Listen.
You know when a black woman starts with "Listen" and ends with a period she has a strong point to make. Haha (Thanx Kev on Stage for that recent post on this. www.instagram.com/p/CDwUidDHh-f/) This has been a day of high highs and low lows. Basically, I'm 2020, as Kendrick Sampson put it recently in a widely shared IG post among my peers (https://www.instagram.com/p/CDuPaiuBIxf/). Par for the course, you know. But I am feeling like I can do anything right now. That I have all the time in the world. My growth mentality and my LIT AF life philosophy and practice of Buddhism has me believing that the impossible in most certainly possible. Let's take it back. Yesterday, two of my friends confessed via instagram posts that they had to let the tears flow. 2020 has been a bitch and it's not letting up. Two friends of my husband are in the depths of depression and out of no where gave 30 days notice to their landlord. They're leaving CA to go live with a relative that they already know is going to be problematic. Both of them freelance in TV production. There's no work. Another friend text me that she is climbing out of rough few days. When I asked if it was work of life related and that I was there to talk, her response was, "I'll just say it is challenging being a newly wed during a pandemic." I am just now realizing that even if she wanted to talk, it would be difficult... cuz obvi, they're stuck in the same place together. Maaannn. Children are going back to school and the whole school goes into quarantine. Teachers are having to change their wills. 45's man is making cuts to the post office and vote-by-mail is being threatened. Voter suppression, anyone? 45 might need a mandate to leave the White House. And I can't exclude myself from this. On the way to the grocery store this afternoon, I was all kinds of gasp, cry, sniffle, repeat underneath my mask about the deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep pain that my people have faced in this county since we first stepped foot here. Heart palpitations today. Too much suffering. We need reparations. Tell your congress rep to support H.R. 40 - it's literally just a commission to study and develop reparation proposals! (Learn more here) But I digress. Not really. All this is relevant! Here's the silver lining: I just got off of an encouragement call with the national arts department of SGI - my buddhist organization - and my faith is restored. I am determining that I will be part of a new renaissance! I am determining that in the next 10 years of my life that the words that I write, that the roles that I play, that the worlds that I help build through my art will be part of a renaissance that transforms society. And that that work will sustain and enrich my life in these specific ways: (1) I will make at least 4x as much money as I did in 2019, in each consecutive year from the first, and (2) my company will be synonymous with value-creation in my field by creating plentiful opportunities and being a platform for voices that deserve to be amplified. I am so excited! Because now I have a specific goal, with a specific time frame and with a solid and sustainable mission. Now all I have to do is unite with my spiritual mentor with courageous action! Wayne Shorter, the Jazz saxophonist and composer, at 87 years young says, "My life is in a state of zero gravity." In other words, he's still moving forward. He's defying anything attempting to keep him locked in stagnation. Here, here! I am choosing to look at this time of 2020 as a profound opportunity to cultivate resilience, wisdom, deep compassion, and tenacious courage to Never. Stop. Moving. Forward. And to buttress this phenomenal tower of ambition, I always go back to something Ava Duvernay once said, "If your dream is only about you, it's not big enough." What if we think of 2020 like a windup toy? Every month, every challenge, every action is just the winding key being rotated - potential energy being stored up, and once the key is released, that energy is changed into motion! Let's GOOOOO! Lastly, KAMALA HARRIS!!! enisha b. janeIn my own words.
0 Comments
Last summer, I posted a Productivity Prescription as a way to give myself and other self-employed artists and entrepreneurs a thorough plan of action each day. Now in the time of this COVID-19 crisis, it seems there's never been a better time to incorporate a strategy for productivity from a holistic perspective. I've made only minor updates from last summer's prescription and added a downloadable Productivity Prescription Chart for weekly planning. I hope this is helpful to someone. H O L I S T I C • P R O D U C T I V I T Y • P R E S C R I P T I O N I N S P I R A T I O N (Daily, 5-30 Minutes)
If you find this useful or want to share ideas, please leave a comment down below!
What a time to be alive. To witness an unprecedented global pandemic in what is considered a modern world, an advanced 21st century society, has been a eye-opening experience thus far. From our worst, to our best, we human beings are revealing our latent truths.
