Soul Food: Marvin Gaye - "I Want You"

...it's good for the soul. Press Play.

Soul Food: Dawn Richard Dares to "Fly HIGH & Dream BIG"

"I DARE you to open your mind to something different because when we allow ourselves to do that is when we allow ourselves to be free. It took me a long time to realize that, and I'm just starting to feel comfortable with being free." [Dawn]

This entire video is beautiful--from Dawn's insightful words of encouragement to the way it was shot. I felt even more inspired after watching this.

I also, didn't know Dawn had a blog [here]. It's brand spanking new too!

Let's BE the CHANGE we want to see.

Soul Food: Chrisette Michele is "For Freedom Not For Beauty"

"For Freedom Not For Beauty"

//Excerpt [read full poem here]
"--Sometimes a flower grows when no ones watching.
Sometimes a bird sings and no one hears.
There’s a meadow no one runs on and a cloud no one names.

And what would the sky be with out the sun?
What would the earth be with out its rose?
They’d still be the sky and the Earth.

So perhaps there is a peace in becoming.
Perhaps the meaning is in the experience and not the sight.
Maybe a flower grows because it suffocates under ground.

Whether or not she is always noticed, beauty must become.

She doesn’t look for an eye.
She doesn’t listen for a voice.
She just becomes,
For Freedom Not For Beauty"

Beautiful words by Chrisette. I think people are afraid to go out and take risks, even with their own hair. But, it's just hair and it will grow back. So, when I discovered that she cut her hair I wasn't asking questions. Who cares why---really!? It's her decision and she made it for her own purposes, and in her case---FREEDOM.

one of my recent tweets: "#ifyoureallyknewme U would kno that im a NEW found believer tht HAIR IS JUST HAIR! Its not that serious! Cut it.Shave it. Be Fierce & Do u!"

Soul Food: "The Dream"

J. Cole - Intro "The Warm Up"

The Dream

It starts as a fragile, wispy thing that might float right on by unnoticed. Except, it snags on something within your soul and lodges there. And then you start to feel it. Yes, it feels good. But it also hurts. It aches, because you desperately long to bring it to life.

So, caught in between that wonderful vision of what can be, and that painful realization of what has not yet been fulfilled, you know you've got to do something about it. And your passion begins to build. And that makes you want it even more. It begins to gnaw at you, urging you constantly to do something, do something, do something about it.

With a determination that you just can't deny, you take the first step. And it feels good. It feels powerful. And though you don't even know what the next step will be, you resolve to figure it out, and you do, and you take that next step, and the next. Driven forward by pure, raw desire, you refuse to listen to those who tell you it can't be done.

And though you get knocked around relentlessly, still you find a way, a way to get back up and run, ride, walk or crawl forward, whatever it takes, every time. Because it's your dream. It's your purpose. It's what you're here to do. It's your gift to give to all that is. You know, beyond knowing, that you must.

With a power you feel in every fiber of your being, but cannot fully explain, you bring the dream to life. And the joy of fulfillment is more intense than you ever could have imagined.

[Ralph Marston]/ [hijacked-->Diddy blog]

THINK POSITIVE! BE OPTIMISTIC.

"Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree." [Martin Luther]

Soul Food: Don't Put A Period...

"---keep pushing for the goals that you want to attain. Sometimes its hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel, but that’s because the tunnel has some sharp turns in it. But, when your finished shifting through lifes unavoidable delays, there is light at the end of that tunnel. Don’t put a period where GOD has only put a comma."

hijacked from: Kareem Taylor Speaks

Soul Food: the time is NOW

Because I needed this...

"Now is when your future begins, and now is when you can do something about it. This is the moment, this is the day, and now is your time to live."
-- Ralph Marston

I will make today mine. You make today yours. Be Driven.

Soul Food: "Dreaming of Flying"

What I admire most about some celebrities is that they don't forget the concept that is inspiration and what it does to the spirit...Constantly sending the message of following your dreams, to essentially see the bigger picture. And to fight to be in that picture, when it's all said and done. I really, really love that.

Diddy is a man of many titles but, every time I check his Twitter, or see him on television, he is always pushing. For progress, for betterment, for the initial "impossible".

He inspires many, including me.

The screenshot [above] is what I spotted on his very own, Diddy Blog. It made me smile. Sometimes I miss being a kid, and wish that I NEVER lose that side of me. Children have a vision that fades with time. They view everything differently. Very creative, very hopeful, and extremely imaginative. It looks like they are flying doesn't it?

Another insightful piece from his blog:

"What has happened before is over now. Let go of the blame. Let go of the resentment. Feel the goodness that already lives in you. Feel the goodness that lives in life's best possibilities. "

-Ralph Marston

Click here to read more.

I NEEDED this today. I thought maybe you did too.