Conversations with the Inner Voices...Conflict and Confirmation

#alexgrey  painting for interpretation and discussion... for me its the constellation of worlds encircling the vortex of the mind

Having and being

Stripped from the uniform of having,  it becomes very clear that what does matter are  not things.  In the absence of finances,  things, possessions, there is charity.  Confusingly, charity is not  the experience of begging and receiving..   In charity there is largesse, there is abundance, there is patience and there is kindness.

Many miss the experience of the gifts of charity, because there are so many things that fill their lives with emptiness

Giving is therefore the Gift:  

On Giving Kahlil Gibran

You give but little when you give of your possessions.It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.For what are your possessions but things you keep and guard for fear you may need them tomorrow?And tomorrow, what shall tomorrow bring to the overprudent dog burying bones in the trackless sand as he follows the pilgrims to the holy city?And what is fear of need but need itself?Is not dread of thirst when your well is full, the thirst that is unquenchable?

Relationship

Before the game of blaming begins, the most painful hurt is the acceptance of self inflicted injury.  

The abject lust for another is a curse that many who have had the bad relationship exercise are afraid to admit. In the act of consenting to be subjected to the person who is neither thoughtful,  nor caring,   you wish you could take back all the emotions, all the exchanges, all the lip locking, body sweating, acrobatic arching moments that were for your personal enjoyment and not a shared experience

Faced with your reflection in the mirror of emotional grief, you forgive.   Hurt takes its good ole time and healing takes forever.

Tyler Perry  in the play MadeaGoesToJail  eloquently advises:

This is what I've learned in all these years on this earth. If somebody wants to walk out of your life, let them go. Especially if you know you've done everything you can do. If you've sat around and been the best man or the best woman you can be and they still want to go, let them go. Whatever they're running after, in a minute they'll see what they had, but by then it's gonna be too late.Some people come into your life for a lifetime. Some come for a season. You've got to know which is which. And you're always gonna mess up when you mix seasonal people up with lifetime expectations.

Religion 

After the murderous assault of terrorists, and lives have been claimed, what form of deity, one wonders,  could contaminate minds to act without humanity.  But then again, all of what worship has become was wagered in killings from time immemorial.

Commercialized religion is rampant in all spheres of religious practices.  The Bible a book created by men, is used as a mouthpiece for fear mongering.  In reality, the religious truths of all the denominations have constructed their particular sacred theologies to ensure that worshippers practice their stated tenets.

Sacred intimacy is not a popular convention.  It is better to have a public pulpit to minister from.  It is better to build monuments, and create boards, and craft philosophies and speak the Word, and chant,  and have flamboyant demonstrations of spirit filled enactments to secure faith followers.

In moments of solitude, the awe of understanding is divine miracle.  In Spiritual Madness, The necessity of meeting God in the Darkness by Caroline Myss ,  she describes many aspects of mystical divinity:

• The true reason we invite God into our lives
• Why spiritual intimacy can lead to chaos in our personal world
• Four questions crucial to your spiritual direction that therapists never ask
• How mystical experience translates into everyday life in our time
• The truth about spiritual powers such as clairvoyance, healing, and bi-locating
• A way to end spiritual confusion with a simple, honest prayer
• Many self-teaching exercises and practices for daily life

Spiritual Madness is a unique and daring session that reaches to the borderland of spiritual experience,where the inner mysteries of the divine are fully opened in the outer world of career and family.

Sexuality

Being normal is so inclusive that even the gender bending in sexuality is now the de facto.  The years of childhood are shrinking way too rapidly.  The influences that define gender orientation, sexual orientation, pre adolescence or adolescence are now crunched into what seems like prehistoric formative years.

To all the young people struggling with issues of  self here is a sane point of view from Janelle Monáe:

"When I started my music career, I was a maid. I used to clean houses. My mother was a proud janitor. My stepfather, who raised me like his very own, worked at the post office and my father was a trashman. They all wore uniforms and that’s why I stand here today, in my black and white, and I wear my uniform to honor them.This is a reminder that I have work to do. I have people to uplift. I have people to inspire. And today, I wear my uniform proudly as a Cover Girl. I want to be clear, young girls, I didn’t have to change who I was to become a Cover Girl. I didn’t have to become perfect because I’ve learned throughout my journey that perfection is the enemy of greatness.Embrace what makes you unique, even if it makes others uncomfortable".

Inner Voice

Every single moment, someone in this vast universe is experiencing some life changing thoughts.  Typically, my thoughts versus your thought becomes a contest of how much and what I can do or say that make mine more compelling than yours.

The inner voice that is constantly asking questions and seeking answers is a reflection of pains and gains.  Yet it also is a celebration of being.

“Composer, sculptor, painter, poet, prophet, sage, these are the makers of the after-world, the architects of heaven. The world is beautiful because they have lived; without them, laboring humanity would perish.”― James Allen, As a Man Thinketh

Remembering 911: How the Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration came to be

In the reflection of the lights that shine in the replacement columns of the World Trade Center,  let us  honor the courage of those who were the ultimate sacrifice...  gcw 91113

On September 11 2001, I was a full time caregiver to my mother and was administering her ritual tube feeding.  She was in her final stages of advanced diabetes.   While attending to my Mom, I heard the explosion sounds coming from the television in the adjoining room.  My brother sounded the alarm, "Terrorists have attacked the US!".  The World Trade center has been hit by an airplane!!! 

And in that moment of utter dismay, I watched as the second plane gorged its way into the second building and exploded.

