"I like the way you think".

I am a fan of LOVE when I feel it, see it, hear it, or even dream it....It never fails to leave me inspired and feeling in touch with a force that is powerful and forever yearned for.

I heard our first lady say something extremely powerful in an interview with Oprah a couple days ago, that just moved my spirit to joy. Oprah was interviewing the 1st couple and asking them how they balance it all, and how envied they could be because they seem so perfectly in love. Michelle answered the question so gracefully and exquisitely. Here is an excerpt.

Oprah : Is this a marriage to be envied?

Michelle: I think we have a wonderful marriage. I love my husband, he is my best friend. But I always like to talk honestly about it, because I think about young couples coming up who think there are no struggles to get here. There are and that's part of it. The message is, work through the struggles, start out with somebody that you respect and you trust, so that when you hit the bumps that are inevitable, you always have that foundation. I tell Barack, as mad as he may make me, I look at him and say "I really LIKE you". I like you and I like the way you think and I like the person that you are, and its hard to stray too far and to be mad too long when the person you are with is someone you like.

So incredible and so well versed. This personally captures the essence of REAL, TRUE, GENUINE love for me. To actually LIKE the person before you LOVE them, will prove the strength and the dedication to you staying where you are. DO you LIKE him? Do you like her? Do you like her traits? Do you like who they are in relation to their world that you exist in? Do you like how they talk to people? How they handle situations? How they make people feel? How they THINK? How they live? What they like to do? What makes them tick?

The road and and path to love and having the ultimate level of understanding is not easy nor smooth. Even when Love is great and things seem too perfect, it takes your attention and commitment to maintaining it and keeping it that way. You have to always put that other person's feelings in mind and work together to making sure that the both of you are happy, and if that is not intense work then what it?

As humans, it is hard for us to be content all the time, we allow so many variables to come in and disturb our momentum and test our faith on what we believe to be "working". I 100% know and believe that love is TEAM WORK and it will Be the most important collaboration that you Will ever take part in, in your life.

When we have love, and stability we feel good. We feel alive and we are in touch with the higher consciousness that resides in us all. We allow the GOD in us to seep out and be a source of light and inspiration for all around us.

Allow GOD to work through you more. Accept love when it comes your way and always give it to others. Love in all capacities is what releases us to living the life that was intended. Give plenty of it...out.

LOVE.

Have a Tasty Tuesday.

Do we RELATE? If not then this SHIP has sailed....

RE-LA-TION...SHIP. The words speaks for it self. We relate to ourselves very well. How we RELATE to another being can become tricky. Do we give ourselves selflessly, wholesome, and humbly or do we give scarcely, being conscious of how much we give, do we let them down with affection, admiration, love, support.

The relationships we foster over time with individuals sometimes loose the zest and life they once possessed and it disappears without you giving a second thought as to how to fix it. This is when you have given up and you are just co-existing. You never ever want to just "be" in anything..and not adding on in some way.

If you are in a relationship and I do not care HOW LONG it has been. You can have children, have a house, share assets, WHATEVER..if that person does not care enough to make an attempt to make the relationship between the two of you better then you two have nothing RELATE-ABLE any more and it is time for a new beginning.

I have never been one to settle for ANYTHING. I think this can be a blessing and a curse but at the end of it all, I can live with me and I am usually smiling more than frowning. I love myself way too much to stay in anything that is causing me discomfort and pain. So when I naturally see those in my life going through these emotions, yes it is very easy for me to say "MOVE ON". "Leave it alone" Let go...and LET GOD. Only because I know the long term benefit, and you will thank yourself later.

We make things more complicated than they need to be. We like to bring religion, morale, and all these other man made ideas into play when we know what we need to do in our hearts. We usually know the answer to what we need to do to make us happy and fulfill OUR destiny the way it should be, but we stall and we wait and we say its not the right time, and we take everyone's feelings and thoughts, along with what they are going to think into consideration before we actually DO what WE need to do.

Well I got news for you....Time is of the essence. Life is not promised and whatever you see for yourself, adhere to making it happen TODAY because your tomorrow may never come, and that is just the simple truth.

Live for you and your children if you have them. Go and chase every opportunity like it's your only mission in life. Get that career you always wanted, Get that man you always wanted, Let go of that man who treats you like an OPTION, Love the woman you have the right way before she gets its from some place else, Go have dinner with your closest girlfriend, Spend the day with your boys and just relax, Have a conversation with your parents, Ask your children how was their day and LISTEN. Be one with yourself and take time to listen to what is really going on in your brain.

BE EXTRA-ORDINARY....Being average is for the ordinary people.

Love you all!

Have a safe and marvelous weekend!

XOXOXO

LOVE is BEAUTIFUL in LIVING COLOR!!!!

So....as many already know, and maybe some don't, one of my closest girls Ms. Brie Strickland, got engaged on Saturday May 2, 2009. I have witnessed one other proposal in my whole life, and it did not measure to what I saw, sitting in a Thai restaurant in Williamsburg this past Saturday!

Maybe it was because I was watching a woman who I love so dearly, cry her eyes out because she never thought, this would happen to her. Maybe it is because I know the groom so well, and respect his loyalty, commitment, and dedication to making her happy EVERYDAY, all the time. Maybe it is because I was surrounded by folks who I knew genuinely wanted that moment to be PERFECT, and maybe I just was soo incredibly moved, touched and inspired by seeing LOVE happen right in front of my eyes, that, that moment definitely goes down in the history books.

Yes, I have been in love, Yes I know love well. Yet, even being able to say "I know love", I haven't met love in that way, to that capacity as I witnessed Saturday, since I have never been engaged, and that moment is something to celebrate, cherish and remember, especially when it is done so well, as it was done by my friend Ricky Dacosta.

These two have had a long courtship and they deserve every ounce of satisfaction and enjoyment of each other throughout the planning of this union. I am honored and overly excited to be a part of this ceremony that happens next year, and even more excited to share and bask in my sister girl's joy with her.

I noticed that when I posted pictures of their beautiful day online, so many people responded "Black Love is alive" "Black Love is beautiful". WOW! At first glance you look at that and you say, "yea isn't it", then you realize... "Damn...are they saying this because it is such a rarity to see, that when it is seen, it is an occasion". Whatever the reason behind the comment. I agree 100%.

I agree that Black Love, Asian Love, Hispanic Love, Russian Love, Indian Love, Greek Love, Italian Love, Peruvian Love, Brazilian Love, and every other form of LOVE that exists in this sphere we co-exist in, is something that holds the secret to our purpose! We are LOVE. We Live for LOVE and when we can capture it, and appreciate it, and acknowledge it for what it is, as my boy did this weekend, it is magical.

This was no movie, this was REAL LIFE, and you felt it. The sincerity and the genuineness.

I wish my sister and her new hubby to be, the most amazing and enlightening journey together. They will learn, grow, kiss, eat, share, laugh, advise, smile, whisper, touch, and bask in each other for the rest of their lives! It's their only option!
Love you Brie and Ricky!!!!

Have a wonderful loving day FAM! I love you!

XOXOXOXO