Da'shon Is. : FINDING ALIGNMENT: August 2009

Hey Folks,

I’m seeing through things these days. Feeling the clarity that comes when I sit still and give my attention to what’s in front of me. Then, regardless of circumstances, life is good. Corny as it sounds to the uninitiated, it’s working for me. “From the bottom, everything is looking up”.
-HOPE you are well.

True,
da’shon is.

"That just happened!"

I AIN’T NO JOKE

To say there are double standards in America is like saying the Sun is hot. DUH! That’s why it’s not surprising that people got away with having guns at protests against President Obama. There are people who actually think HE is the anti-Christ!? Consider what that last dude did during his reign. The most deadly weapon to get near him was a flying shoe. -There are still many people in this country who believe a Black life is joke, including many Black people. I suppose the appropriate response is to be offended by this blatant racism. But in my experience that reaction hasn’t changed a damn thing. I KNOW better.

LEGENDS

Saturday night, or should I say Sunday morning, 2 Atlanta giants made people sweat it all out! Kai and Kemit did one of those late night house joints people be lookin’ for. Some of the tastemakers like Tak, Twa, Soul, Tiffany, and Elika came out and made the night right. Camille was in from China, Queen Nirobi blessed the spot, and my girl Afeni got to hear the master Kemit spin for the first time. And to my pleasant surprise, a blast from the past, Akanke snuck up on me. -I need to get out more.

NO COINCIDENCES

So that whole day I was focused on starting the SKF documentary shoot, ASAP. The idea is to get on camera and share some of what I know. I had reached out to a few people to help in producing and shooting the project. But everyone either slept or was too busy to answer. No sweat; I keeps it movin’. So when I ran into Akanke, all the pieces came together. She’s a feature filmmaker and a documentaries! –I was in Fahamu’s office on Monday, asking him if he remember her from back in the day. In she walks to photograph him for a coffee table book! With a smile she says to me “my 1:30 just cancelled. You ready for me to shot you for this book?” Life is beautiful.

DREAMIN’ DREAMS UP

I know this woman named Sahar; she’s incredible. To say we’re friends would be inaccurate since we’ve never had a real conversation. And in the 4-5 years I’ve “known” her I’ve been in her company maybe 5 times. But since day one I was impressed by her shine. She’s a dreamer/doer. I’ve peripherally watched her speak on goals and then birth them at Godspeed. Of course we all have these abilities, but it’s awesome to see it in action; it inspires. Friday evening some friends and I attended one of her newest manifestations. She held a social to launch Dare to Dream, a foundation for young women. Big Up!

COCKTAILS

Miss Meredith invited me to spin at her weekly cocktail party. The room felt good and I had a great time entertaining for a birthday gathering. –I’m a selfish Selector because I’m really spinning for my pleasure. But birthday girl Zoë was feelin’ what I put down so it worked out for everybody. If you’ve never been to P’cheen, it’s definitely worth checkin’ for. I tried the mussels and a side of fries… they were correct!

GOODBYE GEMINIS

Two of my good peoples chose August for their exodus from the A. Eden bounced to New York to show ‘em who’s boss. In her new gig working with a historic photographer, she’s making herstory! And the incomparable Kerisha is leaving Atlanta to flip the script on fools. I’m use to the comings and goings in life, but always feel something when that situation I love comes to an inevitable end. But I love to see growth. *Travel safe and live your highest version of you!

Something I wanna address…

YES WE ARE YOU

So me and the God have been buildin’ a lot lately. I posed the silent questions that used to haunt me. The answers resonated in my chest and abdomen, my head dizzied with excitement. As the truth about who I am pour through me like Niagara, I mastered each breath to maintain my balance. That was a freeing Friday.

I’ll spare you the details of my questions because I imagine that they are the same as yours. But my answers are noteworthy.

I am God. I am the Creator of all that is, so everything that manifests in the life and times of da’shon is. are of my creation. There is no one else to blame for my happiness, no one to thank for my woeful lessons. All the blessings I receive along my journey come from within. The white man is not my oppressor and the Black community is not my celebrator, unless I say so. I can do, have and be whatever I want because the NO-THING that created EVERYTHING designed it to be this way. So I don’t have to strive for success, no lookin’ for love, and trying to be happy becomes an exercise in futility. I AM THAT I AM.

I suppose that if these thoughts have never occurred to you, they may seem a bit jarring. But I know that I am God, and so are you. It seems to me that when we listen to “them” we end up feeling ashamed, embarrassed or confused about who we are. The good book and other religious doctrine, although helpful in establishing an initial connection with the Higher Power, can become a buffer between knowing the word and experiencing your truth. I bet that even if what I’ve said feels a bit uncomfortable, you can still sense your truth in there. Fortunately, you’re not required to believe me. In fact, I’d prefer you didn’t. We’d all do well to discover truth by our individual excavation, through our own remembering.

Present in the answers I received was the rhetorical promise to adhere to my remembered truth. But I now know that I don’t even have to do that. In fact there’s nothing I have to do “but stay Black and die” as my mom’s used to say. Profound. Since I have acknowledged that I am the creator of God’s creation I recognize that the only thing I have to do is what I want to do. And that’s all there is to it.

My prayer is that the whole of humanity has such epiphanies and walks their truth.

Amen.

EVERY BIT OF IT U! by da'shon is.