With millions, I saw President George Bush quickly ushered from the kindergarten classroom in Florida.   All the news channels were simultaneously showing the doomed airplane hijackings.  The World Trade Center buildings were imploding and crumbling to the ground.   Pictures of the Pentagon showed the fuselage of an airplane with its protruding tail crashed into its exterior walls. Billowing flames were the lasting vestiges of carnage left on a Pennsylvania field, from the plane intended for Washington, DC.  

In its most obtuse development, the Department of Homeland Security, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) came to be, because of the pillage of terror in the aftermath of 911.  While there are the many who have been the TSAs most vocal challengers and much of the scrutiny and invasive practices of safe travel measures are reviled, the conception and the coordination of efforts to create the TSA were bristled in the ebbs of calamity.  The wellspring of national and international safety in travel were created out of doom.

On the heels of the epic disaster of 911, it was mandated that all airport employees throughout the United States would be federal government employees. With the professional services contract awarded to NCS Pearson to perform this exhaustive undertaking, the largest mobile human resource staffing organization was formed.  I was one of the selected staffing consultants hired to be part of the mobile team to secure the new federal hires for the US airports.

In an extraordinary effort by teams of dedicated and patriotic workers, who were committed to duty and national pride, I share a snapshot of the preliminary makings of the agency we fondly love to hate:  The Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration.

  

With teams of over 2000 human resource staffing specialists assigned to each coast, we traveled as an army of civilians to sites closest to each airport facility from the northernmost to the southernmost States of the United States of America.  

With statutory mandates for new federal hires to be completed within a 12 month time frame, massive populations of federal job seekers were attracted to hiring events held in major cities and towns.

The organization and administrative undertakings were monumental.   

Teams of staffing specialists were on duty from the earliest morning hours to the latest early morning hours., scouring over paperwork, inputting and sending data between contact leaders and government representatives.  

Our assignments entailed interviewing applicants for screeners, baggage handlers, airport managers, federal security directors, just to name a few.

After the screening applicants were selected and the rudiments of federal employment practices were initiated, there were finger printing actions, background checks, drug testing paperwork to be completed and  filed.   There were contingency offers of federal employment to successful candidates that required demand processing.

Among the most compelling moments of the interview processes were the exhibitions of patriotic  passion, and the overwhelming responses to civic duty by many of the applicants.  

At the New York City hiring site, held at the Grand Marriott Hotel in Mid Town Manhattan, the atmosphere was filled with electrical synergy.  Thousands thronged the 16^th floor Marriott, which was turned into the largest mobile office of staffers, reviewers, and administrators, to submit their applications for federal employment.  Successful interviewees were graduated to become federal employees.  The final step of the hiring process was the official federal government swearing in ceremonies.

With every swearing in ceremony occasion,  when the Pledge of Allegiance was spoken, with right hand raised and left hand on the chest,  most every one in the room could feel the gravity of emotion that resonated with the words that were spoken:

I pledge Allegiance to the flag

of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands,one nation under God, indivisible,with Liberty and Justice for all.

 Throughout the experience of the hiring of the federal employees for the USA airports, friendships developed, strangers became family and unity prevailed. 

Twelve years since 911, many of the human resource staffing specialists for the Transportation Security Administration have continued their lives in various disciplines and corporate forums. Although separated in our individual lives, we will always have this common bond.

  

Out of the ashes of 911 the most endearing triumphs were the heroic champions of goodwill that reverberated throughout the streets of New York City, Washington DC, Pennsylvania, and the whole world.  In their most cataclysmic moment, the rescuers, the medics, the defenders and the civilians of the city of New York, and the thousands of those whose loss we mourn, became the nation’s heroes.  Theirs are the stories forever inked in history that will remain indelibly carved in our hearts and in the minds of all who remember 911.

In the midst of the aggravation of searches and screening at airport terminals, I gratefully remember all the colleagues who shared in the TSA staffing journey.  In the reflection of the lights that shine in the replacement columns of the World Trade Center,  let us  honor the courage of those who were the ultimate sacrifice. 

Respectfully and thankfully,  the Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration is the uncomfortable reminder, that our safety will never be comprised, and our freedom will not be sacrificed.   

Twerk a national pastime called Wining

MileyCyrus, poster good girl Hannah Montana, gone bad! Even the Smiths, all of Will, Jayden, and Willow, were aghast.at the MTV ceremonies, it seemed, as Ms Cyrus exposed her notoriety and celebrity status to media's delight



As you can see, Nothing New Under the Sun... Just Miley Cyrus got media clout....

Being a good and upstanding grandmother of three beautiful, decent, and modesty sanctioned grandgirls, 16, 10, and 5, I would have lassoed the likes of Ms. Miley right off off that VMA stage, money, fame, celebrity, shucked and thrown to the wind. This would be a typical response, from a morally upright and proper lady of Caribbean heritage. But, wait!!! Miley Cyrus, is acting out more Caribbean moves than many of my own Trinidad and Tobago Carnival babies.

In the flailing of all the media activists, posting more snippets, more pictures, more highlights of the Miley Cyrus VMA show, I share another twisted twerk from the perspective of social observation.
Let me first set the stage for the commentary. The last thing I was doing was watching the VMAs. I was enjoying some pre kindergarden first day of school hours with my 5 year old. And I know, one day sometime in her late twenties, these moments will be my most cherished treasures.

With posts from all the internet sources hailing the flagrant distraction of Miley's performance at the VMAs, I was the viewer after the fact, and perhaps more contained in my shock factor awareness. MileyCyrus, the adult to be, is leveraging her media grabbing attention antics.

