Men from an Invisible Land

"You let the white folk worry about pride and dignity — you learn where you are and get yourself power, influence, contacts with powerful and influential people — then stay in the dark and use it!" - Ralph Ellison Author of 'Invisible Man' the greatest novel of the 20th Century

You seem surprised that we are invisible
Could we be otherwise? the very idea it is risible
Newton, 'The' student of the lights
Made it clear
The rainbow combined glows white
The essence of all that is dear
While the presence of darkness like night
Signs the unknown, the ill-formed and the feared

Like the moon, our world is unrevealed
In an eternal noon, where even shadows are concealed
Douglas, ran Prometheus' race
Again and again, to the Harbour of Grace
Henrik, defined a nation to replace
A colour that does not exist in any face
And still you wonder we are not seen in this place
When again and again you choose rhetoric and eschew race

You seem surprised that we are invisible
Could we be otherwise?

My Prayer

There is darkness in the world.
There is darkness in our lives.
I cannot eliminate the darkness
I can only illumine it
but a little
With my very own flame
Struck bright by divine spark
Struck bright from within
We have come to this place
to be together
Add your light to mine
Let us add ours
to another
and another
and another
So that if my light should burn low
I might stand close with you
for a moment
And not be lost in the darkness
yet again.
Amen
-Author Unknown

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What you see is what you get

“When you change the way you look at things
 – the things you look at change.” - Wayne Dyer et. al.

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The Juice is the real me

"When the soul is naughted and transformed, then of herself she neither works nor speaks nor wills, nor feels nor hears nor understands; neither has she of herself the feeling of outward or inward, where she may move. And in all things it is God who rules and guides her, without the meditation of any creature.... And she is so full of peace that though she pressed her flesh, her nerves, her bones, no other thing come forth from them than peace."
St. Catherine of Genoa

My Useful Beliefs

These beliefs are not necessarily true

They are Very Useful for understanding and influencing behaviour
I believe we must know our purpose, understand our natural drives and recognise our  human needs.

3 Keys to Purpose

A powerful Purpose facilitates Living in Flow (Positive Psychology)

Key #1 is Optimism Because Faith in the Future dramatically determines Performance in the Present It is incredibly important that we are optimistic It is incredibly important that every Parent, Coach, Mentor and Teacher be OPTIMISTIC <> Requires a clear and credible Vision

Key #2 is +ve Motivation Because every living creature, every woman, man, young woman, young man, every girl and boy is motivated to act, is designed for action and WILL do SOMETHING, influenced by both internal and external sources It is of utmost urgency that every parent, mentor, coach and teacher be an influential +VE MOTIVATOR <> Requires a powerful and persuasive Reason (Why?)

Key #3 is Service Because their is nothing new under the sun and because everyone is unique It is unquestionable and undeniable That every parent, mentor, coach and teacher must serve as both a follower and a leader <> Requires a self-confident and selfless Character

4 Natural Drives

The Push From Inside

The Drive for Safety <> Fear  <> Fight, Flight, Feed, F?

The Drive for Acquisition <> Desire <>  to Grow

The Drive for Inquiry <> Curiosity <>  to Learn

The Drive for Love <> Love <> of Self, of the Erotic, of Family & Friends, of Nature

3 Human Needs

There are 3 human needs
Each need has a tendency to one of 2 states
A moving away state - >avoid pain< and
A moving towards state - <seek pleasure>

The Pull from Outside

The need to Manage Change

<> The need to Control our world (Purpose) >Certainty< Comfort, Know what's happening, predictability, being in control, peace <Adventure> Dis-Comfort, Variety, surprise, being controlled, challenge

The need to Manage Identity

<> The need to Control Self (Self Esteem) >Connection< Being Loved, part of a team, conversation <Independence> Significance, maverick, silence

The need to Manage Value

<> The need to Control the Interaction between 'self' and 'the world' (Reason) >Receiving<  Growth, >gifts<, valuing, learning, following  <Contribution>  Giving, <presents>, being valued, teaching, leading

