Back to .....Giving All of Me

And so reflection has offered new insight......
A chance to accept what has been recognized and revealed...
A chance to breathe new life into fresh space
And give room to the people, places and things more deserving of my time....
Yes, reflection/meditation has been good
Revelation is appreciated and honored
And now .....I continue to Fly, to glide, to get to All of Me..... and Give All of Me! BrendaGale*

Remembering Michael Jackson today. Happy Birthday - R.I.P.

Just don't give up trying to do what you really want to do.  When there is love and inspiration, I don't think you can go far wrong. - Ella Fitzgerald

'You'

What's wrong with being You? Authenticity has served as one of my greatest assets.........I have absolutely no problem being myself in any situation.  I'm not trying to impress anyone by being someone/something other than who I'm comfortable with..... and guess what(?).... I'm so very comfortable with ME. I've observed  numerous individuals floundering during  presentations, performances, etc., because they were so very focused on moving away from the 'place' in which they would find the greatest comfort. They were always feeling that they needed to mimic someone else. Your comfort level should be in your 'own authentic skin.'

You always eventually come back to yourself, so why not just allow those whom you're interacting with the opportunity  to experience authenticity during a business deal, a courtship, a performance, standing in line at the airport, taking the pup for a walk, or just needing to express your genuine feelings about a cause or circumstance. Give 'em YOU! This is where you live, breathe and function daily.......in your own 'authentic skin'........Learn to love and appreciate You!.....You were created fearfully and wonderfully for purposes beyond what you've imagined.  Get in tune with you....your laughter, your quirks, etc., and be so comfortable in your 'space' that others are standing in line to be a 'part of where you live, breathe and function'........Live, Laugh and Love being YOU!

Here is success............

To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Inspiration for the day...........

What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals. - Zig Ziglar

Rest in Peace Nick Ashford

Martin Luther King Memorial Opens To The Public : The Two-Way : NPR

Martin Luther King Memorial Opens To The Public : The Two-Way : NPR

It's your Time.........

There is a heritage of brilliance that resides inside of you.  Your work of art is a work of your heart. What's burning inside of you? It doesn't have to be one thing.....there can be several embers stirring, waiting for you to put more wood (effort) on the potential.  Get beyond your fears, doubt and worry and start to walk in the gifts that are waiting for you to share. There's someone who will be healed and directed by a poem, a song, a painting, a photo,  a speech, a hug or a smile from YOU.

Know Beauty and creativity that I'm sure, you no doubt can feel in your bones. Step out and be a trusted servant of what you've been entrusted with.......Give, Share and Love through what's been planted inside of You.  Live, Love and Laugh.........Become all that you are.....Be the excellence that you were born to be! No fear.....All that you need resides inside of You.  It's Your Time.....Go where Spirit is calling you......into the Divine!

Here's a Thought:

In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing. - Theodore Roosevelt

When you become aware that the power that is Life is inside of you...you accept your own Divinity. At the same time, you are humble, because you now recognize Divinity in everyone else. You now see how easy it is to understand God, because everything is a manifestation of God! 

Today's message in word and song..............

Stop Coddling the Super-Rich - NYTimes.com (Warren Buffett, op-ed contributor)

Stop Coddling the Super-Rich - NYTimes.com

Step Out of the Box!

Quit trying to follow the crowd and maintain the status quo. That attitude keeps you jailed and it limits your creative flow.  If you continue to think that the crowd has the answer or the status quo is success because of imagined stability,  then you've settled for less than your best. Yes, there is a different route for the same answer and possibly a better answer. Why don't you follow that vision. There's a wealth of dreams and ideas waiting to blossom inside of you and you're deciding that a risk is not the appropriate action. Risk is always the appropriate action....the cost becomes the reward! Step Out of the Box and forget about conforming to the way it's always been done. Examine a new way, your way!

Clip of Madison Scouts during DCI Southeastern Championship performance @Georgia Dome, 7/30/11(no, I'm  not a professional videographer)

The Biggest R&B Old School concert......Flashback Atlanta 2011

KISS 104.1 Flashback Festival

August 13, 2011

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Presented By:

Flashback Festival 2011 is Atlanta's biggest Old School R&B Concert starring legendary artists from back in the day. It's not just a concert; it's a concert experience unlike any other.   Don't miss the 16th Annual Flashback Festival August 13, 2011.   

Quick Read:

What:  Flashback Festival 2011

When:  Saturday August 13, 2011 -   Doors open at 5pm [Tailgate 10am - 4pm]

Where:  Aarons Rents Ampitheatre at Lakewood;  2002 Lakewood Way, Atlanta, GA 30315  ts/kiss-1041-flashback-festival/nCJ6z/

The strongest oak of the forest is not the one that is protected from the storm and hidden from the sun. It's the one that stands in the open where it is compelled to struggle for its existence against the winds and rains and the scorching sun.
Napoleon Hill

I've heard Sassy Sarah Vaughn's recording of this great tune, as well as many others, but this interpretation by Dianne Reeves........beautifully rendered. Enjoy!

Is this foolishness making any sense....(you ask yourself)

Be careful of following the crowd and believing everything you hear.  Just because a person has been given a platform to deliver a message, thought or idea, doesn't warrant any credible evidence that what is being said can be rubber-stamped.  How often has the media allowed 'nut-cases' a platform, trying to adhere to a person's 'freedom of speech', to find out later that this person was ranting, racist, hateful or otherwise.
  There are those who have agendas for spewing and trying to gather a flock who will endorse their nonesense. Be careful of being a part of a 'senseless' crowd of believers, because, more times than not, we've discovered that, in the end, the damage that was caused by endorsing a foolish agenda, does more harm than good.  Learn to think and form your own opinions based on your values and how you would wish to be treated if the shoe were on the other foot of what you might be protesting or endorsing.  You do have a brain, whether you're using it for good or not.

[The right to be heard does not automatically include the right to be taken seriously. - Hubert H. Humphrey]

Feelin' like some Sarah Vaughn right now......

Truth wins!

And so, the thought emerges once again....questioning the why of evasion, the why of omission.  Oftentimes, people will fear being forthright and honest, because the payoff to them is some form of win because they recognize that the truth may warrant a loss to them. Is this because they aren't deserving of what their object of desire is? Perhaps they aren't equipped to handle the response of another's choice, once truth is given. Truth always wins, because whether it shows up sooner or later, truth never changes......facts are often tweeked, researched and changed, but truth is what it is......Be honest in your dealings......always! Love is about Truth, Fear is about lying!

This one has me still laughing......My favorite tweet ever, referencing the debt-ceiling deal: "This deal is a sugar-coated satan sandwich," Democratic congressman Rep. Emanuel Cleaver tweeted this morning. "If you lift the bun, you will not like what you see."