Friday, May 29, 2009

The Process of CREATING~


What is the process of creating?

Where do we start?


Part of my twenty in 2 for today is re-connecting with my MYSPACE family. We were tight... words were shared... LOVE was always in the air~

I decided to add to my list of things for today to READ some blogs from my list of writers that I follow... and one of my most favorite writers DID NOT DISAPPOINT: SARA FREE... I love thee...

http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=130461670&blogId=489856778

She posted a video that just FILLED me... with energy and love... I feel it throughout my body... YOU ARE LOVE SARA~ THANK YOU~

Courtesy of Sara Free's page... shared with love:





Most of your time will be spent COLLECTING data… DATA that will help you DECIDE what is YOU want~ BUT, you’re REAL WORK is to DECIDE what you want and then to FOCUS upon what you want… THAT YOU WILL ATTRACT IT” from the video

Nothing happens by accident…things always seem to fall into place according to the direction we are walking in..

If my dream is to DO WHAT EVER… insert YOUR DREAM… what are you doing to get there? Are you waking up everyday making decisions and doing things that take you closer to fulfilling it?


We MUST set the wheels in motion… THAT’S WHAT CREATION MEANS TO ME… its MOVEMENT… constant movement… and it’s about TIMING… everything happens RIGHT ON TIME… we must be ready… once THAT WHEEL STARTS TURNING it does not like to stop! We must keep the momentum… TIMING is keep getting ready~


Where are we headed? DIRECTION~ We must move towards something… we must NOT settle for complacency…

Most of this year and last… has been about collecting a tremendous amount of data ALL ACROSS LATIN AMERICA… and all of this NEW FOUND data is moving me into a new space in my life~


I am creating more today than yesterday… and hope to continue to create more tomorrow~


Where do we begin?


JUST START~


Peace~

Thursday, May 28, 2009

TEN things Latino’s do wrong~

1. Think we know everything
2. We are always RIGHT
3. Believe the Latin American country WE COME FROM invented EVERYTHING… merengue, salsa, son, platanos, the first person to walk the moon… yeah didn’t you know all that happened in DR first... lol (please don’t comment silly responses to me… I am not an idiot and I know for a fact the first E.T. was found in Santo Domingo)…. ☺
4. WE DO NOT ACCEPT HELP…
5. We are proud - - even when we shouldn’t be… (my personal feelings about Dominican’s and the treatment of Haitians)
6. We are NOT the best business people (we have very POOR examples)…
7. DID I SAY WE KNOW IT ALL… we don’t care what school you graduated from - - we will NOT back down… BECAUSE LIKE I SAID we know it ALL…
8. Trapped in our CLOSED cultural minds… our personal experience…Mexican’s are #1, NO Dominicans are, NO Puerto Ricans are…
9. NO unity in the LATIN COMMUNITY…
10. WE ARE MISSING THE MESSAGE… the bigger picture…



The message… LEARN, learn and learn some more… we keep doing the same old stuff getting the same old results… AND WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED - - what do we have to show for it?

I just came back from the opening of BEA - - Book Expo America… I have been going yearly since 2006… (WHEN I MET OBAMA *she grins*)… and every year I come back a little disappointed Latina…

There are many reasons to attend Book Expo… publishing houses from ALL OVER THE WORLD ATTEND… wonderful panel discussions and seminars, 100’s of booths FILLED with things meant to EDUCATE, INSPIRE, or whatever your heart fancies… free books, books on fishing, comics, every genre – every country – every color… did I mention FREE BOOKS people~

But why I attend?

HELLO! Free BOOKS… kidding…

There are two MAIN reasons I attend BEA…

First – to size up my competition… as a writer I like to see what other Latina’s are writing about… I go to network… to see who I see…

Second and most importantly - - FOR MY INSPIRATION! The African American Program at BEA… it NEVER fails me… and always delivers. Each year I attend the opening night at BEA and Ms. Clara Villarosa sets it off (I missed her speak today—but I know she was brilliant—she always is… I got to the event late…)
HOWEVER, I did attend the panel discussion on “Using Social Networks to Promote and Sell Books: Face, Blogs, and Twitter” - - USEFUL information… inspiring… EDUCATIONAL… you guys following me?

What’s my problem today with my Latinos? It’s bigger than BEA… but one example was the sad turnout today for the 11th Annual International Latino Book Awards…and not just that—barely anyone attended… THIS WAS AN AWARDS CEREMONY FOR LATINO WRITERS… and in the first 15 minutes (eleven awards were called out in the Children and Young Adults books portion of the evening… and only 3 of the authors or reps from their publishing houses were present…) we are not even supporting our own people…

What are black folks doing right?

