“Her”

A Memorial Tribute to Mrs. Malese M. White 

 December 12, 1915 to September 14, 2015

 Her voice

Her spunk

Her spirit

Her smile

Her laugh

Her hands

Her cheeks

Her eyes

Her head

Her hair

Her face

Her power

Her strength

Her feisty disposition

Her devotion to family

Her Faith in God

Her Inspiring Tenacity

Her off beat sense of humor

Her resilient work ethic

Her amazing ability to budget and save

Her Southern Charm

Her City Street Smarts

Her impeccable style

Her scrumptious food -  fried chicken, potato salad, cakes and pies

Her elegant home

Her warm hospitality

Her every fiber of her human being

Her Century of walking around on this earth

Our Mother

Our Sister

Our Grandmother

Our Great Grandmother

Our Sister at the Church

Our Neighbor on the Block

Our True and Trusted Friend

The Venerable Mrs. Malese M. White

December 12, 1915 to September 14, 2015

May God Rest Your Soul

We Love You

We Miss You

We will Never Forget You

Your voice

Your spunk

Your spirit

Your smile

Your laugh

Your hands

Your cheeks

Your eyes

Your head

Your hair

Your face

Your power

Your strength

Your feisty disposition

Your devotion to family

Your Faith in God

Your Inspiring Tenacity

Your off beat sense of humor

Your resilient work ethic

Your amazing ability to budget and save

Your Southern Charm

Your City Street Smarts

Your impeccable style

Your scrumptious food

Your elegant home

Your warm hospitality

Your every fiber of your human being

Your Century of walking around on this earth

You’re

Our Mother

Our Sister

Our Grandmother

Our Great Grandmother

Our Sister at the Church

Our Neighbor on the Block

Our True and Trusted Friend

You Are The Venerable Mrs. Malese M. White

May God Rest Your Soul.

We Love You.

We Miss You.

We will Never Forget You.

“Life”

Day Breaking through the 

Clouds. Streaks of Light Welcome a

Brand New Adventure.

Thank you God, for a brand new day. Thank you for keeping me safe through the night. Thank you for giving me another chance to try and get it right. Order my steps on this awesome journey called life. 

“Are You Enlightened?”

"Are You Enlightened?"
Gracious when in Pain. 
Fair when Angry.  Calm when in
Chaos:  Enlightened.

Although I do my best to “live in a state of perpetual gratitude,” and claim to have an “ageless” consciousness, I can tell I am getting older.  But this has nothing to do with my physical being, or “ageing” in the negative (“breaking down”) sense of the word. Because actually, I feel great. I am truly blessed with enough energy to get everything done I need to do and enjoy a healthy, active lifestyle.

But what lets me know I am on an advancing trajectory (besides my silver hair) is more about my inner world.  I am less concerned about what other people think. I am a much kinder person these days. I am a much more patient person these days. My thoughts are geared more toward peace, happiness, tranquility and productivity in the “inspired” sense of the word. 

Other clues that I’m getting older? I am paying more attention to how I treat myself and how I treat others. And the biggest clue that I am advancing in age is that each and every day I find myself focusing on what my legacy will be after I leave this earthly plane.  Altruistic ambitions indeed. But I’m not ready to go so far as to say I am “enlightened.”  Enlightenment is an advanced stage of wisdom I still aspire to and plan to continue striving toward.

During my 20s, 30s, 40s and even 50s, I never did quite follow the memo about being aggressive and competitive professionally.  It seems as though instead of chasing after money and being ambitious, I was always trying to find myself. Decades flew by as I was trying to figure out what I wanted to be when I grew up.

As I look back, I  see that I was restless and forever seeking -  wandering aimlessly - following my intuition from one position to the next until after many years I realized I was a writer and creative artist. I spent a lot of time working as a freelance writer, spoken word artist, and public relations consultant, not to mention stints as a reporter, press agent, social worker, executive director of an arts agency and grant writer. It has been a fascinating journey, let me tell you.  

What is important to me now is not so much about going after another day job, merely to “pay the bills,” or imagining what “retirement” will look like, but working on my passions in earnest, savoring each moment as I go along. Working on book projects, photography projects, and theater projects consumes me each an every day.  I absolutely love being in the flow.  And I  feel so humbled and blessed to be on this path. But enlightened? Not even close.What about you? Do you feel you have reached a stage of enlightenment? Does this idea even matter to you? I would love to know your thoughts. Peace, Love & Blessings Always.

"Take Charge of Your Destiny"

“Take charge of your own

Destiny. Make up your mind

To expand your life.”

I believe most of us (myself included) spend way too much time and energy bemoaning our lot in life rather than proactively creating the life we truly want – the life of our dreams.  However I also believe the life of our dreams is actually within our reach. We just have to want it bad enough to create it.  George Bernard Shaw, the Irish playwright, had some interesting quotes on this subject:

“Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.”

“A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing.”

“Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.”

We get so bogged down in the practical realities of our current situation that we forget to take incremental steps each day to reach toward our dreams.  Whether you want to write a book, start a business, get out to debt, make a million dollars, lose 50 pounds, make peace with your family, or send an underprivileged student to college, you can do it. Visualize where you want to be. Write down your affirmations. Create a “to do” list and start chipping away. Start today. Start now. Don’t delay. No matter how small or how basic, get started. Make the most of what you’ve got. And just like I tell my daughter all the time:  “The world is yours. Now go out there and get your piece of it.” Asante Sana. Peace and Blessings Always.