Part three..

 
 

The rain kept me in today and besides that, I just felt no motivation to go anywhere... Cali folks aren't the best at driving whenever there's precipitation so I didn't want to have my defensive driving skills on full alert when my brain power just wants to just relax and sit on cruise control... 2006 is finally here. I figured I'd add a part three to my year end review series... Checkout part one and two by scrolling down through previous entries...

This year came in quietly.. perhaps its the quiet before the storm.. The storm represented by the onslaught of experiences due to come my way in 2006. I have no idea what's on the horizon though I dream constantly of success, my stories finally being read by others, and warm hugs keeping my journey comfortable like new years eve for which I'm grateful...

Speaking of new years eve... I spent it mostly in reflection and looking forward... I watched documentaries about folks I admire or that fascinate/inspire me.. People like Bruce Lee, Tupac, Robert Johnson, Son House, and slave narratives/stories told by Oprah, Angela Bassett, and others.. Each one of those represent not only life but a passion for truly living... inspiration...

All knowledge ultimately results in self-knowledge...
Bruce Lee...

I shared thoughts with a friend who lives in a distant tropical land... She suggested a new tradition to add to my personal pallette. Soba noodles... She said..It's a traditional japanese noodle dish that is eaten at midnight to represent long life. I ran out to the store and got some for myself, came home and whipped up my own little version of a soba noodles treat using that and some soup ingredients for a rich sauce that I'll have to do some extra reps for during my next workout session.. Next up as far as traditions go I'll have to indulge in the black eye'd peas that my mother has waiting for me to eat... I dont know that any of those things work but good tasting food is always a pleasure and seeing that the reason is a positive one makes it a double pleasure.. Thanks to Jody for the new tradition..

Jody and I continued our conversation via email and we discovered a mutual respect for "Magic," a powerful ingredient between two people that's hard to explain... chemistry... postive vibe... You just know when it's there or when it surrounds you... I've had it once in Seattle and it followed me to this romantic beach house in Hermosa years ago. I've had it in conversation with a woman who loves butterflies and smiles as if a feather were tickling her spine... I was excited that Jody knew what I spoke of and she confirmed it by sharing her wisdom, word for word from her own experience and from her own dreams... Real cool confirmation that my island of beliefs don't just float on thin air but that maybe I'm grasping for something that truly does exist no matter how fairytale like it may seem...

Jody's thoughts: Magic..........yes! That undefinable "umph!" Sexual attraction and all that do not compare when someone can literally touch your soul....That first kiss that hits you way down inside........the smell.....the essence that seems so familiar.....so comfortable.......it awakens something in your spirit....your heart......your mind.......the blending of all the senses...... Like that kind of magic? YES!!!

Ha haaa... Jody pretty much caressed the nail on the head though I likened this magic more to a shared piece of canvas where two people create...no boundaries...nothing framed and yet all movements follow a certain course that lead to wherever... no pressure... something unexplainable that feels good... Even the ups and downs or disagreements never knock the ride completely off course.. Magic still remains like that I-can't-wait-to-see-you-again-feeling...even if its just a stolen moment... Or another way to put it would be to borrow a quote from someone describing A Raisin In The Sun... “A work of theatrical magic in which the usual barrier between audience and stage disappears.” It's much better to participate in the making of something special than to put up all sorts of barriers that keep growth unbalanced and foundation unstable... confusion sets in..

Another friend of mine told me about something I was never aware of. It's another cool tradition that has existed for a long time and one in which I will make a point to enjoy at the end of this new year with a deeper meaning. Shelia shared an email with me about a tradition called "Freedom's Eve." It's a special gathering that dates back to December 31, 1862. It said in the email "On that night, Blacks came together in churches and private homes all across the nation, anxiously awaiting news that the Emancipation Proclamation actually had become law. Then, at the stroke of midnight, it was January 1, 1863, and all slaves in the Confederate States were declared legally free." It's been 143 years since freedom's eve and hearing about this from Shelia made me think of my living relatives and those that came before me who may have celebrated this tradition in a small church in Daingerfield Texas known as Mt. Moriah Missionary Baptist church; a place originally built and started by my great great grandmother, Moriah Rivers. There's some beautiful history in that country town...

2006 is upon us now and I feel another crossroads on the horizon... Hopefully it will bring more growth... In a perfect world it would come without sadness or sacrifice but those ingredients in life are just as important as sugar in a pound cake.. I'm looking forward to it.. I'm not always patient.. I want tomorrow to come yesterday... I wanna already see how this new year will unfold but as I've used these final days of 2005 and the first couple days of 2006 to cleanse my thoughts, it's time to wake up the spirit and do my thang. 2006.... I wonder what will be the new catch phrases... I wonder who will excite the world... I wonder if I'll be blessed with a little bestselling status... that would be nice... All good things are possible... I pray mother nature is a little kinder this year, though she's probably not the one to blame for these serious weather conditions... I'm looking forward to making some trips to the south this year... I hear it calling... But for right now I'm ending this piece with some old school Cali pacific coast highway traveling music playing in the background aka Steely Dan. I'm gonna get my workout on and wish the rain away... Happy New Year...