First, she wears pum pum shorts to a late night interview with Jimmy Kimmel. She is seen twerking around the internet. Then, much to our shocking dismay, she using a large phallic like foam finger to demonstrate her coming of age on stage behavior. By the way, pum pum shorts or batty riders, is a term used in the Caribbean to suggest that the garment known as shorts, is basically inches from being in the lost zone of reasonable comfort.
 
I would dare to suggest, that were that Rihanna or Nicki Minaj doing the same antics, there would not only have been censored screenings, the public outcry would have evoked the church leagues of righteous indignation to call for "burning at the stakes". The mothers of right-winged christian decency crusades would form coalition to ban sales of product. Sadly the curse of "those island people of debauchery" would be trending as the topic of good, bad, indecent, or skank behavior.

So Miley Cyrus is exhibiting Skank. Really! Do we expect, a rich, young, beautiful white girl to behave with such crudity and crassness? Hell to the No!!! Or is this just another influence of world crossover?

When Rihanna is on Bajan soil for Cropover, and the music fused with spirits, alcohol included, along with the momentum of unbridled energy, coupled with frenzied thousands of people bending over and wining on something, usually, another human being, it is natural.

During Carnival in Trinidad and Tobago, or for that matter, at any event, where dancing by both the performers and audiences include cavorting with twerking, twisting, twirling of bodies like there are rotators in the lower extremities, it is the norm.

Even, good ole Caribbean grandmothers, are prone to a sweet wine or roll on something, -- when the music and the rhythm take control. ( In other words, when in the video, as Robin Thicke is singing and MileyCyrus, rolls her body in arched revelry against him, that is called "roll on something.")

Alas! There is nothing new under the sun. Whether the Smiths' are wide eyed in shock dismay, or whether MileyCyrus is "Twerking" signature dance moves; guess what! She gets the desired results.
MileyCyrus, what you did at the VMAs is.....building your fame value with the millions of views and hits on all of social media worldwide.

What is your Treasure? ..Security or Self Worth.. A Look at the Value of Nothing.

Tyler Perry’s new show on the OWN Network deals with the privileges of the rich and the misfortunes of the poor.  Aptly titled #TheHaves and The HaveNots, the script of the show is based on experiences that differentiate how life challenges are played out in the contrasts of opposing circumstances.

The haves have more than enough and still crave more. The have nots are destined to lives of basic existence, at the mercy of their richer counterparts.

The ordeal of living the life of the have nots may be deemed unbearable and unworthy by those accustomed to being the haves . Whether misfortune occurs by incident or malady, there are jewels of discoveries that are hidden behind the hardship veneer of the “havenots”.

In a world where having is being, labels are used to define what constitutes having and not having.  There are many who have been richly endowed with talents of wealth and material worth.  The imagery of security and professional  titles are the claims to having worth.    In the amusement of having, what is overlooked and lost in translation, are core values and talents in the invisible of nothing.

While to have is a privilege, there are the greater opportunities that can only be found in the gifted space of not having. There is bounty in different measures that seeds quality manifestations. Buried in the wreckage of struggle and despair are transformative revelations.     Generosity in human interactions emerge as promised rescues.    Acts of spontaneous kindness are demonstrations of goodness, that surface in the darkness of despair moments.   Healing concern and encouraging support are restorative and soothing ministry of shared fellowship.  Token acts of civility  convey greater resource and lasting bounty, when shared in mutual sincerity and wholesome respect. These are the intangibles that are worth more than material value.

In the dichotomy of life, ‘not having’ recognizes that there is no security in material values associated with having. The measure of self worth is not based on acumen and worldly treasures. Worth has little to do with having.  There is dissonance and incongruence in the struggle between the haves and the have nots. Ultimately, having is not being.  

The distinction of Being comes in times of harvest and manifestation. When the well of resource is emptied, the material tangibles are superficial in content and value. Out of nothing, something of greater value unfolds. The capacity to Trust the unknown is a practice that can only be derived in the absence of security. The resilience to endure hardship is an intangible that is discovered in perils of obscurity. The exploration of new frontiers of self discovery is earned in the disruption of limitation.  

With the experience of the nothing, immediacy succumbs to patience. Problems and challenges are the toiled with perseverance and endurance. Value and self worth are built with stable resolve and informed compromise.

Everyone does not seek out the life experiences of Have Nots. Rather, it is more comfortable to bask in the comforts of the Haves. Why would anyone want to deliberately subject themselves to social, emotional and financial ruin? The error of having nothing is not an ambitious elective. However, there are insights to be found when faced with the encounter of Nothing.  

When unforeseen or unexpected circumstances occur and life changes are radically disruptive and unsettling, there is the invincible respite that is gleaned in the solace of nothingness.

Be grateful in "having" for there are blessings of abundance and bounty. Be also intimately assured that the treasures of lifetime rewards are rich in the purse of the "have nots" The value of self worth is built on merits earned when you have grasped the rewards of Nothing. The realization comes that in Nothing we find lasting reward.

The Wedding Vow " I do" is not about Me. What its all about? Shall We!!

With all due reality

 On Monday August 19, 1996,  I wrote the script titled "I do".  At that  time the idea of blogging was non existent. Also at the time, DOMA was not part of the social vocabulary.  With the right to marriage as a "hot trending topic" in current discussion, I find myself amused and entertained that the magnitude of the word "vow" has been my achilles heel, when it comes to the commitment of marriage.

