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One of the exercises in CLP is about identifying and clarifying our own personal values. We each identify our top 5 values, writing one each on 5 index cards. Then we have to drop one… and another… until we are forced to choose our number 1, top value. What is your current One right now and why?
Purpose.
Ife means Love in Yoruba. It also is an ancient Yoruba city in southwestern Nigeria. Ilé-Ifè is famous worldwide for its ancient and naturalistic bronze, stone and terracotta sculptures, dating back to between 1200 and 1400 A.D. In Igbo, Ife means any attribute or quality considered as having its own existence.
I intend to live the rest of my life with Love, in all the definitions of the name I selected for myself over 30 years ago.
I am living intentionally in my Love of all aspects of the Culture of the African Diaspora. I intend to create stories and plays that speak to the many ways in which my people, African American people show resilience, resourcefulness and power in this society.
So, my living in Purpose and in Love will also continue to express the African American Renaissance that is continuous for us and provocative for others.
What is one big, burning leadership question you are wrestling with these days?
How can I help be useful in guiding people to be more respectful and accepting of the differences of one another? I reflected on this recently in a piece I wrote entitled Paradise:
The meaning of Paradise is an idyllic place or state
Paradise is a state of mind
A state of mind is as diverse as the world we live in
If you live in a place of starvation and hunger
Paradise is a meal
If you live in a place of privilege
Paradise is a good bottle of wine with dinner
Paradise is leaving home for a jog without praying for your life
To go to the store or walk in the park without fear for your life
Paradise for others is to jog whenever and wherever you want
Paradise is an idyllic place or state of mind
What inspires you, gives you hope these days?
Movements that demand change and disrupt the status quo of the systemic, oppressive and biased systems that have permeated society for far too long.
I am inspired by many people, young and old, pursuing their passions in creative ways to heal themselves and live more purposeful lives. I think it is important to make time to recharge and rejuvenate.
Here are two pieces of prose I wrote regarding this. The first, Celebration Time:
I love the time of celebration
I love celebrating all things
Life is a celebration
We need celebrations to fortify ourselves
Celebrations are important to express our gratitude for each other
I love the time of celebration
The second, Precious & Sacred Time:
Time is precious
It is how we measure
The value of the space we take up
Time is sacred
It is a way to measure goals and values
Time is precious
It is the space we make for the ones we love
Time is Sacred
It is here and then it is gone
It is how we plan to get where we want to be
Time is precious
It is the moments of pleasure and joy
Time is sacred
It is the moments we take to rest, recharge and rejuvenate
Time is Sacred
It is the moments we use to Love
Time is the indefinite continued progress of existence and events in the past, present and future regarded as whole
Time is Precious. Time is Sacred
The work of transformational change is hard. Stepping in, stepping up, over time, can be draining – physically, intellectually, emotionally, psychically, spiritually. How do you recharge, restore, take care of yourself, rekindle your fire?
By doing all the clichéd self-care things. Prayer, meditation, yoga, biking, hiking, and working out on a regular basis. Making sure there is time for my family, friends and loved ones. The things that serve to recharge and rejuvenate me, in order to remain sane (well, as much as possible!) and give me fuel to be prepared for the negative influences in the world.
Introduce us to someone you are/were close with personally (e.g., family, teacher, friend, mentor), who shaped (or shapes) you and how you view leadership and possibility for a better community/world?
My grandmothers, Annie Huckaby (maternal) and Hattie Turner (paternal). As the eldest grandchild for both of them, I got to see and experience how to stand up for the African-American community in all spaces with all people. By observing them in meetings at church, in community, with politicians and with family, I learned how to lead with passion, love, integrity and purpose. (Also, how to cook.)
Prose I wrote in memory of them. The first, Be:
Be the Wind that lifted Your wings
Be the strength you gathered from your ancestors
Be the wisdom of Who I Am Now
Inspire from within
Motivate others to become all they can be
Live on with the lessons from the pain
Live on in strength, fortitude and gratitude
Live on to give
Live on to get to where you are
Wherever that will be
And, Color of Distance:
The color of distance appears when you’re in a room full of people
And
Everyone’s talking yet no one is heard
It’s the color you see when you’re laying in the bed with someone you’ve just fucked
And
You can’t wait to get out of there
It’s the color a mother sees when her child launches into life in ways she never imagined
It’s the color that appears when you miss a deceased loved one
And
The memory of sharing time with them appears at a time when you need to talk to someone
So
You call on the spirit to speak into your soul so you know which way to go and what decision to make
The color of distance appears when whatever was is no longer here
What do you recommend to us, in each of these categories:
- Reading – Locked Gray, Linked Blue by Kem Joy Ukwu, All About Love by bell hooks, The Misfit’s Manifesto by Lidia Yuknavitch, Identity Politics in the United States by Khalilah Brown–Dean, and – daily – The New York Times.
- Listening – Samm Henshaw, Lizzo, Meshell Ndegeochello, Jidenna, Nina Simone, African music, old school R&B music, the original Shaft (1971) movie score, Opera, all Jazz music, I could go on and on. What I listen to depends on my mood and what I’m doing.
- Eating – I love to eat all kinds of food. Now that it’s summer, I’m eating a lot of stone fruits and getting vegetables from our Community Garden.
- Watching – I don’t think about watching TV too much. I do Netflix when someone recommends a show. I watch the news intermittently during the week – every day is too overwhelming.
- Laughing – Whenever I can.
- Wildcard – I come off as an extrovert, I actually am an introvert. I’ve learned to LOVE the company of myself as well as with others.
Learn more about the Elm City LIT Fest on Facebook and Instagram
To get in touch with IfeMichelle directly: phoenixdiaspora1@gmail.com