Great day all! Today I stumbled across some poignant words by the late, gifted, River Phoenix. We need to remember this and read between the lines of this quote to see what’s truly important and meaningful in life.
“We are taught to consume. And that’s what we do. But if we realized that there really is no reason to consume, that it’s just a mind set, that it’s just an addiction, then we wouldn’t be out there stepping on people’s hands climbing the corporate ladder of success.” – River Phoenix
Mother, mother
There’s too many of you crying
Brother, brother, brother
There’s far too many of you dying
You know we’ve got to find a way
To bring some lovin’ here today
Father, father
We don’t need to escalate
You see, war is not the answer
For only love can conquer hate
You know we’ve got to find a way
To bring some lovin’ here today
Picket lines(sister) and picket signs(sister)
Don’t punish me with brutality(sister)
Talk to me, so you can see(sister)
Oooh, what’s going on(what’s going on)
What’s going on(what’s going on)
Ya, what’s going on(what’s going on)
Ah, what’s going on
In the mean time
Right on, baby
Right on
Right on
Mother,mother everybody thinks we’re wrong
Oh, but who are they to judge us
Simply because our hair is long?
Oh, you know we’ve got to find a way
To bring some understanding here today
Picket lines and picket signs
Don’t punish me with brutality
Talk to me
So you can see
What’s going on
Tell me what’s going on
I’ll tell you what’s going on
Right on baby
‘What’s Going On?’ – Marvin Gaye
Can I say “good morning”? I’m really not sure. I wanted to post something positive and enlightening to this blog today because, as some of you may know, sharing quick messages of inspiration with you all is also therapeutic for me. Being able to create a positive tone and share it with anyone willing to receive it has helped me tremendously in becoming a more enlightened person.
Today, I want to be positive. I want to feel enlightened. Today, however, I still cannot get the Trayvon Martin verdict out of my mind. Not even manslaughter?? At the very LEAST (and I mean the VERY LEAST), George Zimmerman should be charged with manslaughter. A child is DEAD. To add insult to injury, he’s allowed to get his murder weapon back whenever he wants it. In America a man can stalk/follow an unarmed stranger, get into an altercation and kill him with no recourse?
Today is a typical Monday and we are all ‘business as usual’. It’s all business as usual until it happens to YOU. If we attempted to list the names of all of the ethnic men and women that were beaten, assaulted, murdered as a result of someone’s individual racial fear and prejudice in America, the list would include names in the thousands.
We all, as Americans, need to come together, stand OUR ground and make change!
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-george-zimmerman-20130715,0,3767690.story
Today is a day of greatness, folks! Well, as you know, I’m pulling my inspiration from Marvin Gaye’s ‘What’s Going On?” album all week. I’m including this song as inspiration because, somehow, his song from 1971 about the emotional and mental enslavement of self-medication seems somewhat inspirational, I would think, for others going through or who have been through the same thing to move past it..just as the song and album does. The way that Marvin could use his vocal talent to make the listener feel his soul and to actually understand the story that is told in his music is not only pure genius, but it is divine talent.
As Jim Ramstad once said: “It is time to end the discrimination against people who need treatment for chemical addiction. It is time for Congress to deal with our Nation’s number one public health problem.”
Enjoy the poetry of the lyrics and enjoy the clip below!
Flying high in the friendly sky
(Flying high) without ever leavin’ the ground, no
Rest of the folks are tired and weary
Oh Lord, and have laid their bodies down.
I go the place where danger awaits me
and it’s bound to forsake me.
So stupid minded...
I can’t help it
oh, so stupid minded.
But I go crazy when I can’t find it,
In the morning, I’ll be alright, my friend.
But soon the night will bring the pains,
The pain, the awful pain
Flying high in the friendly sky
Without ever leaving the ground
And I ain’t seen nothing but trouble baby
Nobody really understands, no no
And I go to the place where the good feelin’ awaits me
Self-destruction in my hand
Oh Lord, so stupid minded
Oh and I go crazy when I can’t find it
Well I know I’m hooked my friend
To that boy out there hangin’, who makes slaves out of men.