With all due respect

In the words penned as a forethought to a marriage announcement by a close family member, I felt persuaded to deal with my own personal disposition on the subject.    I realized that my greatest discovery was that I had not yet discovered my own self.

As I witness the euphoria of the all the marrying newbies, I found my  "I do" testimonial.    If the inclination were to occur, and I in sound mind and body willingly entertain the sacred vow of marriage (again!), I have already prepared my "I do"  pledge.       It  shares my honest fears, concerns and deepest desires.

To say " I do" means that I am making an informed decision about who I am and my willingness to serve another being.  I accept the realization of my vulnerability.

 I need to commune emotionally, physically and spiritually with someone that love has chosen for me.  My feelings aren't clinical as to what  stimulates my responsiveness.  Love happens spontaneously.
 I may hear a song, see a flower, smell a fragrance, feel an inner stirring and even be moved to tears, and in my mind's eye, it is you.To say 'I do" I am acknowledging that i appreciate and respect you.  You are divinely unique, not perfect.  You are not an extension of me nor am I, of you.  i have dreams and desires and I ask you to enjoy what I offer.  I will not conveniently delight your tastes.  I am the selfish, the opinionated, the callous and also the fragile.  When I say unkind words and act displeasingly, I hurt me and inevitably hurt you also.  Our communion allows me to reflect in the solace of your love and understanding.I do is more than a ceremonial exercise.  I do is not entitlement.  I am not entitled to wear your ring, have your name  or bear your children.  I do is an awareness of the conviction that a new journey in my life is  about to begin.  In this journey, you are my chosen companion.  The task at hand is not the prospect of what lies ahead, but the ability to apply lessons learnt on tolerance, compassion, patience, steadfastness and kindness.I do does not erase problems, old habits, likes and dislikes.  I intend to share my whole self, not just the  good parts, but the parts that unfortunately, are unpleasant.

 In saying I do, I take responsibility for loving you as you are also.  As one of God's uniquely imperfect creatures, I seek to find and strive for what I perceive may be the best for me.  We are given the opportunity to discover more about ourselves and learn in the process.
In my discoveries, I may uncover that I am domineering, possessive, controlling and insensitive.  These are traits that are all a part of who I am.  I also, am affectionate, caring, passionate and loving, and with the "i do" I expose all my nakedness for your love and total consumption.
Here I am, I say "I do" knowingly, willingly  and lovingly.  This is my opportunity to surrender myself to another.  Each day that lies ahead, I will embrace and cherish as a gift given to me by God.  
"I do is my gift to you to share our moments with God entwined as our destiny

   

I  Do composed and written by G C Walker Monday August 19, 1996

Life Journeys; Enjoy the Unknowns, Leave Yesterday Behind and Find Bliss…within

Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."― Ralph Waldo Emerson

On this journey called life, the value of a moment is as fleeting as the blink of an eye. Life is birthing renewal, constant and flowing. There are moments of turbulence, insecurity, disaster and despair. And within these intimate moments, life presents our greatest triumphs and successes. The rare gems of the precious turbulence are shrouded in mystery, beauty and bounty.

Within each of us, there are untapped reservoirs of limitless opportunity and potential. We lose the direction to our opportunities, because there are mishaps along the way. When we find ourselves at the point of question and doubt, it is in the potency of insecurity, fear and unwelcome disorder, that we discover our real internal compass. Often in our chaos and wretched misery, we stumble upon the value in the valley.

To traverse the roadways of life with all of its bitter sweet byways, and highways, one has to live through the momentary hardships called experience. One has to experience the shattered and brokenness. One has to know that there is promise and redemption.
When failures and roadblocks occur with far more frequency than you would like, and you enter into the tunnels of despair, without ready escape, there is an inevitable light in the far distant shadows. It beckons you proceed with caution.

I have cursed my fate. I have imagined that I would have achieved all the accomplishment of personal distinction. I have fantasized about the luxury of bounty. I have yearned for material bank and prosperity, with all its companion artifacts; home, car, money, travel, jewels, and precious valuables. I have felt despondent and discouraged. I have experienced doom in my own financial perils. However, the experience of naught has also been the nurturance of my highest worth.

While in the valley of nothing, life summons a pause. The remarkable virtue of poverty is to appreciate more of less. I became richer in my compassion, empathy, concern and consideration. In the trials and tribulations I have discovered respite in sanctuary, solace and bliss. These are the real riches.

Life is a journey not a destination(Emerson). Each traveler on this life journey has a very singular and individual map. As I course through the years of my sunset, I bask in the optimism of tomorrow. I do not dwell on the now of defeat which only fuels the weary. I am propelled in the energy of illustrious unknowns, adventure and promise.

Ecstasy, euphoria and intimacy are scopes of life adventures filled with delicate and intimate perfumes. I look forward to be fragranced in lusty embrace. Mystery, chance, opportunity and destiny are transformative and enchanting episodes in the pageantry of life. I anticipate more opportunities to unearth wisdoms. Looking ahead to the journey, I am cautiously optimistic. 

The guideposts marked with humor, sensitivity, life loves are celebration to my human existence.  Life continues to awaken excitement and fervor with tailored anticipation. Life is very subtle. It is a journey filled with conflict, contradiction and intrigue. We are all on the journey to inevitability, the end destination, comrade Death.

In the essence of the time we spend in our journey called life, I dare say, celebrate your most treasured commodity, the inimitable, the priceless, one and only, the presence of what we inhabit. Enjoy the unknowns, leave yesterday behind and find bliss…within.