THEY TURN OUT… they support, they come together… maybe not at every event… or family gathering or their own awards ceremonies… but from MY EXPERIENCE and in MY OPINION… THEY TURN OUT…

What are we missing – what’s the bigger picture… just look at my TEN THINGS list again!
There are few things I want to respond to:

1. Think we know everything
2. WE DO NOT ACCEPT HELP…
3. We are NOT the best business people (we have very POOR examples)…
4. Trapped in our CLOSED cultural minds… our personal experience…Mexican’s are #1, NO Dominicans are, NO Puerto Ricans are…
5. NO unity in the LATIN COMMUNITY…

We DON’T know everything… There is so much we can learn from the BLACK COMMUNITY. We DO NOT have to reinvent the wheel.

When are we going to have OUR OWN movement?

When are we going to MOVE TOGETHER towards something that benefits more than ONE group/ONE flag?

When are we going to open our minds to what we have in COMMON with other LATINO cultures?

Why are we NOT united?


I am not going to wait anymore… I am going to be apart of larger movement. A movement that moves me towards a shared history with Africa where I can approach African Americans here in the U.S. to show me the way… moving me closer to people who want to walk WITH ME… those who will teach me what I don’t already know—so I can move on and teach others… I know MANY Latino’s who don’t believe in asking ANYBODY for help. “WHO WANNA GET THERE FIRST” Those who are fighting for the scraps…those who will not take someone’s hand (a black hand) and allow them to provide guidance. We have so much to learn.

You think you KNOW IT ALL… but you have NO IDEA!

Peace~

Twenty in TWO~ Can't Stop~ Won't Stop~

My cousin Emma and I have been talking a lot lately about moguls… people who inspire her… people she aspires to be like… her role models… the Oprahs, Gates, Puffy’s of the world… and she shared with me a twitter post by her mentor - - it read something like this:

“Make a list of 20 things you need to get done - - you got two hours”


I have been incorporating that 20 in two concept into my daily routine… the past few days have been a hustle and I must admit I’ve struggled a little with it… its an incredible concept - - an idea that pushes you beyond your limits and truly teaches you about time management - - how to deal with interruptions - - those pesty little twitter alerts and text messages - - calls from friends who just want to chit chat… (like you my beautiful sister… spending ten minutes on the phone with me trying to convince me how funny dane cook is - - like I care girl>>>> love you ☺)

PRIORITIZE


20 in 2… is an amazing idea... I am loving it… but I am learning that it is NOT so EASY… its NOT about listing 20 of your most biggest projects and trying to get them done in two hours - - that’s setting myself up for self-sabotage… with unattainable goals…

It IS – about BALANCE… setting attainable - - realistic - - REACHABLE goals (lets not set ourselves up for failure) and not just balancing… but making room for the shit we can’t control - - like long distance calls that are unexpected from DR and Colombia that you can’t just let go into voicemail - - - - we gotta learn to switch up our list… minor adjustments…

I am proud of myself today… I am on my third set of twenty in two…

That makes sixty things I have completed today… THAT’S excellent…

I have a new way of looking at how I go about getting my tasks done… I just START.. tackling one by one… I am not sweating it…its about getting my tasks done.

I am learning how to focus… balance… prioritize… GET IT DONE!

How do we know how to pick what’s more important—when everything seems like a priority? And what about the minor priority things we feel are NOT so important? point is to just list twenty… give yourself two hours and GO~

“CAN’T STOP! WON’T STOP!”


Thanks Diddy… Thanks Emma - - I love you. Girl - - you are the best non-paid P.A. a girl could have… ☺

Peace~

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Reflection~ What IS really important?

Before I share my blog I need a release: a free write…

I am so angry today…
Why can’t I shake you?
Why are you lingering?
Why don’t you just leave?
I LOVE BEING ALONE
I am angry with me…
For allowing you to invade MY - - SPACE…
Although time has passed…
I am no longer the same…
Like the child who has been robbed of their innocence…
Mine was taken from me…
I now see the world differently…
LOVE
That how I combat this…
This feeling…
This INVASION
Love myself through ALL MY PAIN…
I keep getting sucked back into this web…
I don’t want it in my life…
I don’t want poison…
My veins are FULL…
I release IT… I SURRENDER it all~
End of freewrite…

REFLECTION~

I have come a long way from my PEACEFUL space… that person I once was… I seem to be FAR from my “peace & love” writings of 2008.

