Jazz so streetwise, angels must be wearing All-Stars!

If you have never heard of this songstress, I wonder what you have been reading, and what you have been listening to. Her name, Esperanza Spalding, should say it all. Honestly, I think she was perfectly named for stardom!

I first heard of her, in all truth(ness) when she won a Grammy Award earlier in the year, beating both Justin Beiber and Drake for the top spot. What awed me, was that she was a contemporary jazz musician. First question was, what happened? Then how did she do that? Then who voted for her, for in all honesty, nobody really knows who she is.

Well, she was about to prove me wrong, because after that all music lovers were introduced to the singing sensation; and bassist, electric guitarist, electric voiced - angel voiced (gosh I am running out of ways to say this) singer that was her!

So I got my hands on her two albums, Junjo and the self titled Esperanza. I tell you, music has never been the same! Go on, take a listen, you might just agree with me...

Just a word...

"Those who stare at the past

have their backs turned towards the future"

Lorna Moodley

Widow Without

by

Tash Reddy

Love Lies Bleeding

Restore Me.

pic courtesy of: Bulumko Nyamezele

Four Seasons

Have you noticed the similarities between your life and the earth's four seasons?

Well today I did.
Take a moment and break down the occurencies of the seasons; summer, autumn, winter, spring.
See how it all relates to the patterns in your life?

It inspired the notion that nothing in life stays as it is forever. The life cycle is meant to be as is, and as much as one can learn from their mistakes, the cycle is bound to reach full circle, and start all over again.

It teaches me that I must not be comfortable in my life seasons, but I must accept them. I must not dwell in their pain, nor over-indulge in their beauty, for these are seasonal. There will be rains to fill my rivers and steer me to deeper seas, but with this comes knowledge and understanding. There will be full blooms of flowers and endless sunshine, but with this comes discovery and enlightment. There will be faded memories and things I collected I will no longer possess, but with this new memories are created, and deeper treasures to collect found. There will be seemingly unending pain, loss, failure, bad health, heartache, confusion, but with this, the dawn of happiness will loom in the horizon.

Live in the seasons life has created for you!
In each, a beauty exists.

pic courtesy of: OnutzaC

Serinity Prayer

God grant me the Serenity

to accept the things that I cannot change;

Courage to change the things that I can;

and the Wisdom to know the difference.

Give me the courage to Love with an open heart.

I want to Love with an open heart.

Living one day at a time;

Enjoying one moment at a time;

Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;

Taking, as He did, this sinful world;

as it is, not as I would have it;

Trusting that He will make all things right

if I surrender to His will;

That I may be reasonably happy in this Life;

and supremely happy with Him

Forever in the next.

Amen

Reinhold Niebuhr (1892 - 1971)