I thought I'd use this time and space, live from my self-imposed isolation DAY 18, to reflect on a few topics: Corona & the Artist, Corona & Sickness, and Corona & Connection. Corona & the Artist Yesterday a friend of mine, who is one of our precious brick-and-mortar, old world, art-as-the-foundation-of-society types all but demanded that we--her circle of artist friends--create some work of art based on the times. "We have to," she emphasized. I paraphrased Nina Simone back to her: the job of the artist is to reflect the times in which we find ourselves. She added "to transform it. We are artists. That's what we must do." Agreed. Admittedly... I was slightly less enthusiastic. For one, if there was ever a time I don't want anyone assigning me tasks I didn't sign up for, it's now. Plus, she would be the director in this outfit and I the actor... Again, being told what to do.... Nah, not right now. Now, is my time. But it had me thinking about what my call has been as an artist. I recognize these times when we are "Safer at Home" as one of possibility (pure potentiality - anyone?). It offers us a time for self-care, an opportunity to add to our skill set, to cultivate a creative garden. An actor friend of mine is posting monologues every week. "Actors act" he wrote in his caption. Musicians are playing on LIVE, dancers are choreographing virtually, my husband has found his way back to photoshop creating some DOPE digital art. So what is my artistic call? For now it's been a hodgepodge of a few things; but mainly, I've been called to reflect. Writing has always been my most instinctual method to reflect. We'll see what comes of it. Though more than an outcome, I want to focus on the process of putting thought to word. That's it, then. That's what it will be. Below is the first of a Haiku poem thread I posted on twitter today (Part 1 of 4):
Corona & Sickness
So, I was fully accepting of my responsibility as a member of society to help mitigate the spread by keeping my ass at home. You know, flatten the curve. Not a problem. A few people I know have joked together about Quarantine not feeling so different from our normal lives. Haha. Accurate AF. But all joking went out of the window when I got a tickle in my throat that turned into a dry cough and a tight chest for 6 days. My mind went there, naturally. What the *%#! Ihavebeenselfisolating Ihavebeenwashingmyhands Ihavedisinfectedeveryknobswitchandfacuet Doireallyhavethisfuckingvirus Howthehellamigoingtogettestediftherearenofuckingtests Maybeitsagoodthingifihaveitthenicandeveloptheantibodies Ibetternotgetsickerthanthis Whatifigetsickerthanthis Thisissomebullshit Iwillnotoverreacticanhealmyself Iamtiredofthisijustwanttofeelnormalagain Okayiamjustgoingtodoallthethings So I did all the things I have known, and heard, and read, and were recommended to me! And with the confidence that I am a healthy young person with a relatively strong immune system and without a fever, I marched into an ALL OUT battle with whatever the heck this was that was causing this attack. Here was my routine: MORNING: Vitamin C Chew and swallow a slice of fresh ginger Hot tea with local honey, lemon, ginger and peppermint drops Black Seed Oil Yoga AFTERNOON: Hot tea with local honey, lemon, ginger and peppermint drops Multivitamin Natural Cough Syrup EVENING Vitamin C Hot tea with local honey, lemon, ginger and peppermint drops Oil of Oregano Steam! (Covered head over steaming water infused with lavender essential oil and peppermint drops) After an honest 3 1/2 days straight of this routine... I was better. Then I was great. Now, I'm back to 100% and I could not be more grateful!! Being sick during this time was really messing with my mind. I was fighting hard not to be defeated by this, to climb out of the rabbit's hole it was sending me down. If I am being 100, 100... I feel like I experienced some mild version of this thing. Maybe, maybe not. But I can't be sure because I was never tested. So in isolation I will remain along with the rest of LA on lockdown until further notice. Here's a picture of ALL THE THINGS - my arsenal during the battle:
Corona & Connection
First things first:
Corona & Connection cont'd
Giuseppe and I (and Clover) got our dance on for 2 hours Saturday night. #clubquarantine was just what we needed! Beautiful experience. Then I checked back in on Wednesday night for his When We all Vote campaign with Michelle Obama and was inspired and moved that his party with a purpose resulted in 300K potential new registered voters (last I checked)!! Get in on that: www.whenweallvote.com/dnice This time has offered many new opportunities to connect with our communities and families. Have you? I've heard it time and time again. For me, I have talked to relatives I haven't in too long and friends that I hardly do. Shout out to Zoom!! There's more to say here. But I think I've said enough for today. More to come... enisha b janeIn my own words |
enisha b janeIn my own words. Archives
March 2023
Categories
All
|