I just looked at a few of my past blogs and find myself REFLECTING… analyzing where I’ve been… questioning:

Where am I headed?
WHAT IS IT THAT I AM DOING?
What’s it ALL FOR?

What I found to be important to me in 2008 and what I was on the constant search for was ALWAYS:

Truth
Trust
Faith
Love
Inner circle
Community
Bonds
LOVE
True friendships with women… (Fab, Joe, V, Ely, Emma, Court, Laleet, Kelly… just to name a few…)
VOICE… finding MY VOICE

I noticed today that I have I have lost myself somewhere on the journey…

I stopped my PRACTICE…

My meditations…

My prayers… I stopped feeding myself with all the positive and beautiful images that I used to surround myself with… this journey has transformed me… the harsh realities of the world has impacted me leaving an IMPRINT on my heart, mind and soul.

The things I found in 2008 still mean a lot to me… but I’ve changed in 2009 - - my search now is all about:

JUSTICE
EQUALITY
IN EQUALITY
IN JUSTICE
RIGHTS
HUMAN RIGHTS
WOMENS RIGHTS
CHILDRENS RIGHTS
EDUCATION
POVERTY
PROSTITUTION
HUMAN TRAFFICKING
SEXUAL TOURISM
SEXISM
RACISM
DISCRIMINATION

Which in most of the places I have been have NOT reaped positive benefits for those who are faced dealing with those issues…

I am more concerned now with helping communities… building communities… building a team of people who want to help communities…

Part of me misses the days where I meditated for the answers, but I realize today that I MAY NOT always have that extra two hours when I am traveling in the 3rd world...that I may JUST HAVE to sacrifice and stop mid prayer to fight for those who need my help… I may need to stop talking about what I need God to help me with and just get RIGHT TO the business of helping others… I must do what I was sent to do…

I am thinking about the woman I am - - and who I am becoming~

What are you thinking about?

Peace~

Thursday, May 14, 2009

RUNNING out of time~

The last time she felt this way was September 11, 2001.

When her world was changed in seconds…

That was a moment of enlightenment for her… fuck that - - that was a “bitch—wake the fuck up—slap into reality kind of awakening”.

It was the moment that would forever transform her.

It was the moment that shaped her…

It was the moment she watched two towers crumble around the city that never sleeps…

The city that “IF YOU CAN’T make it here!”

YOU CANT make it anywhere…

Today she’s thinking about greatness~

How there are some who see their greatness through… and they live long enough to see their greatness… to share their greatness… to not be robbed of their greatness… to LIVE THEIR lives with GREATNESS…

Then there are others who are on the brink of their greatness - - and ONE moment changes their lives… MERE SECONDS… a moment that can change their lives FOREVER and then there are those who are born for GREATNESS and NEVER SEE IT…

- Heath Ledger
- Ritchie Valens
- Anne Frank
- John Lennon
- Kevin Belden
- Luis Diaz Sr.
- Selena
- Princess Diana
- Versace
- Sid Vicious
- Aaliyah
- River Phoenix
- Notorious B.I.G.
- Tupac Shakur
- Kurt Cobain
- Jimi Hendrix
- Janis Joplin
- Jim Morrison
- Brandon Lee
- Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes
- Bruce Lee
- Jesus
- John Belushi
- Eva Peron
- Bob Marley
- Marilyn Monroe
- Jam Master Jay
- Martin Luther King
- Malcolm X

Have you ever felt like you’re RUNNING out of time?

Like there is so much left to do and you’ve barely just started?

Barely started living… when something happens to change your life in seconds… something enters your life and takes it from you… something takes your life…

Have you ever been scared to leave your house because you’re worried about when THAT moment that you’re living in… that it could very well be your last?

Cowards… those who take greatness away from another…

These COWARDS are the people afraid of THEIR GREATNESS…

Afraid to stand up - alone!
Afraid to do it on their OWN!
Afraid to see it through!
Afraid to leave!
Afraid to love!
Afraid to grow!
Afraid to let others live, love and grow!

Those moments that come and end a life unexpectedly~

Not looking their victim in the eye…

Shooting them in the back of the head…

People who never saw it coming when they allowed THAT moment to consume them - - that thing they believe they have under control… that moment they USE to EASE the pain…

TODAY SHE IS FURIOUS…

Angry at the people who take happiness away from others…
Angry at the people who wish harm on others…
Angry that she feels that she needs to run…

Peace~