Skip to main content

Convergence

Today, the people of Egypt found that their perseverance, peaceful protest, and the voice of power reached to the airwaves and enacted a change the will be felt for generations.  The Pharoah, Mubarik has stepped down as President, and the "arc of History" has bent to the people of this country, this ancient land, this place of history, and I am happy.

The other day, I was in the audience at the St. Louis Public Library, Schlafly Branch, and heard Isabel Wilkerson give a talk on her recent book, "The Warmth of Other Suns" and spoke to the immigrant heart that resided in my dad, in many relatives of black people who south a better life, much like the Egyptians today.

Earlier this week, my son brought tears to my eyes and rendered me speechless when he did a breathtaking performance as Walter Lee Younger in the KH Players performance of "A Raisin In The Sun".  He brought a rawness to the role from deep down and I felt a power resonate inside him.  There is some hope.

I then sat in my classroom and looked at a sea of faces, young college students in a quest for a degree.  Some came from monied backgrounds and brought with them the air of always having things happen the way they expect.

Then it hit me this morning as I was walk-running my mile on the treadmill this morning, I had a week of intersecting events that have left a mark in history, whether I realized it or not.  I felt it this week, something in the universe shifted and we will never be the same, there was a lifting of a heaviness, almost like shedding a fat suit, and finally being able to inhale deeply.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Hannah's Song

We came together last night and sang Hannah's song. Family from California was in town, it was the night before Aunt Hannah's Home Going Celebration. We met at my house late in the evening to fellowship, remember, hug, eat, and laugh. Thom felt the love in the room and I'm sure his mom would've appreciated us doing what she did all her life - love. Aunt Hannah was a gracious woman. Her gentle spirit, sparkling eyes, and constant smile will be remembered. She has left us physically, but never spiritually. The laughter was like music in Thom's ear. For the first time in weeks I saw my cousin relax. He has been in a tornado for the past four weeks from his mother's diagnosis to her death. Even in her final stage, Aunt Hannah was granted her desire. She asked to not suffer long when it was her time to go, she had been a caregiver her whole life and I'm sure her prayer was for her son. In the last days of her life, she still greeted well wishers with a wa...

Brothers, Can we Talk?

 I'm a Black woman, born of a Black woman and a Black man. When my mother died, it was my father who nurtured me and instilled in me a sense of pride of self, of my race, of my abilities to do whatever I put my mind to do. He never imposed limitations on me as a Black woman. The only caution he ever gave me was to not burn my candle at both ends and to be mindful of my health, I am an asthmatic. He never stopped me from trying anything and always encouraged me. Daddy was a strong Black man who introduced me to Shirley Chisholm when I was a little girl. He reminded me of the fortitude of my late mother's quest for gender equality in the workplace and of the namesake who marched at Selma.  He is the one who gave me my pseudonym, TayĆ©. Daddy was a strong tower of empowerment and fought all the way to his last breath for social, gender, and racial justice. It is in remembering my father this morning that I'm asking the brothers, can we talk? What is it, especially those of my g...

Ashes to Ashes

 This is Ash Wednesday. For a lot of Catholics and Anglican Christians, it begins the holy season of Lent. We remember we are but dust and to dust we return, ashes to ashes.  It is a somber reminder of our humanity and the finality of life. We are a mere breath. Today, as a Hospital Chaplain Resident, I am imposing ashes on patients, family, and staff. It is a visible marker of a shared faith and belief. We look with anticipation to the finished work of salvation on the cross and in eager hope of the resurrection. As my day progressed, I noticed how much hope was in the eyes of the ones giving and receiving this reminder of our existence. It was both a somber moment and a joyful moment. Two things can exist at the same time. Like the world we find ourselves in. Even as it seems like the darkest, certainly the darkest I’ve known in my six decades on this earth. Completely imperfect as a nation, there was still a glimmer of light until the nightmare became reality. We wonder abo...