Situations of ill begotten circumstances are pivotal routes in life called detours. From the perspective of personal experiences, these are the luminous travels that help shape the vision of a lifetime of rebirths and new beginnings.

The Writer's Block : The Process of Creative Distraction

http://pekoeblaze.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/2013-artwork-writers-block-sketch.jpg

Lest my posts go unnoticed, my writing has taken a leave of absence.


Every week for the last 5 months, I wrote; about something.   I have written about me, family, social media and even have contributed articles that have been successfully published on Yahoo voices.


As I perked in my writing efforts, I also notice, there has been a change in my tempo. I am having a slow spell in my writing creativity. I haven't submitted any new posts to blogs or articles in weeks.  The writer block affliction is upon me.

As many writers have shared,  writer's block  is a unique atrophy of the writing muscles, that comes when least desired. The uncomfortable paralysis of the silence of the writer is as dreaded as a repeat dereliction.   As with all maladies, there are prescriptive interventions.  And for interventions to be meaningful and successful, progressive actions must follow.   In the case of writer's block, the first step to progress is admittance.  The most effective treatment protocol is to be receptive to the insights and learning that come with silence.

For myself, the writer's block is like a temporary restraint in thoughts.   Has my writing voice gone silent?   I feel a sense of disconnect with my writing character. I question my credibility as a writer.   Am I having a flirt rendezvous with writing?   I wonder if other writers share similar experiences. Can I sustain my writing with passion, or is this a mere fleeting pastime?   These questions gnaw at me as I search for answers.    Truth be told, writer's block occurs with far more frequency, than the regularity of new scripts and ideas.

Writer's block is a common affliction that most writers will experience at one time or another  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Writer's_block#cite_note-Clark-1

In my effort to write this piece, I seek to gain perspective in transforming thoughts to words.   In scouring my mind for new ideas I hope to return from the writer in absence and reconcile with my writer in residence.   My inner writer is touring through many excuses and is seeking affirmation. Revise, rewrite, repeat are the continuous exercises of thought.  Juggle, balance, and streamline are the repeated messages of thought interceptions.  At times the mind games are filled with copious streams of information.  Until the information is ready, there are the constant interplays of withholding and release, and the waiting.

In the subtlety of no thoughts and words and waiting, there comes a script of insightful illumination.   Writer's block” is a transitional pause for the writer's inner voice to birth a flowering identity.    Ideas are constant and fertile. Even while there is the draught of  artful creativity in expression, the words are being germinated and when they have ripened they will bloom forth.

In the article,  The 10 types of Writers'Block and how to overcome them, there are two paragraphs that resonate with my personal writing anxiety of  loss for words:

 1.  'You can't come up with an idea' .."where you literally have a blank page and you keep typing and erasing, or just staring at the screen..." and;
10.  "You're revising your work, and you can't see your way past all those blocks of text you already wrote..."  The writer suggests much to my reassurance and relief, that the writer's block is "rather just the natural process of trying to diagnose what ails your novel"  in my case my blog.http://io9.com/5844988/the-10-types-of-writers-block-and-how-to-overcome-them

In December 2012, I began to write as a means of  venting.   I was immersed in the experiences of constant despair and challenge.    I was seeking emotional solace and sanctuary.  Writing introduced me to an inner place of emotional turmoil that needed expression. The outlet for my thoughts became blogs.

As a writer/blogger I am still searching for my personal voice.  The courtship with my writing pen is my most intimate indulgence.  Writing is where I share my heart, soul and all that matters.  Writing is my ever engaging, most mentally stimulating long term companion.

For me,  writing is as individual and unique as my own dna.   The thoughts that I speak to, and the way that I phrase them are distinctly personal.  My signature style of writing comes from who I am and how my conversation is translated into words.  I want to convey more than a script.  Whether I write on generic topics or on my own personal life situations, my writing contains and resembles the character that defines who I am.

As part of my growth in the field of writing, I anticipate that the routine of creativity will be peppered with the pauses and stops.  While the writer's block wreaks mental exhaustion, with the repeats of revisions, recreations, redrafts, and the redos, there comes refreshed and renewed results.

Every thought is an idea.  Every idea comes to life as crafted with the artful brush of a writer's pen.  There is unlimited talent in the art of writing and for every pause, every silence, every writer's block, a profusion of artists in numerous specialities emerge.  Creative process in writing is not for the instantaneous self applause and opportune adulation.   Sometimes, when there are the pauses, the void of no demonstration, thought has a place to find nurturance.

Luckily, the way I see it, the writer's block is a period of gestation to refine, enhance and allow the creative juices to come to full fruition.  The writer's block is pure creative distraction.

Initiate Thought, Provoke Discussion, Create Reason and Response and Call it a Blog

Blog writers initiate discussion that elicits thought, reason and response. At its nucleus, effective bloggers  write with artistic creativity. The staging process of a blog begins with the visualization of concept, context and theme.  Similar to the eye of an artist, the scripted ideas and thoughts of a blogger are paintings colored with words and text.

With social media,  the demand for bloggers has generated a powerful and growing industry of creative writer enthusiasts.   Bloggers and the artform of writing are flourishing.  Rather than specialty occupations in journalism, communications, public relations, marketing  and media relations, there is an overwhelming demand for blogger contributions beyond all business and social boundaries.

In observation, the merits of blogging,  and the value contribution to world societies in the artform of blogging is reason for study and researched understanding. With curiosity and fascination, I have been observing the glut of writers in social media engagement.  The profusion of writers about every topic imaginable is now radically viral.

