I will be dropping "Black Pearls" up in here.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Fabulous,

Black Pearls

Daily Meditations,
Affirmations,
and Inspirations for
African-Americans

By Eric V. Copage

FAITH

I've had so many downs that I knew that law of averages would be in my favor one day
--Doug Williams

When life seems to bring nothing but a string of defeats and disappointments, we've got to have faith that something good is still in store for us. With this faith, we can forge ahead and continue to put forth our best effort. Without it, we give up and accept what comes our way, good or bad. Our precious dreams begin to seem absurdities.

It is imperative that we see ourselves as worthy and deserving of a good life. There may be rejections; it may take us a while; but as long as we stay in the game, there's every chance we'll score. On the sidelines, we can only watch as others do the work and the winning.

Black Pearls

Daily Meditations,
Affirmations,
and Inspirations for
African-Americans

LONELINESS

There was no loneliness in the living room. So it was a good part, and maybe the best part, of the house.
--June Jordan

We need people in our lives because we are nourished and enriched by their presence. We need the laughter, the conversation, the debate, and the communion. While some may challenge such a notion, preferring solitude, it may be because they do not wish to involve themselves with the needs and wants of others, or they do not wish to expend the effort.

Still, it is possible to feel lonely when surrounded by friends and family. Ultimately, we are all lone souls in the universe; hence our drive to find partnership with God or a Higher Power.

Loneliness can hurt, can make us ache and despair. We need to find ways to quench the longing; when we spend time in the living room of life, our despair is lifted and our emotions are permitted engagement and release.

Black Pearls

Daily Meditations,
Affirmations,
and Inspirations for
African-Americans

PERSEVERANCE

I'm inspired when I walk down the street and still see people trying. A lot them look as if they're on their last leg, but they're still getting up somehow.
--Faith Ringgold

How dare we give up, break down, and roll over when so many who have it worse hang in there?! Yes, we do become discouraged, and no one can compare his tragedy or his secrets to ours. Perhaps our threshold for pain is lower than our neighbor's--what do we do?

We must always look for inspiration. Reading about others' travails and how they vanquished prejudice, poverty, ill health, and every kind of disability can restore our faith in the human spirit--particularly our own!

It's natural for our spiritual batteries to run low at times--no disgrace in that. But it's up to us to recharge them so that our will to fight, to persevere and win is strengthened.

Black Pearls

Daily Meditations,
Affirmations,
and Inspirations for
African-Americans

INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITY


It is impossible to raise and educate a race in the mass. All revolutions and improvements must start with individuals.
--John W. E. Bowen

We African-Americans have our leaders to speak for us, our organizations to work for us, and our clergy to pray for us--but unless we, each and every one of us, make the individual commitment to rise to our full potential, we cannot expect our community to do the same.

It pains us when we hear and read of the problems our people face. Despair grips us, and for some, hopelessness sets in. What can we do when the enormity of the situation makes us wonder whether we have the energy or wherewithal to fight it?

We can each pledge to do our personal best. At school and at work, in our homes and in all our relationships with each other. Doing this we set an example for our children, and gradually, but steadily, we uplift ourselves.

quote:

Originally posted by Fabulous:
I will be dropping "Black Pearls" up in here.

This is very nice, Fab!

I like it...

quote:

Originally posted by virtue:
BV! Where did you get the symbol???????

Wow!

I can't remember the last time I got such a rise out of you.

Just kidding... (of course I remember)

I got it from Frenchy's thread in Denmark Vescey. It's under "standard smilies".

Black Pearls

Daily Meditations,
Affirmations,
and Inspirations for
African-Americans

MISTAKES

Every man got a right to his own mistakes. Ain't no man that ain't made any.
--Joe Louis

None of us can expect to be infallible, yet we are often incensed when our parents, mates, or friends make mistakes. Perhaps we castigate them or gloat.

Perhaps we hold them responsible for the rest of their lives. When we constantly harp on age-old mistreatments or goofs, we are trying to punish them; perhaps it's our anger we need to acknowledge and let go.

Originally posted by Black Viking:
Originally posted by Fabulous:
I will be dropping "Black Pearls" up in here.
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This is very nice, Fab!

I like it...

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Thank you.

Black Pearls

Daily Meditations,
Affirmations,
and Inspirations for
African-Americans

ANGER

Anger is an emotion that if you carry around over a long period of time, it doesn't allow you to live
--John Singleton

African-Americans know about anger because we know about injustice and inhumanity. When we cling to our anger, however, it can prevent us from experiencing our lives with the greatest possible joy and contentment. Anger squelches happiness; it feeds upon itself to the point where it distorts our vision of life.

Okay, we may feel angry, but let's not condition ourselves always to respond with anger. Anger can be lethal, because it can kill a vital part of ourselves and cheat us of life's very real and rewarding possibilities.

Black Pearls

Daily Meditations,
Affirmations,
and Inspirations for
African-Americans

FIRST STEPS

I knew someone had to take the first step and I made up my mind not to move.
--Rosa Parks

First steps are always scary. When we take a first step, we are ultimately acting alone. With a first step, we take a leap of faith that we will wind up on both feet when all the dust settles. All of us have some experience in taking first steps. When we initiate a move toward friendship, or make the attempt to apologize and patch up a relationship, it's possible we'll fail. Ditto when we start a new job or career, or commit to a romantic partner. While the risks may not be as frightening as those that Rosa Parks took, they are nonetheless significant and meaningful as they are our own intimate tests of character. With a first step, we challenge ourselves and our fears.