And oh believe me
Flying high in the friendly sky
flyin’ high…
-Marvin Gaye, ‘Flying High (In the Friendly Sky)’
Great day, great people! As you know from my post on Monday; today, and this week, I am inspired my the one and only Marvin Gaye. He was so ahead of his time and his ‘What’s Going On’ album was so ahead of its time. This song, which is basically an average conversation between friends is moving and people are able to relate to it, and makes you think about the circumstances of the time.
If you have not been exposed to the album, in full, get a copy, ASAP! 
I’m sharing his wisdom from this album because, like any great wisdom and talent, it’s still relevant today.
Enjoy the video/track below!
I’m just gettin’ back, but you knew I would
War is hell, when will it end? When will people start gettin’ together again?
Are things really gettin’ better, like the newspaper said?
What else is new my friend, besides what I read?
Can’t find no work, can’t find no job, my friend
Money is tighter than it’s ever been
Say man, I just don’t understand what’s going on across this land
What’s happening brother? Yeah, what’s happening? What’s happening my man?
Are they still gettin’ down where we used to go and dance?
Will our ball club win the pennant, do you think, they have a chance?
And tell me friend, how in the world have you been?
Tell me, what’s out and I want to know what’s in;
What’s the deal man, What’s happening?
Tell me brother, What’s happening brother? What’s happening my man?
What’s been shaking up and down the line? I wanna know ’cause, I’m slightly behind the time…
-Marvin Gaye, ‘What’s Happenin’, Brother?”
Great day, great people! Well today, and this week, I am inspired my the one and only Marvin Gaye. He was so ahead of his time and his ‘What’s Going On’ album was so ahead of its time. The music on that album is the soul of Marvin and the soul of so many of us trying to achieve “the dream”. If you have not been exposed to the album, in full, get a copy, ASAP! 😉 I’m sharing his wisdom from this album because, like any great wisdom and talent, it’s still relevant today.
Enjoy the video/track below!
Mother, mother
There’s too many of you crying
Brother, brother, brother
There’s far too many of you dying
You know we’ve got to find a way
To bring some lovin’ here today
Father, father
We don’t need to escalate
You see, war is not the answer
For only love can conquer hate
You know we’ve got to find a way
To bring some lovin’ here today
Picket lines(sister) and picket signs(sister)
Don’t punish me with brutality(sister)
Talk to me, so you can see(sister)
Oooh, what’s going on(what’s going on)
What’s going on(what’s going on)
Ya, what’s going on(what’s going on)
Ah, what’s going on
In the mean time
Right on, baby
Right on
Right on
Mother,mother everybody thinks we’re wrong
Oh, but who are they to judge us
Simply because our hair is long?
Oh, you know we’ve got to find a way
To bring some understanding here today
Picket lines and picket signs
Don’t punish me with brutality
Talk to me
So you can see
What’s going on
Tell me what’s going on
I’ll tell you what’s going on
Right on baby
‘What’s Going On?’ – Marvin Gaye
Shine your brightest today, great people, and share this wisdom with those around you. Make today count for “GOOD”!
“The only person you should try to be better than is the person you were yesterday.” – unknown
Greetings great people! If you are in the U.S., you will likely be celebrating “Independence day” with friends and family today. I thought today’s wisdom would be a great start for all of us to hold in our hearts as we celebrate the greatness of our independent lives.
“I am an American; free born and free bred, where I acknowledge no man as my superior, except for his own worth, or as my inferior, except for his own demerit.” ― Theodore Roosevelt
“So the fact that I’m me and no one else is one of my greatest assets. Emotional hurt is the price a person has to pay in order to be independent.” ― Haruki Murakami
“The greatest thing in the world is to know how to belong to oneself.” ― Michel de Montaigne
“To find yourself, think for yourself.” ― Socrates
Enjoy this filling, sage advice and pass it on!
“Nobody has things just as he would like them. The thing to do is to make success with what material [you] have. It is a sheer waste of time and soulpower to imagine what [you] would do if things were different. They are not different.” – Dr. Frank Crane
Soul Food 