Give Love on Christmas Day

Kai's SONG OF THE WEEK:

"'Give Love on Christmas Day' is a Christmas song first recorded by Motown Records' family quintet The Jackson 5." The version I share with you today is cover by one of the greatest soul singers of our day, Ledisi. This version can be found on her 2008 Christmas album,"It's Christmas." (lyrics)

 

Kai's Thoughts: 

I am grateful for love today and everyday.

I am grateful for smiles from strangers.

I’m grateful for the sun, the moon, and the stars.

I’m grateful for the rain.

I’m grateful for the quiet that comes when the rain ceases.

I am grateful for old ladies who smell like sweet potato pie and peppermint sticks.

I am grateful for the brother who was out on Lakeshore yesterday with his amp, blessing the world with his soulful baritone.

I am grateful for my friend, my elder, Terry De Grace who invited me and my mother to her Christmas Eve church services yesterday at the Plymouth UCC Chruch of Jazz and Justice.

I am grateful for the message of hope and faith. 

I am grateful that even in the face of a reality that tells us we shouldn’t be here,  some of us still believe and struggle for life and joy and FREEDOM.

I am grateful for those of us who believe that what is, does not determine what will/can be.

I am grateful for the solstice ritual that Fly and Jay invited me to.

I am grateful for the end of this time according to the Mayan calendar.

I am pre-grateful for the end of Capitalist time.

I am grateful for the Time of Revolutionary Love that continually disrupts Capitalist time.

I am grateful for YOU.

What are you grateful for today?

A Love Poem for Love

       It is the end of time as we have known it

         But we are still alive            And love still persist

     With a brush from the lips             Of my lover, she slips

                                                                                                              Forward, out of space             And I don’t catch her             ‘Cause she fly

             And the sun burns for her

                 Like my soul, it yearns for her     

           Transformative elsewheres

        And I think I hear myself there

                  No there… there…

                                                                                              And beyond…

  It is always the words unspoken

That make you feel

                                                                                                        As though flying is a possibility        

Alive and Alive

                                                     Jumping into darkeness'                                           light

         It is as sweet as smoke and soft lips touching

            Calloused hands and ashy legs meet to make beautiful

                          This and these                  

                                                                                                 Words don’t make much sense here

In the silences of full hearts

 Sparked stares reveal something...

Laughter and smiles make music

The kind I like to listen to when I’m all by myself or

Dancing with you 

                                      Embracing the moment

                                                                                                                   It won’t last                        

                                                                                             But  for now

It is enough

I’ve never been full like this

And still these words won’t make much sense                            here

They belong, nowhere                                                  here

 Yet exist.

 

 

 

Hold on to whatever it is that keeps the sky from falling

For it also keeps you and I from drowning.

SENDING MUCH LOVE TO YOU AND YOURS<3<3<3 #givemorelove

I Just Called to Say I Love You

Kai's SONG OF THE WEEK:

‘“I Just Called to Say I Love You’ is a song written, produced and performed by Stevie Wonder. It was one of Wonder's most commercially successful singles. The song was first featured in the 1984 comedy The Woman in Red, along with two other songs by Wonder, and scored number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks from October 13, 1984, and also became Wonder's only solo UK number-one success, staying at the top for six weeks. It also became his tenth number-one on the R&B chart, and his fourth number-one on the adult contemporary chart. In addition, the song won both a Golden Globe and an Academy Award for Best Original Song. The song also received three nominations at the 27th Grammy Awards for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, Song of the Year and Best Pop Instrumental Performance.” (Wiki) (lyrics)

Kai's Thoughts:  

A phone call can make all the difference. A phone call from a friend, lover, parent, or even a stranger can change the energy of both parties.  A phone call can bring about healing.

My Dad calls me every Sunday morning and usually he just wants to let me know that he's around, he's present, he loves me and hasn't forgotten about our date. He never misses a Sunday call and I think this is his way of making up for lost time, time when I would wait and he wouldn't show up. He's here now and I'm grateful for forgiveness which allows me to be open to this relationship. 

Last week  I had a beautiful conversation with a person that I've never met in real life--only facebook exchanges. This person reached out to me and wanted to talk on the phone. If you know me well, then you know that one of this things I love to do most is talk. When people reach out to me, especially Black queer folk, I do my best to respond because I know how lonely it can feel when you think you're the only one. I also know how affirming it is when you realize you are not the only one. I spoke to this person about the possibility of taking hormones. I asked them if they had enough support. I asked them a lot of questions and I listened. 

Love is a listening.

I've been talking to a lot more people on the phone since I've been living alone. I am learning how to reach out on those mornings when sadness seems to get the best of me. I hesitate to talk about it or tell people about it because I fear they might get annoyed or not want to talk to me anymore, but I've been challenging myself to be more vulnerable. It feels scary, but it also feels good because I have some AMAZING people in my life who love, value and care about me and my well-being. Without these people loving me, healing me, giving me the space to not feel just right, I wouldn't be able to have the strength to do the work that I do. We have to care for each other because we all have such important work to do. 

Everything is connected. 

As I heal myself, I make more space for healing to occur outside/around me.

Reach out to someone today. Remind them how loved they are. Remind them how valuable their life is. These kinds of reminders can never be given too often. 

Call someone and just say, "I LOVE YOU!"

I'm grateful for all of the people who reached out to me this past week and in some way or another tranifested love.

<3<3<3

*Weekly Jam has been modified to (Bi)Weekly so that I have more time for #OperationDissertationStation ;-)