Civic Duties

Civic duties. To me a civic duty is the responsibility that is rested upon everyone's shoulders as they come into this world. Whether or not we take on these responsibilities is another topic altogether. The purpose of civic duties are this: to clean up our own mess, but along with that finding ways to better take care of ourselves, which includes the nature that we are a part of. (really when I say take care of ourselves, it should mean the entire world, but we as a people separate ourselves from all else, because we are life's special treat right?) How well you do your duty, or how far you take the idea of responsibility will make all the difference in what comes out of it. We apply this idea every day. The idea of pushing ones self in order to move past limits and create room for change. So this is really about doing your duty. Although duty sounds taxing, its really just a word. You could say that you're just here to help out and enjoy the ride. It doesn't matter. What does matter is whether or not you participate, because many hands makes light work. In our minds, there's no such thing as light work. You have the workers and non-workers and thats it. The idea of WORK becomes a stressing and hard task, something to dread. As Alan Watts says
“This is the real secret of life -- to be completely engaged with what you are doing in the here and now. And instead of calling it work, realize it is play.” Man, if we could all realize this, life would seem much less negative and civic duties would no need words or acknowledgement. These duties would be life and a better one indeed.

Is Poverty a Choice?

"The reason we have poverty is that we have no imagination. There are a great many people accumulating what they think is vast wealth, but it's only money... they don't know how to enjoy it, because they have no imagination." Poverty is a state of being, a mindset. Its is where you unconsciously say to yourself, I am poor, I am without, I am less, because I have less. This is no one's fault, it is only the situation that we as a money-oriented society have put ourselves in. Money equals opportunity which equals freedom and happiness. Without money, you find yourself in the cycle we call poverty. The lack of opportunities, less money, less freedom and consequently, unhappiness.  So as the great Alan Watts says, we need some imagination, we need to change the way we think about life and the role of money in life and we will change poverty. The impoverished state would change into a state of losing unnecessary attachments, a buddist mindset of sorts. Life is what you make of it some say. 

Malcolm X

The defining quality  that i noticed throughout the first 12 chapters is awareness. Malcom is constantly aware of his situation, although it may not always change the way he acts, such as when he is constantly hopped on on cocaine in harlem, running hustles and selling reefers. I noticed his awareness more in the first few chapteres. He was always nodding along with all the crazy things that came out of his peers, and teacher's mouths. As he did this he would formulate his own conclusions about those around him based on their reactions. This gives him a few other qualities that i believe made him such an effective person in the later years of his life. He learns patience with the iggnorant and lets them do the talking, lets them make mistakes, and uses that lack of knowledge and changes it into something he can use. He becomes tolerant as well, through his patience with people. These first 12 chapters have really made me think about racism. Racism comes from all sides and has been around for a long time. Once we all stop pointing fingers and learn to love eachother as simply fellow human beings things will change dramatically. Until then, the racist mindset will live on and keep planting its parasitical roots.

Music Review

 I'm turning the clock back to an album that all 90's rap lovers should know. The Big Picture is the second and final studio album by the rapper Big L. The album was intended for a 1999 release, but due to L's murder, the album was later released on August 1, 2000 by Rawkus Records. The album was produced by DJ Premier, Ron Browz, Ron G, Lord Finesse, Pete Rock, Shomari, Mike Heron, Ysae, and Showbiz. The album features on of my favorite tunes Ebonics/Size 'Em Up,which was the last single released while Big L was still alive, as well as the #1 Rap single Flamboyant. The Big Picture features appearances from Fat Joe, Guru, Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane and 2Pac. The collaboration of Big L, Guru and 2pac (3 favorite rappers of mine) lay down some of the dopest rhymes.   It was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America in October 2000.
It sold 72,549 copies in the first week. This album is unbelievable and I'm going to give you a little taste of the flow of Big L. This is a freestyle from the album.

Alone

Being alone has always comforted me. When I'm alone my mind is faced with honesty. If you've ever tried to lie to yourself, you will find it almost impossible. It is one of the beauties of life because it allows me to see that i am important and that my progress is essential to the world if I am to continue living. One of my favorite philosophers Alan Watts keeps me on my toes when I'm alone and feeling sorry for myself. He asks "Do you consider yourself a victim of the world or the world?" This says to me that I am meant to be on this planet and I surely cant help myself by putting on a good face, by dismissing what others may deem horrible as a section of my life to be forgotten, by comforting my self with false pretenses. It says to me, "You are the world and all it's imperfections. In other words, what may seem like conflict on one level, is really harmony on another.  If you keep with the flow and treat yourself and others with love and respect, things will work out.  Solitude helps me think about my role in the world and where my life is moving. If you become comfortable with yourself while alone, you can become comfortable everywhere. So spend some time one and be happy that your living while you shed off all the unnecessary layers of life.

I Know This Means Something

As John Lennon said, "When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy.’ They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life."  

 I first heard this quote last year on an Outward Bound trip in North Carolina. As I sat around the fire and heard this, the way I lived my life made sense. And still does. It makes fools of those who put so much emphasis on going to college, getting a career, starting a family. These are just roads to happiness not actual happiness itself. And yet, these "tasks" are seen with more importance. I believe the meaning in life is to be happy. Happiness consists of being sensitive in each moment, acknowledging it as new and unique. To do this it takes a receptive and open mind which sees what gives happiness to ones self. This in itself is living in the present. The past exists in the present, while the future is created in the present. From that, I deem that there i only the present, and I'm the happiest in the present. So live on fellow humans! Your happiness is here (i don't want to say out there, because that would being saying it's something you seek outside yourself). Find what makes you happy and realize that what you are feeling is happiness, because living feels good if you leave out all the judgement. I mean, only feeling exist after all judgement disappears.    

Frank-ly Speaking

"It had been a bad day. On parade, an announcement had been made about the many actions that would, from then on, be regarded as sabotage and therefore punishable by immediate death by hanging. Among these were crimes such as cutting small strips from our old blankets (in order to improvise ankle supports) and very minor "thefts." A few days previously a semi-starved prisoner had broken into the potato store to steal a few pounds of potatoes. The theft had been discovered and some prisoners had recognized the "burglar." When the camp authorities heard about it they ordered that the guilty man be given up to them or the whole camp would starve for a day. Naturally the 2,500 men preferred to fast."

This passage shows the true nature of the prisoners a this stage in their imprisonment. Even when you are deprived of everything good in life, the hope exists for a better day or one will give in to suicide or nothingness. The majority who still hangs on with hope, hold a steadfast defiance against the Nazis. In Frankel's voice you can hear the emptiness, emphasizing the few emotions that the prisoners still exhibit.