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Pain -v- Suffering

"You are outside life, you are above life, you have miseries which the ordinary person does not know, you exceed the normal level, and it is for this that people refuse to forgive you, you poison their peace of mind, you undermine their stability. You have irrepressible pains whose essence is to be inadaptable to any known state, indescribable in words. You have repeated and shifting pains, incurable pains, pains beyond imagining, pains which are neither of the body nor of the soul, but which partake of both. And I share your suffering, and I ask you: who dares to ration our relief? We are not going to kill ourselves just yet. In the meantime, leave us the hell alone." - Antonin Artaud

Pain is inevitable

Suffering is an interpretation of meaning

Pain is a fact of life

Suffering is a feeling of powerlessness to stop the pain

The common illusion is that Pain and Suffering are always combined and that the latter automatically follows the former, and it is a tempting and persuasive deceit. Any study, prolonged or brief of dictionaries, novels or religious texts will soon educate that this is far from the case in reality.

Joy and Pain are as often lovers as enemies and in no way like "sunshine and rain" mutually exclusive.

Joy and Suffering are however exact antonyms, opposite in every way as are Happiness and Suffering.

In the same way as the Pain of Labour does not prevent the Joy of giving Birth, the challenges of life can never separate us from the opportunities of life.

Pain = An unpleasant sensation occurring in varying degrees of severity as a consequence of injury, disease, or emotional disorder.

Suffering = Permitting, allowing, tolerating or enduring evil, injury, pain, or death.

Victims choose suffering as their reason and rationale for poor performance

All great warriors and champions experience pain as a natural part of their journey

It is for those with a journey to make, "...and on it the redeemed will walk. They will meet with joy and gladness, sorrow and mourning will flee." - Bible the book of Isiah Ch. 35 v 1-10

We can always do something to change the pain... even if only by a small amount to begin with.. when we have a purpose that means we have to go on, when we have a mission in and for our lives.

"In general usage the preferred preposition after suffer is from, rather than with, in constructions such as He suffered from hypertension. Ninety-four percent of the Usage Panel found suffered with unacceptable in the preceding example. In medical usage suffer with is sometimes employed with reference to the pain or discomfort caused by a condition, while suffer from is used more broadly in reference to a condition, such as anemia, that is detrimental but not necessarily painful." - www.dictionary.com

'Affected by Sickle Cell Syndrome' can be a much more useful term, than 'suffering with sickle cell' and is often preferred by those affected by sickle cell syndrome.

The strength to overcome limitations caused by pain can be found by refusing to suffer because...

What's your because...?

How big is you reason...?

If your why is BIG enough, no pain whatsoever can hold your spirits down, as you anticipate the Joy to come, it will not allow suffering

The Status of the Family

"I shall not pause to detail the calamities which slavery has entailed upon our race in the domain of the family. Every one knows how it has pulled down every pillar and shattered every priceless fabric. But now that we have begun the life of freedom we should attempt the repair of this, the noblest of all the structures of human life.

The basis of all human progress and of all civilization is the family. Despoil the idea of family, assail rudely its elements, its framework, and its essential principles, and nothing but degradation and barbarism can come to any people. If you will think but for a moment of all that is included in this word "family," you will see at once that it is the root idea of all civility, of all the humanities, of all organized society. In the family are included all the loves, the cares, the sympathies, the solicitudes of parents and wives and husbands; all the active industries, the prudent economies, and the painful self-sacrifices of households; all the sweet memories, the gentle refinements, the pure speech, and the godly anxieties of womanhood; all the endurance, the courage, and the hardy toil of men; all these have their roots in the family. Alas! how widely have these traits and qualities been lost to our race in this land! How numerous are the households where they have never been known or recognized! The beginning of all organized society is in the family. The school, the college, the professions, suffrage, civil office, are all valuable things; but what are they compared to the family? Here, then, where we have suffered the greatest, is a world-wide field for our intellectual anxieties and our most intelligent effort." - Dr Alex Crummell, Washington, D. C. published by J. T. Haley & Company, Publishers. 1897. Quoted from the compilation 'SPARKLING GEMS OF RACE KNOWLEDGE WORTH READING. A Compendium of Valuable Information and Wise Suggestions that will Inspire Noble Effort at the Hands of Every Race-Loving Man, Woman, and Child.'