In the industry of bloggers, the hills of writer's dreams and published aspirations are filled with interruptions, such as,  writer block, impasse and restructure in the climb to the top.  Blogger reflection and introspection ensue as I engage in the art of writing.  From early adolescence,  I wanted to be impressive as a writer.  In my uninformed style, I would use words bigger than my own imagination to make a simple statement, exhaustive and compound.  Luckily, my teachers, were quick to correct and admonish me for over excessive usage of "big words".  KISS, keep it simple stupid was my regular dose of writing medicine reality.  I uncover and recover and recreate art thoughts and posit them into words.  I continue to learn and gain perspective in social media examination.

Social media is invitation to craft thoughts, share with others and commune in circles.   Social media technology and all of its peripheral advantages  are driving innovation and creativity throughout the landscape of  written communications.  The art of writing has exploded exponentially.  In a convergence of the science of technology and the need to explain the theories and reasoning  for technologies, the rise of literary encyclopedia is rocketing beyond the unlimited, in social media blogosphere.

Prior to the 1990s, the term Blogger was non existent.  Diaries, journals, individual essays were the common products associated with writing.  As the web spread its spiral outreach to worldwide corners of the globe, the weblog of created articles were the original blogs. With multitudes of creative writer opportunities among the numerous social media platforms,  building and  growing connections, followers and communities are the return on investment (ROI)  for the career bloggers.

In  real time space and proximity of world communities, distance is merely  geographic location.  Instantaneous is as immediate as the blink of an eye.  In the marriage to technology advancement and the common sharing of a blogger, portals of  virtual exchange have been opened,  which have otherwise been non existent.   Transcontinental information travel is occurring with virtual speed of lightning.  The carriers are the many networked  web connections that provide links to indefinite realms of  opportunities.

In the course of becoming an avid and thriving blogger, I am always apprehensive about whether or not my content is authoritative and rich in marketability.  I am fielding and researching the value of adwords, and what text makes any adsense. With intentional humor,  my entry as a new blogger to the bloggersphere world, is filled with uncertainty and awkward deference.

The dilemma a new blogger faces is quite challenging.  Writing content and interaction must appeal to social media engagement audiences.  Whether to  blog about  personal life, social interests, career pursuits , fashion, cooking, photography, one must carve a niche market to win followers.    Followers become  communities.   Activity generated by comments  and  the number of reshares build the capital of  the writer's wealth in outreach.   Without the knowledge of  Search Engine Optimization (SEO) codes  and technology nuances, target audience appeal is limited.  Additionally,  content must also be recognized for word value.  The words that capture the  thread, stream, backlink are recognized in computer linguistics as a series of analytics that help increase content recognition.

 In order to thrive and stay relevant bloggers write without ceasing.    As a blogger contributor, ideas must be constructed and developed at a pace of constant and consistent delivery.    Topic titles are screened and evaluated on  keyword content through SEO and computer backlinks.  With all these requisites and attributes for successful blogging,  most  new bloggers face challenging  uphill odds.

A plethora of sites are crawling all over the internet, to invite writers to blog.  The blogger fantasy is that the topic that they share will automatically attract and generate booming results in readership and income returns.      Among the many blogger invitations to share are the sites promising fortunes for recruiting, enlisting and resharing of blogs.  In its appeal to targeted audiences, blogger entrepreneurship is now the most prolific enticement to generate bounty.

Bloggers are the prey  for the newest pyramid schemes.  The names of celebrity professionals, such as  Wayne Dyer,  Marianne Williamson, Oprah, Maya Angelou,  Louise Hay  are listed in title headings to entice and invite entrepreneur bloggers.   Their quotes are intentionally posted within the first sentences of text, which in turn generates volume readership.  Winning customers through social media baiting is another creative writing artform.

Social media is a frontier of many hills and valleys.  As seen in the Blogger Life Cycle illustration depicted at the top,  from thoughts and ideas, to frustration, to writers block to halo rise at the top, there is emotional commitment and enduring perseverance to "Call it a Blog".   In the halls of academia, where the fears that the soft studies would be trampled by the software and technology driven crusades, Writing Studies departments have been revived.   Technology in all of its most abstract and computer generated analytics have fueled demand for functional writing in communications.

In the midst of the gropes of technology, where every person on the internet is traceable, and information is always public, there is now a burgeoning boom of writing enthusiasts.  The art of blogging is an extension of the brain banks of multitudes of individual thinkers and thought leaders,

In the paintbrush of the artist a canvass reflects the indelible pictures in the portals of the mind.  In social media, the blogger creates a repository of ideas and words that paint and reflect, theme, thought, response and invitation.

For those in pursuit of the blogger mecca, put on your thinking caps.  Initiate Thought, Provoke Discussion, Create Reason and Response,  Write!  Share! Comment! Follow!   and Call it a Blog!

The Tall Man I have come to Know, Respect, Admire with MORE Love

This picture is a stamp of reflection and honor to: Andrew Walker, my father, Rose Walker, my mother, my brother Andre and his wife Grace Walker, my siblings, and my son Daryean and his Dad

His demeanor of authority, his moral conscience, his tireless devotion to duty, his unwavering individuality and his indestructible faith are the inherited wisdom trophies.   Through a lifetime of countless challenges and unknowns, he perseveres.  He is the most constant man of significance for all of my life.

As a child, I only knew him as a presence.  As far as I was concerned, he was tall and that's just the extent of my nine year old summation.    

