Da'shon Is. : FINDING ALIGNMENT

Peace Fam!

It seems I have joined the world of Bloggers. For those of you that know me, you know I always have something to say about something. So at the behest of those who appreciate my musings, I give you sayWHAT?!™. The intention is to share some of the interesting things I discover on my journey. I hope you find it helpful, or at the very least, entertaining! Enjoy, and please forward to anyone you think should know about it. Give Thanks!

True,
da’shon is.



o I just got off the phone with one of my dearest friends. My homegirl E. just hit me from Sydney, Australia. Apparently folks are madd nervous because those wild fires are burning up the place. As a person who’s lived in southern California, I know how that goes. Santa Ana winds, arsonists, and acts of nature make that place an inferno every year. -Sending LOVE down-under to people who lost family and property. Stay up and count blessings.

o Tell that Chris Brown didn’t really beat on his girl! No dude should hit his girl, or vice versa. Well, unless he’s a little dude and she’s an Amazon whoopin’ his ass! Speaking of SoCal, when I went to high school out there, I knew this Crip. Now I’m a relatively big dude, but this girl-gangster was my size, more diesel, and had a body count! Football players wouldn’t even f*** with her! I’m just sayin’tho. –Anywho, I don’t know the real of what happened with Rhianna, and I suspect media speculation and manipulation. That said, they are both kids, and regardless of the scenario, need guidance from some elders right now. Let’s hope they get what they need, and what they deserve.

o I think that President Obama’s address on Monday was good. He was poised and confident, as usual. I especially like how his plan encompasses jobs, energy, and rebuilding in one stroke. His common sense approach makes the old guard look like bigger assholes for not supporting. It’s really wack how they left him holding the bag though! But watch, he’s gonna freak it. I have every confidence in his ability to do what’s needed. Really, this so-called recession is a joke. Before you unemployed get your panties in a bunch, see Zeitgeist, particularly Zeitgeist Addendum, and get at me. -And if you’re in New York, March 15,2009 it’s “Z-Day”. www.zeitgeistmovie.com




So, I was buildin’ on something of note with a former protégé Ian Ford the other day. He was telling me how the Biggie movie had the highest grossing opening weekend in Fox Searchlight history. That’s big for a Black Superhero. But I can’t help considering the implications of celebrating a man who was publicly a misogynistic, gun toting drug dealer who loved his moms. But that’s how Americans do.

It’s tradition to celebrate Christopher Columbus and the like for “discovering” the Americas. They brought death and destruction to this land and it’s indigenous peoples. But they get national holidays. Apparently Black Americans carry the torch of such traditions. Drug dealers, pimps, and all manner of bad-asses are what pass for a hero. Well this Black man believes ALL people should reconsider whom we chose to pedestal. Further, we should give more thought to why we celebrate some and not others.

These thoughts reminded me of something I wrote about Big (and Tupac). I was talking about how we sentient beings have far more power than most of us are aware of. I immediately recognized that the fate of both men was self-fulfilling. Biggie’s first album set the wheels in motion.

“…Several months later, March 9, 1997, Tupac’s former best friend, turned rival, Biggie Smalls catches the same fate. Yeah, ya boy sold some drugs back in the day, but most of his peoples say he wasn’t really on no Scarface s***. He was really just a cool brother, nice at kickin’ a rhyme off the dome and was tryin’ to find his way into that hustle. But just like his boy ‘Pac, he embellished his tales from the ghetto a little bit because that’s what MCs do. Here me loud and clear because this is my point: HIS FIRST ALBUM WAS CALLED READY TO DIE! To the uninitiated this might seem unimportant. I mean nobody was really thinking about that back then, but here me now! Big’s first joint is one of the best Hip Hop albums of all time. It was raw, original, hungry, dark, and wildly popular around the world. It was the s***! I don’t think many people could argue on that point. But I’m sayin’, he put it out in the Universe like ‘Yo, I don’t give a ****! I’m goin’ way out!’ He was in interviews after that first album talkin’ about being paranoid that people were following him, tryin’ to buck him down! In the end he went out just like he predicted, a flurry of bullets.”


"...I blow up like the World Trade." -Biggie Smalls.
-Let this be a cautionary tale kids. Watch what you say because we are co-creators of what is!

To fellow Biggie lovers I mean no harm. I’m just saying we need to hold our heroes to higher standards. Better stated, we need to check ourselves. I personally LOVE that dudes talent and his ambition was inspirational. No doubt. But I am my hero. Who is yours?






JOKEY-JOKES

Your mama's cooking is so bad, that the flies pitched in to fix the screen door.

Your mama's so ugly, she laid down to take a beauty nap and slipped into a coma.



FORGIVENESS

I was chillin’ with a friend recently who was feeling f***** up about a situation. This person was cheated on and had agreed to forgive. Noble, no doubt, but now they are feeling a way about it because the pain feels one-sided. So I was asked, “what is forgiveness?” For a person who’s got an answer for everything, I admit I was at a loss.

I had to fall back and consider how and why I forgive. From what I can see, contrary to popular belief, forgiveness is a completely selfish act. And this is not a bad thing. In my experience, we think that we are doing something noble by exonerating the other. And that usually leads to martyrdom. “Woe is me. I’m in pain and she doesn’t even give a crap!” And there’s truth in that sentiment. The other can’t feel the same pain you do. The resentment you feel, even if you’re screamin’ it at them, only eats at YOU. And that’s because ultimately you are the only one who can decide how you will feel about something.

The reason I let things go is because I’m selfish. I understand that when I’m mad at someone, I carry the burden. Even if the other feels an nth of my pain, I feel it fully. I let things go because I recognize that even if the other has purposely tried to hurt me, it’s because they are weak in some capacity. I know that I’m a good man and I deserve goodness. Besides, we should never allow anyone to have such power over us. -I think the only reason to consider forgiveness is to clean up your own energy. As far as the other, understand that if they could have made a better choice they would have, spiritually speaking. They have to forever live with doing you wrong. But that’s not your concern.


If you think I can be of help, get at me. It's my honor to serve.



If you’re in New York tonight, check this man out. Artist, musician, vocalist… The dude is bad!



For the art lovers out there, tomorrow, do check for this cat Cosmo Whyte. He’s doin’ it right at Agnes Scott:



South Africa stand up! My brother ‘Mu is comin’ thru:


Wednesday, February 25, 2009
6:00pm - 9:00pm
Bell-Roberts Gallery
176 Sir Lowry Road / Woodstock
Cape Town, South Africa

And for music heads, check out the Professor of Sounds, DJ A-Ski’s blog www.unique74mag.com. He’s also featured on WheatBreadRadio.com. Shout out to Master Fuse Green!



And this man is the reason I stand behind tables, the incomparable DJ Kemit. I travel the world. I am hard pressed to find ANYONE who has the overall skill set this dude processes. If you not knowin’ get your ass to this joint!





Shout out’s to my new manager Tia Jakes for the encouragement and support. And thank you too all my peoples who have shown me love during my long transition into the life I’m supposed to live. Create Or Die!
Big ups to the Amsterdam Fam! (Sahr, Hester, Martin, Julian, Carole) Thanks for lookin’ out for me last year. Sweden was an experience!



And here is the first of many gifts that I’ll be blessing readers with every week. This one is just a little reminder of how dope you are:

“It is only you, every bit of it you. Know that you are the Creator of your own reality.” –Ester Hicks
And a…
“You can say that we are the image and the likeness of God.” –Rev. Dr. Michael Beckwith

It’s a nice loop to get you going! Enjoy: https://download.yousendit.com/Y2orZEU1Qk5BNkYzZUE9PQ

And Give Thanks for reading.