Black Pearls

Daily Meditations,
Affirmations,
and Inspirations for
African-Americans

EDUCATION

The masses must move, but it must be the classes that move them.
--William Saunders Scarbourough

Educator William Saunders Scarborough had fun with a little wordplay here. For "classes" read education, and you will get the point: With education, we have mobility onward and upward.

Education gives us wings. It has the power to expand our lives and to inspire us. Without it, we cannot complete, and we play into the hands of those who'd be quite content to have us drop out of the competition.

There are teachers for all of us, caring people who entered the profession because they wanted to help. We must search them out. And after our formal education, we must continue to learn if we are to continue to grow.

Education gives us wings. It has the power to expand our lives and to inspire us.

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a good daily mantra

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I thought so too.

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And after our formal education, we must continue to learn if we are to continue to grow.
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...I'd like to add... to question, and to be able to change one's mind. However, the first has limited real value, without the latter.

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Hmmmm....I would just add a little sumpin' to the last part: "to be able to change one's mind IF NECESSARY.

Fab: OH MY GAWD I DID IT AGAIN!!! Sorry, FireFly...I edited your post when I merely intended to respond. So sorry. I don't think I can change it back to how it was. Oops.:-x

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Fabulous,

Black Pearls

Daily Meditations,
Affirmations,
and Inspirations for
African-Americans

GENERALIZING

I trust women. I was raised by women, by my godmother, my grandmother and my mother.
. . .I understand women. I know women.
----Arsenio Hall

We've heard people say these things: I know men. I know women. I know blacks. I know whites. We need to be careful. Mere proximity over an extended period of time only means we know--or think we know--these men, or these women.

Let's not smugly proclaim our understanding of any group of people but expect diversity and acknowledge the uniqueness inherent in each individual.

Black Pearls

Daily Meditations,
Affirmations,
and Inspirations for
African-Americans

FRIENDSHIP
An enemy slaughters, a friend distributes
--Fulfulde proverb

Who are our friends? Do they support and applaud our endeavors, or begrudge our ambition and success? Do they want to listen, or only to talk? Do they consider our needs and feelings, or only their own? Do they stay beside us in our grief, our despair, our disappointment, or go on to someone who is more cheerful or successful?

We need to select our friends with care--and treasure those friendships based on sincerity and mutual support.

Black Pearls

Daily Meditations,
Affirmations,
and Inspirations for
African-Americans

STRENGTH

I've talked to so many who believe they are supposed to be superhuman and bear up under all things. When they don't, they all too readily look for the fault within themselves
---Gloria Naylor

We all have a large number of responsibilities and duties to others and ourselves. If from time to time we fail, we shouldn't beat ourselves up!

Sure, sometimes we could have done better, but a lot of times there are situations beyond our control. We're not superhuman. Let's give ourselves a break!

Black Pearls

Daily Meditations,
Affirmations,
and Inspirations for
African-Americans

MONEY

Let Afro-Americans depend on no party, but on himself for his salvation. Let him to continue to education, to character, and above all, to put money in his purse. When he has money, and plenty of it, parties and races will become his servants.
---Ida B. Wells

Many of us have grown up with the notion that money is the root of all evil. We are conditioned to believe that an individual with money has sold his soul. Yet, out in the world, it is obvious that money buys us comfort, choices, and peace of mind. It can be difficult to reconcile the two extremes, to find that middle ground where we can function without guilt.

We do indeed need to have money in our bank accounts. It allows us to live without desperation, and thereby frees us from a subservient position. Let us use our money wisely, refrain from spending it as if there were no tomorrow, and learn how to make our money work for us.

Black Pearls

Daily Meditations,
Affirmations,
and Inspirations for
African-Americans

STEREOTYPES

One of the sad commentaries on the way women are viewed in our society is that we have to fit one category. I have never felt that I had to be in one category.
---Faye Wattleton

Categories can never reflect who we really are. We make a serious mistake when we attempt to define a person by one aspect of his or her being. Labels--such as Republican, Democrat, feminist, recovering alcoholic, husband, mother, lawyer, Catholic, welfare recipient--can become loaded with fallacious implications about our values, worth, or motivations.

Let's acknowledge that the soul and humanity of an individual are not to be captured and defined in a label or category.

Black Pearls

Daily Meditations,
Affirmations,
and Inspirations for
African-Americans

BELIEF

Those who believe in ghosts always see them.
--Charles. V. Roman

Substitute for "ghosts" hope, progress, success, or whatever word you choose, and you get the idea.

When we believe that there are good and positive things in life, we will find them. When we think pessimistically, we are also going to find a lot in life to support our view.

Allowing, or even forcing, ourselves to be positive thinkers ensures we will not become mired in the swamp of negativism.

Cynicism is easy, but it promises self-defeat. Claiming that we are being "realistic" by being negative can be immobilizing; we focus on life's difficulties and ignore its possibilities.

Let us believe in ourselves and our visions of self-fulfillment so we can begin to attain them.

Black Pearls

Daily Meditations,
Affirmations,
and Inspirations for
African-Americans

MEDIA IMAGES

The revolution will not be televised.
-- Scott Heron

The revolution African-Americans are part of is the one we wage to empower ourselves and strengthen our people. Generally, it is a quiet one, not afforded great amounts of recognition by the media, who seem fixed more often on our pathologies than on our progress.

When we contemplate the images we see of ourselves on television, we need to remember that what we see is not the whole picture and is not a full representation of who we are.

Let us not look to the media to validate our efforts. Let's look to ourselves.