My interests?
My family. My Friends.
People. Places. Things.
So ~ many ~ things ...
I am never bored.
Living, Learning, Listening.
Doing, Seeing, Feeling.
Understanding.
Knowing.
Being.
Loving.
I have many concerns though.
for life.
for the planet.
for the environment.
for the hungry.
for the poor.
for the homeless.
for the oppressed.
for the victimized.
for the ignorant.
" ... What is most remarkable is not that love is such a powerful force for good in our lives, but that so few of us are aware of how completely we are changed when we put loving others first ..."
May you always know the power of love
& the blessing loving others brings.
"People take different roads
seeking fulfillment & happiness.
Just because they're not on your road
doesn't mean they've gotten lost"
~ Dalai Lama
Music? Music is a part of my everyday life. I love the opportunity to listen to new music ... and old forgotten favorites. I like when an artist writes meaningful lyrics, as lyrics can take a song above & beyond genre categories. Still, my personal favorite is REGGAE music. Roots. Lover's Rock. Dancehall style. Love it!
Bob Marley has a very special signifigance in my life. His words, his music & his ideals have enriched the lives of so many people, myself included. I have much love, reverence & respect, now, always & forever, for Bob Marley and the entire Marley family.
Other favorites? Barrington Levy, Beres Hammond, Dennis Brown, Sista Carol, Sista Nancy, Tanya Stevens, Don Carlos, Jacob Miller, Luciano, Steel Pulse, Maxi Priest, John Holt, Gregory Isaacs, Garnett Silk ~ the list goes on & on.
Heard my first reggae sounds back around 1979 & soon I was buying mostly reggae albums instead of Rock & Roll. Ever since then, well ... the rest is history. While in college, I met & fell deeply in love with a reggae artist from the West Indies. Gifted & talented, with an uplifting & very spirited soul. Creative, generous, thoughtful. Intelligent, adventurous, fun ~ and funny. Loving, soulful, eyes. A voice soft & deep. A warm, bright, smile. Long, flowing, locks ~ dreader than dread ~ wild like a lion!
The love of my life, for a great many years of my life, who brought so much joy to my heart & blessed me with two wonderful children.
My son Joshua Elijah
My daughter Kayla Nicole Tafari
Shared knowledge & overstanding of Ras Tafari, which I've embraced & use as a guide to a more spiritual & positive lifestyle. We made very beautiful music together, while it lasted. Now, many miles of land & ocean separate us.
I still love Rock & Roll too. The Stones are a long time, all time, favorite. Mick Jagger & I share the same birthday ~ July 26th. I love this photo of Mick with Bob Marley & Peter Tosh.
Aerosmith, The Police, Peter Frampton, Led Zeppelin, The Who, Stevie Nicks, Van Halen, Foreigner, the Grateful Dead ... they made the music I grew up listening to. India Arie, Sinead O'Conner, Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill, Akon, the Blackeyed Peas ... they're some of the more contemporary artists I enjoy listening to.
Music has always been & will always be a very special, important part of my life. I remember as a small child, 2 or 3 years old, being fascinated by the reel to reel audio tapes my brother used to make, recording himself while singing & playing his acoustic guitar. I remember getting ahold of some of those tapes when no one was watching, sitting with them in my lap & unrolling them in my small hands. Tracing yards & yards of tape through my fingers. Looking. Feeling. Searching. For the music.
Comedy
Drama
Animation
Romance
Mystery
Suspense
Thrillers
Documentaries
... if the topic is right
I enjoy movies that make me laugh, over & over again but I also like movies that make me cry. I like some action & a good storyline. I don't care much for science fiction adventures.
My favorites, probably, are scary movies. Films like: Silence Of The Lambs. The Others. The Sixth Sense. Seven. Final Destination. Hide and Seek. Saw. Suspenseful plots with a psychological twist.
I prefer watching movies at home, rather than going to the theatre. I have no problem waiting until the movies I'd like to see are released on dvd, so I use Netflix. Great service ~ highly recommended.
I like Discovery channel. Animal Planet. Travel channel. History channel. Court TV. HGTV. Local & CNN news (I detest the right-wing conservative slant of FOX news). I like to watch the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, at least the opening monologue. I like Wife Swap. Super Nanny. (A bit illogical, don't you think, that we need a license to fish but not to parent?!?)
That said, I don't watch much tv. Though I do enjoy the aforementioned shows, I rarely have the television on for any length of time & I don't watch any shows religiously.
I have many. I've read many more. Can't say that I have a favorite book, though. Not even a favorite author. I once donated an entire library of child development books, over 150 volumes, to a non-profit parent education center in Boston ~ from my personal collection. I was scaling down, prior to my last move. My current favorite genre? True Crime.
I don't consciously look to others to set the standards for my own behavior & attitudes. I pretty much march to the beat of my own drummer. There are, of course, people whom I respect & admire.
The people I admire, no matter how different each might be from the next, do have some qualities in common.
Perseverence
Charisma
Dedication
Compassion
... and Passion!
Individuals who look toward the greater good & practice what they preach or, rather, practice more than they preach.
It's often the most humble of souls who make the biggest difference in the lives of the people close to them. With that in mind, please make a conscious effort to be good to the people near you. Family, friends, neighbors, co-workers ~ the people you cross paths with daily. Practice random acts of kindness. Help when you can. Share a smile. Be a good listener. Drive with courtesy. Then, one day soon, YOU may very well be my hero :)
B Attitudes
Blessed are those who refrain from exalting themselves above their neighbors in the community of life, for their children shall have a world to live in.
Blessed are those who listen to their neighbors in the community of life, for they shall escape extinction.
Blessed are those who refrain from imposing on others their "one right way to live," for cultural diversity shall be restored among them.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for the survival of Leaver cultures, for they shall preserve a legacy of wisdom accumulated from the beginning of time.
Blessed are those who do not fancy themselves rulers or managers or stewards of the earth, for the earth managed to thrive for three billion years without any of us.
Blessed are those who do whatever they can wherever they are, for no one is devoid of resources or opportunities.
Blessed are those who awaken others as they have been awakened.