe show (tough) Love for the little things, just as the unified Infinite does to infinitesimal us.

Simple.

In checking my calendar today, a little note appeared informing me that Daylight Saving Time would take place at 2 a.m. on next Sunday, March 11, 2012. However imperfect, there are certainly worse things out there than my memory. I simply don't recall it normally coming so soon, but hey... Life is change, right?! Considering the latter belief, maybe the manipulation of time should be expected. After all, whole nations took a quadrennial leap only a few days ago and, according to the Mayans, people can be born on a Day Out of Time. Even without looking skyward or deep into scholarly tomes, quantum 'space' is occupied by a lot more than what we popularly regard or understand. This is not an existential rant to force an intellectual veneer on the skin invisible to you here. This is just an eye-opener to those gaps that exist in every one of our lives, in the most unassuming ways.

Take the pair of ellipses present in the text so far. In grammar, the three dots of an ellipsis represent a silent space that can hold anything we choose to put in them. Further, the missing content may or may not agree with what pertinent courage we have made visible on the bookends of the statement. Like the parodied (but very enjoyable, thank you) Madonna commercial, they highlight a gap one could fall into unaware. As for the soul and the unknown unseen that affect it, there is one thing that provides a permanent eclipse of "a multitude" and bridges gaps like no other: Love. Fill every space with it and carry on... lighter :)