"You give but little when you give your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give."
- Kahlil Gibran
Lately, I've been following this blog, 366 Random Acts of Kindness, simply because I was interested in what this guy had to say about his random acts. If anyone out there follows my blog then you remember in an earlier post, Give Forward, where I mentioned the 1000 Shoes for 1000 Smiles organization that I wanted to be involved with. I was successful in contacting the organization and received an email thanking me for wanting to help. I guess now I just wait until someone contacts me, which should be around the time everyone is out shopping for school clothes, to come out and lend a hand. (Finger tapping on my desk) So what am I to do in the meantime? Well, since my days are already sliced up into 25 hours, devoting my time to someone or something is a bit of stretch for me. This is where the 366 Random Acts of Kindness comes in. I figured if someone could conjure an act of kindness for 366 days, hell, I could donate to 53 different non-profit organizations each week. And blog about it. So that's my mission for the year. I'm not out for recognition or anything like that, I just feel a need to give back. I've been blessed over the past few years of my life and everyday I wake up I remind myself that this day is an opportunity to either make something better or make something new; or both. If you're reading this and know of an organization that could use a little help, please comment. Talk atcha' next week.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Annette Larkins
Since 16 years old I haven't eaten a morsel of pork. For about the next 5 years I was "off and on" with the beef thing until I decided that too had to go. I haven't been able yet to fully rid myself of chicken or turkey though. And seafood....forget about it, I can't even imagine my life without fish. I still have stark images of my uncles coming through my grandmother's front door lugging a garbage can full of fresh, live crabs just waiting to be steamed and served.
Fortunately for me I grew up where Hip-Hop was fresh, raw, original and most importantly...conscious. There were groups like Gangstar and Brand Nubians, to name a few, that stirred my awareness to pork, lard, and other dietary ills that I never gave much thought to. KRS-ONE was solely responsible for arousing my consciousness to the deathly manufacturing of beef and offered a more holistic alternative to the way my friends and I were eating. Public Enemy would wisely drop names in their songs to dare you to do your research. How else was I going to know who Assata Shakur was, otherwise known as Joanna Chesimard? Or Geronimo Pratt, Nelson Mandela (before he was internationally known), The Last Poets, Frantz Fannon, Malcolm X, Angela Davis, Che Guevera, the MOVE. These weren't people that I was able to go to my school library and check out a book on. Back then the public school system thought it was better for inner city kids to learn that Reaganomics was a good thing. The Honorable Elijah Muhammad published a small, narrow book called "How to Eat to Live", that I read from cover to cover. This book, for me, was revolutionary. It marked a turning point in my life, and not by just what I fed my body but what I fed my mind as well. By this time I was what people now refer to as a pescatarian, a person that abstains from eating all meat except for fish. That has worked for me up until about five years ago. I started back consuming chicken and turkey in order to convenience family and friends at times when they would prepare meals for me. As of today, March 1, 2012, no more. Thanks to Annette Larkins I've had it with chicken and Turkey for good. Who is Annette Larkins? I'm glad you ask...
Fortunately for me I grew up where Hip-Hop was fresh, raw, original and most importantly...conscious. There were groups like Gangstar and Brand Nubians, to name a few, that stirred my awareness to pork, lard, and other dietary ills that I never gave much thought to. KRS-ONE was solely responsible for arousing my consciousness to the deathly manufacturing of beef and offered a more holistic alternative to the way my friends and I were eating. Public Enemy would wisely drop names in their songs to dare you to do your research. How else was I going to know who Assata Shakur was, otherwise known as Joanna Chesimard? Or Geronimo Pratt, Nelson Mandela (before he was internationally known), The Last Poets, Frantz Fannon, Malcolm X, Angela Davis, Che Guevera, the MOVE. These weren't people that I was able to go to my school library and check out a book on. Back then the public school system thought it was better for inner city kids to learn that Reaganomics was a good thing. The Honorable Elijah Muhammad published a small, narrow book called "How to Eat to Live", that I read from cover to cover. This book, for me, was revolutionary. It marked a turning point in my life, and not by just what I fed my body but what I fed my mind as well. By this time I was what people now refer to as a pescatarian, a person that abstains from eating all meat except for fish. That has worked for me up until about five years ago. I started back consuming chicken and turkey in order to convenience family and friends at times when they would prepare meals for me. As of today, March 1, 2012, no more. Thanks to Annette Larkins I've had it with chicken and Turkey for good. Who is Annette Larkins? I'm glad you ask...
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