He was my mother's arm of consolation,  her sole confidant, her finance minister, her angst monitor, her sorrow bearer, her discipline, sometimes corporal, most times, verbal mouthpiece.  He was also her devoted and effusively adoring son.

In the grief, the hopelessness and despair of widowhood at age forty nine, my mother's fears were reassuringly abated.  He did not abandon her.  From the death of my father at age fifty, each of my ten siblings and I, were protected and our lives were sheltered because of his honor, his devotion, his principle and his manhood.

At age twenty eight, newly married, with a growing family, he assumed the post of husband, partner, lover, lifetime companion till death do us part, to his young and beautiful wife.  To his mother and to each of us, he was the family benefactor by default.

From the age of nine through fifty seven, I have witnessed  demonstration of triumph through Grace.  In the line of siblings, he is the second child, first boy with five sister siblings.   With three more brothers, my fourth brother, a year younger than I, died at 3, and I, our intersecting lives were fairly distanced and separate in years and experiences.

On the day of my wedding in 1977, I was escorted up the aisle by him.  I felt that I would topple over because my knees were trembling and buckling .   In addition to the fact, my  3 inch spike heels were a balancing act by itself,  I was so reassured by the strength of his grip on my elbow.    I felt no greater honor than to be given away by him. His rendition of the Schubert Ave Maria at my wedding ceremony is an indelibly treasured memory.

Be our differences great or small, whether we clash on ideals or ideas, in spite of  our contradicting views, I have always known and cherished the gift of his fatherhood.  He has and always shared his talents, his nurturing and caring and more than any thoughts, his discipline and spiritual conviction.

Without my biological father, he became more than a father figure. He became my mother's saving Grace.  He shared his pocket, he shared his time, he shared  his advice and he shared the covenant of family.  

Sometimes we seek to have our children know that we have journeyed. The life lessons always birth new awakenings.   In my life, I have seen the gift of fatherhood, through the parenting by a mother.  I have also been cared for by all my siblings.  Each became my guardian through many phases of life experiences.  In the role of eldest son, the example of commitment to family, of duty to responsibility, and of untiring devotion to faith, are the most permanent and lasting gifts that I have received from my oldest brother. 

My gratitude is infinite and my love is greater than words.  Andre, my oldest brother, you are a father,  to my nephews and niece.    They now have taken the mantel of parenting to their own offspring.  In all of my years, I have always known your presence.  More than a brother, you continue to be the Our Father, to the prayers of all our ancestors, to the legacy of our father and mother, and to future generations.

For the man, who stands so tall and keeps me looking up, you are the example and the practice of  the word  "Father".  It is an understatement to say I love you.  Like my granddaughters say, I love you MORE.

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Happy Father's Day, my dear, dear brother.

The Romance of Social Media Engagement for Viral Dominance

Like a debutante with eager anticipation,  the adrenalin rush of expectation and enthusiasm to step into a new dimension of experience, is an enticing and exciting thrill.

So is the bubbling energy of social media engagement.  

I choose to dress the science of social media engagement and the gamut of its extensions as an enactment of themes.  The story illustrates people whose work and lives are circled around their interactions in social media communities and the power of engagement.   Social Media Engagement, is parodied as a romance, where competing media platforms are the numerous social media outlets in pursuit of their millions of followers.

The basis of success in social media is viral value. The competitors woo and win followers, and build communities.   They establish models of engagement and are the major contenders for global prominence. 

In the narrative shared here, the characters are based on fictionalized truths. The exposé of the grand machinery of social media is way too involved and convoluted to contain it in the mechanics of a blog. 
Dr. Vergis Tenar, the forerunner in the campaign race for political appointment and his Administrative Officer, Maria Sinclair, are the avatars to the story.


Maria is thoroughly immersed in social media, from the perspective of its intrigue and capabilities. She is most seduced by the virtual activities of  world collaboration value that is available instantaneously.  She is active on social media and is interested in new and developing products, apps, research insights, that can increase her talents, skills and her overall productivity.  She examines  models of social media engagement and is prepared for her upcoming debut moment.

In the key role of Administrative Officer for the Governor elect, she is the lead presenter at the offsite virtual meeting webinar event.  The invited audience includes the Governor elect's advisory team, business colleagues, technology leaders, subject matter experts and many representatives of community constituents. The title of her topic:  "The Role of Social Media and The Rules of Engagement for a Winning Outcome".  She is invigorated with enthusiastic nervous excitement, just as she was, at her first dance at the Queens Park Ballroom twenty five years earlier. 

For her coming out as a debutante, she was entrancing.   The gown she wore was the "one and only",  from a wide consortium of haute couture choices.  It was a unique design, with the perfect composite of glitter and woven silk, intricately threaded in a fusion of Caribbean vibrancy.   The dress lay exquisitely on her curvaceous and statuesque body contours.  As she moved the dress flowed with each muscle shiver, clinging sultrily with fusion and excitement. And in the ecstasy of this occasion she swooned in the revelry of majesty and magic. 

The feast of glamour and allure is very intoxicating.  The premiere command performance is exacting and persuading.   To deliver the  best presentation was her optimal goal in her new career role. She was hired directly by the candidate, bypassing the strict rudiments of vetting.  As the  Personal Staff Assistant and Administrative Officer for his management consulting lobby firm, she is pivotal to the organization and its future success. 

They met two and a half years earlier at a social media networking event she had organized.  The guest list was most impressive with over one thousand  attendees.    There were local business representatives, a diverse and culturally mixed group of professionals, and a host of people of varied backgrounds and nationalities.  Everyone was there to further their business interests and connections. 

