Post on 31-Mar-2016
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o n e d r o p
I am a sunflower. It was a difficult thing to accept. People stare at sunflowers. People pick sunflowers. People drive past sunflowers without noticing them. People farm sunflowers just to use their seeds. And sometimes people resent sunflowers for being so certain of their solar power.
These days, I am learning to cultivate my solar energy so I can sustain generations.
Love & Light
This photo was taken in my mother’s room in Baltimore, February 2012.
Act beautifully towards all living beings and you will be rewarded with plentiful provision and
an internal spring of joy.
“Be Yourse
lf.. E
very
one El
se is
Alre
ady
Taken
♥” (T
itilay
o Eniafe
)
“I miss my best friend.” (Ryan Maxwell)
Young folk at Kamali Academy in New Orleans building their foundations. (Tracee Thomas)
STOLEN:
SNATCHED FROM FACEBOOK… I
COULDN’T HELP MYSELF!
“In honor of the last day of #blackhistorymonth, Danielle gave me Zulu Warrior Princess nails!!”
(Gabrielle Barnes)
It is good to cook the food you eat. Pray while you cook. Pray before you eat. Feed someone else.
Good vibes create good vibes.
1. Peel a green plantain. Slice diagonally. Cut thin slices to get a good krunchy chip!
2. Over medium heat, pour oil into skillet. Allow oil to heat. Oil should sizzle when you dip a plantain into it.
3. Fry plantains until crispy brown.
4. Fresh out the oil, place chips into a brown paper bag and sprinkle chili powder and salt into bag. Squeeze a slice of lime over chips. Close bag. Shake well.
5. Eat ‘em hot or save for a yummy snack later.
Homemade plantain chips!
One Drop Tip! When frying with oil, season your food after you remove it from the oil. That way you can save the oil in a glass jar and use it again later.
Ryan’s
Homemade
“Picky Girl Granola”
Mix 2 ½ cups old fashioned oats (the kind you use to make
oatmeal!! Make sure you don’t get instant!!!) with 2 teaspoons ginger powder, 2 tablespoons cinnamon.
In a separate bowl, combine ¾ cup brown sugar, 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, ½ cup honey, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract (imitation vanilla works!). Mix well and combine with oats.
Make sure oats are thoroughly coated with honey. If not, add more honey.
Use hands to mix the brown sugar mixture with the dry oat mixture.
Preheat oven to 350° and grease a pan with vegetable oil.
Spread oats onto grease pan and pop into the oven. Every 10-‐15 minutes use a metal spatula to mix oats to keep from sticking to pan.
When outer oats start to brown, remove from oven. They will still be sticky, but keep them in pan and continue to mix them around until they get nice and crunchy!
You can eat granola alone or with fresh fruit and yogurt or use to make your own trail mix!
Ryan’s trail mix includes blueberry Craisins, honey roasted peanuts, and yogurt covered raisins.
So I was slicing a delicious
pineapple the other day, when a wise man tells me that the rinds can be used to make pineapple
tea. Watch here!
Moving to fast??
Nope, that’s not a typo. What I mean is, have you considered fasting lately? It’s not just something that people did when Jesus was alive. It’s a good thing to do now.
Our bodies need occasional breaks from the tough work of digestion. And fasting reminds us of our spiritual bodies. We’re not just physical bodies that need constant fuel, although popular media would have us believe otherwise. Fasting is a time to focus on what we want to see manifest in our lives.
If you’re going through a rough patch or needing a specific answer to a specific question, try fasting. A good way to prep is to spend the day before your fast by eating fresh fruits and veggies and drinking plenty of water. Avoid starches (breads, pasta, rice) processed sugars, dairy products, caffeinated products, & fried foods because these will cause your body to feel hungry during the fast. On the night before the fast, don’t eat past 7 p.m., otherwise your metabolism will be in effect more strongly during the fasting day and make you feel hungry.