She masterfully socialized with her guests in maneuvers of quick meet and greet chat intervals.  During their fifteen minute conversation they established a connection.  Their initial  business introduction became a shared vision of community enterprise and social advancement.

At thirty five, Vergis Tenar is an accomplished musician, who studied Jazz and Improvisation Modern Music at the Longy School of Music, Boston, Massachusetts, and also holds Doctorate of  Philosophy from George Washington University, in the District of Columbia .  Vergis Tenar, Ph.D., is the President of iDare Integration and Organization Solutions,(iDIOS).    

On May 15th, 2012, Maria is the keynote speaker for iDIOS at their global strategic offsite convention in Honolulu, Hawaii.     Her presentation is tweaked and fine tuned with calculated scrutiny.  She studied her subject matter with detailed analysis. She rehearsed her talking points and timed her transitions for smooth delivery.

For her foray in social media mastery, Maria develops a library of the most significant players in the geography of social media.

These are the cliff notes for Maria's presentation:

• There are the social media game changers. 
• There is AOL, and MySpace.   
• There is Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Instagram, Tumblr, Flickr. 
• The current trendsetter in social media cyberspace connectivity, Google.  
• There are as many platforms as there are choices for individual consumer interests.  Some have plummeted  in the follower volume activity, and others are viral with growing millions of users and followers.  

Among the multiplex of social media niche platforms,  Maria's  research findings are captured as follows:

Facebook has revolutionized and overturned the foundations of social media connectivity and engagement.  
Facebook is the genesis of the romance of social media.   
Eight years after it was created, when Facebook went public May 2012, 

" The IPO was one of the biggest in technology, and the biggest in Internet history, with a peak market capitalization of over $104 billion. Media pundits called it a "cultural touchstone." http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Initial_public_offering_of_Facebook .

Facebook:  As of July 2012, with over 1 billion users , http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/1938728/   has become the lounging social room for its largest demographic of current users.  

Twitter:   Provides its users with serial updates to its over half billion followers.  For the hyperactive, the short and sweet twitter is a real time forum of quick microblogs of information exchange

LinkedIn:   Attracts job searchers and professional business networkers to exchange business related services and career researchers with postings that are job centric.   LinkedIn boasts its the largest professional services network with over 225 million users worldwide. http://ourstory.linkedin.com/ 

The axle of quantitative and qualitative analysis yielded the GooglePlus result. http://www.google.com/about/company/history/

Highlights to the Google explosion:

Google becomes the world’s largest search engine

Google AdWords launches

We acquire Pyra Labs, the creators of Blogger.

Google Analytics, 

Gmail,

Google Docs,

Google Voice debuts on the iPhone, and Google Instant comes to most smartphones.

After the State of the Union, U.S. President Barack Obama has a Google+ Hangout to answer questions directly from citizens.

Google Play gives you one simple destination for music, movies, books and apps.

Google Translate

YouTube

With consumptive appeal for interaction with family, friends, loved ones, social media engagement has become an overly indulgent lifestyle for its most obsessive users.  From the research gathered from online communities, consumers want engagement, and seek connection.

They want to be seen, heard, shared and be visible.  They seek relationship and courtship.   With heightened expectations and more desires,  consumer demands increase for wants and needs.

In her opening statement for the offsite event,  Maria shared these prepared remarks:

With many thanks to my mentor, Dr.Vergis Tenar, President of iDare Integration and Organization Solutions,(iDIOS),  for the vision and leadership and statesmanship, staff, and you the distinguished audience, I have the esteemed honor to present the topic: The Role of Social Media and The Rules of Engagement for a Winning Outcome.

The lights then dimmed, and flashing strobe lights were directed to the woman, emerging out of a global structure, showing a kaleidescope of color, forming knitted twists around the globe.   Bursting through spheres of circles,  populations of world followers were shown feeding into the event.  They were sending tweets,  posting remarks, on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and many of the popular social media platforms;  and all this was happening in real time and simultaneously.

She was impeccably attired. Her radiance beamed.  In the simplicity of a black structured fitting  armless dress, hemmed to fit slightly below the knees, she looked elegant, yet distinguished.  She wore a colorful scarf, carefully draped to form angular rows from the nape of her neck to mid chest, which complimented the black ensemble, with vibrant accent.

Her face emerged on every screen in the grand ballroom, and her video Hangout on Air was streamed on the Youtube chanel to invited attendees at all regions of world outreach

In this quasi fictitious scenario, I share the true reality of what social media engagement entails.  

There are the many platforms as there are its dedicated users.  Contrary to the many discussions, of takeovers within the social media industries, the opportunities for engagement, branding, marketing and creating followers are brimming with innovation and technological adventure.

In contention with the idea of scope and potential, for individual, for businesses, for campaigns, for events, for virtual collaboration, for technology breakthroughs in the current media analysis, Google has surpassed the bandwidth of capabilities and is growing with exponential demand that is unstoppable.

The love affair with social media engagement is in full bloom and Google is leading in viral dominance.

By the end of her presentation, Maria is escorted to center stage to take a bow.    Dr. Tenar's zeal is untamed.  He is hooting and cheering.  The future of his campaign is optimistically assured under the dutiful watch of his next Chief of Staff, Maria Sinclair.  

She gloated in the moment, and was elated  with all the praises and accolades that she received.  In the thrill of exhilaration her mind wandered, and she was swirling and dancing and delirious with joy.   She remembered in ecstasy,  the night of the debutante ball.