On the day of the fast, wake and pray. Yep, simple as that. If you don’t wake up and pray on most days, it is a good thing to start doing! Pray to your higher power-- Allah, God, Mother Earth, Olodumare, Yemaya, Creator, NTR, Jehovah, Most High—however you address the provider of your needs and desires. And continue praying
throughout the day. When you feel hungry, pray. When you feel worried, pray. When you feel good, pray! Pray for what you need. Pray for what you want. During fasting day, drink plenty of water. Don’t tease yourself by daydreaming about food. When you feel hungry, pray and busy your mind and hands with something productive—an art
project, homework, writing…you’ll be amazed at what comes out of you. And most importantly, listen for your answers. The important companion to prayer is meditation. Meditation just means getting quiet and listening. Break fast the next morning with a light meal. Fresh fruit or applesauce is a safe bet. Breaking fast with fried potatoes and eggs might upset your tummy!
It’s no coincidence that nearly all practiced spiritual systems include some form of fasting…Hinduism, Christianity, Ifá, Islam… Fasting is powerful. It is an instant unplug
from the matrix. An instant plug into the Divine.
Place: Rivergate Skate Center (119 Gleaves Street Madison, TN 37115; (615) 868-3692) Ambiance: Eclectic, challenging fun Price: $10 (if you need to rent skates $7 (if you bring your own) Age: 21 & Up on Sunday nights. All ages every other night!
Sunday night skate is a time to learn a thing or two from old timers. Several generations groove in the same place. DJ usually plays a nice mix of oldies and the newest releases. A place to eat humble pie and show off every new trick!
D.C. is always a treat!! There is more than abundant culture on EVERY corner. I was there this time because my boyfriend’s, play was going up in the Intersections Festival.
Well, the play was amazing!!!!!!! The Hueman Prophets wrote and performed Read: White and Blue, a one-‐act play about the chasm separating the working and middle classes in D.C.’s Black community. The Hueman Prophets are Auragin (Jabari Exum) and Straight Forward (Baye Harrell).
The play is like nothing I’d ever experienced before. It was born out of the hip hop theatre movement…Just imagine your favorite beats and rhymes interspersed with very serious, very funny, very thought provoking dialogue. It’s pretty doggone awesome.
As a group, The Hueman Prophets have been writing and performing together since…well, since they were barely potty trained. (Who thinks about rappers in pull-‐ups?!?) Well, they’ve been rapping together since the age of four. And their harmony and skills are a testament. Catch up with their conscious lyrics and melodic rhythms here!
AND while there, I had a blast getting to see Jabari drum (along with Kwame and Malari) for the young’uns at Patterson Park Public Charter School. Kiddies’ energy is osmotic (yeah, I made up the word)! It really brightened my morning to see them wiggling in their seats while the drums thundered. I had to get up and dance!
MY WEEKEND IN CHOCOLATE CITY
The Hueman Prophets get physical exploring the burden of class. (bottom photo by Falani Afrika)
poets ink.
GO OPEN MIC Series at Fisk is dopely awesome, as I’ve mentioned before. There are more than a couple of visionary poets who are dropping lyrically beautiful thoughts. Excellent delivery. Singers, musicians, comedians get up and “spit.” Hosted by Sabrina & Zach, you gotta watch out. Poetvisionaryactivists are the type to take over the world!!! See photos (taken by Ashton Stansbury) from the latest GO Open Mic Series.
Another open mic to look out for…
Enter the Eye of the Storm
Herbal Healing
This is a passion flower. It’s herbal uses include treatment for anxiety, insomnia, nervous disorders and seizures. Passionflower's calming properties may also be helpful for ADD and ADHD. For more information, click here.
Mom,
We have been like fish You let me swim away
Early, knowing or praying That the waters would
Provide Many times my tears
Flowed with the current I wondered why
You were not near But that is an incomplete cry
Hurting hearts know more
So I swam Asking less and less why Knowing more and more
How come This river is as narrow
As a tear on a cheek Really, a country creek And I have known you
All along
Perspective.
We each have
A d if ferent angle
On the situation
Called Life.
I need yours.
…
www.issuu.com/liveinword
I give thanks to:
Creator for Divine Breath
My mom for being the Original Sunflower.
Jabari, my love, and Baye for pioneering in
theatre and being great at it.
Ryan for being generous with her camera
phone and her granola recipe.
The Wise Man for being generous with his
computer and the pineapple tea recipe.
All the people, places, & ideas that
sparked inspiration.
Much, much love,
Kana
Listen to An Artist’s Prayer by Fertile Ground