Empowering Women of Color

     I fell upon this tiny gem of a book unexpectedly as I visited the public library today.  Just this week the Women of Color Collective at my school gathered to have a discussion on what it means to be a woman of color.  We began with a short exercise on what we think it means to be a woman of color in the U.S.  Here are a few responses:

-to be silenced 

-to be resistant

-passing down the heritage

-oppressed

-being a fighter

-beautiful and unique

-complex situation

-blessed curse

-being strong when you don't feel like it

-being an educator when you want to be learning

-defined by her experience

-skin color/last name/physical features

-assertive, voice of presence

-sense of presence

-nurturer

-cannot pick and choose

-countertransference 

-protector of men of color

     A long awaited and much needed discussion took place from the above responses.  It will, however, be an ongoing dialogue regarding issues of race and self-identification.  I hope we can continue to provide a safe space for women of color to come together and share the truth about our life experiences, thoughts, and frustrations.

Also some inspiring quotes that were shared by one of the members:

"Walls turned sideways are bridges"  by Angela Davis

"My silences had not protected me. Your silence will not protect you. But for every real word spoken, for every attempt I had ever made to speak those truths for which I am still seeking, I had made contact with other women while we examined the words to fit a world in which we all believed, bridging our differences" by Audre Lorde

    Now, back to the little gem of a book I mentioned above.  I wanted to share one of the entries in the book that spoke to me.  I am grateful to God that in my life experiences He has blessed me with the gift to be able to empower other women through my life's work.  I know there is so much to be done out there and still so much to learn on how to encourage and build one another up, especially when we ourselves are falling apart.  I share this bit of wisdom with anyone in hopes that it can speak truth in your life.

ABOUT DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Lord, many are in destructive marriages, yet wish to state, as Your Word suggests: "Til death do us apart."

Thank you Lord, for granting us the spiritual discernment to know that You did not mean only the death of one's body, but also the death of one's spirit, and even the death of the contract.  As Nicodemus came to know, one does not have to re-enter his mother's womb to be born again, and neither does one have to die a physical death to be dead.

Give those who are being abused the strength needed to stand up to the abuse or give them the courage to leave.  Grant the abusers Your grace and mercy. Draw them closer to You, that persons may find spiritual nourishment for empty souls. In Christ's name we pray, Amen

by: Rev. Chestina Mitchell Archibald 

taken from: Women of Color Pray: Voices of Strength, Faith,

Healing, Hope and Courage

Prayer is Powerful..

     I can't help but think about the damage that Hurricane Sandy has done to the lives of many people.  Here I am grateful to God that I did not experience damage from the storm, yet I can't seem to disconnect myself from others who have experienced major destruction.  We don't know the importance of something until we lose it.  

   Sometimes during these difficult times it is hard to find the words for prayer.  There is so much we want to ask for.  I found the following prayers and thought I would share them here.

     For those whose lives have been majorly altered, I offer the following prayer:

Prayer for Overcoming Life's Hardships

O Lord, we call upon You in our time of sorrow,

That You give us the strength and will to bear our heavy

burdens, until we can again feel the warmth and love of

Your divine compassion. Be mindful of us and have mercy

on us while we struggle to comprehend life's hardships.

Keep us ever in Your watch, til we can walk again with

light hearts and renewed spirits.

Amen

     For those who were not majorly affected, I offer the following prayer:

To be Grateful

Lord God, may we be grateful for our lot,

and compassionate toward all those who are

suffering every kind of distress at this

difficult time.

May we hold back nothing, and 
hasten to be 

the ministers of prayer and mercy,
 

like the disciples of Him who went about 

doing 
good in times of need.

Amen

     The power of prayer is very powerful.  I thank my family and friends for all their prayers and concerns in anticipation of the storm, during the storm, and after the storm.  They truly served as a blanket of protection for me.  Now we must continue praying for others! 

An open heart.

     This morning I awake in gratitude.  It has been a difficult road, trekking the edge of the path, hitting the rocky ground, and finding my way among the thorns.  This life full of distractions, full of rocks and boulders in the form of fear, shame, guilt, bitterness, selfishness, jealousy, and a shallow and passionless attitude about growth.  This life smothered by the countless worries and concerns of my life. Yet, there is something in me that is not content to hang about directionless on the edge of the path.  There is a thirst within me so strong that it will move aside the rocks and boulders to seek moisture.  There is a yearning so intense in the desire to put God first.

     Today I will contemplate on this scripture:

The farmer waits 

for the precious crop

from the earth,

being patient with it

until it receives

the early and the late rains.

You also must be patient.

Strengthen your hearts, 

for the coming of the Lord is near.

            James 5:7-8

Art Journaling Course in Spanish Harlem

     Today I went to the first session of an art journaling course taking place at La Casa Azul Bookstore in Spanish Harlem.  The bookstore recently opened this year and is a very cultural, colorful and friendly space.  They have been hosting many cultural events this summer and one of them is the six week art journaling course given by fellow blogger and artist Diana Gonzalez.  Diana is a very talented mixed media artist who has given many art workshops in the past.  It was a lot of fun to sit and do art with a group of creative souls.  We did up to six journal pages and each of them using different mediums such as stamping, collaging, and water color painting.  Diana shared all of her amazing art tools with us and even gifted us some colorful fabric tape.  I took some photos of her class so she can share them on her blog and here are some more shots I took that day:

 Colorful Mural at the bookstore (not sure who the artist is but I will find out!)

 Beautiful vintage dolls

Paper, Paper, and more paper!

Diana, our art instructor, who guided us every step of the way.

Loved using the stamps!

This was one of the art journal pages I created using stamps, fabric tape and a vintage doll. 

This was the group in action.  

Colorful inkpads! 

This was another one of my journal pages using stamp and water color paints.

     I was really glad I came out to this class and it was great to meet and connect with Diana.  It was also great to meet Aurora Anaya-Cerda, who is the owner of La Casa Azul Bookstore.  Lately I have been connecting with many Latina women artists in the city of New York.  I am grateful to get to know them and their work, they are true inspirations for me and other Latinas who are starting to recognize their own work as an artist and sharing it with the world.  Below are some links to the AMAZING work of some of the Latina artists I have been connecting with that I truly admire.

Olga Huraira Ayala

Elizabeth Rossi

Marthalicia Matarria

Diana Gonzalez

Hope you support and enjoy their work as much as I do! 

Random Acts of Kindness...

   I am in complete awe at the way life rewards us and how interconnected we are.  Yesterday I went to the post office to send out some mail.  There was something powerful and deep about sending off that piece of mail that I felt was going to be helpful to the person who would receive it on the other end.  Little did I know that I had an unexpected piece of mail waiting for me when I got home.  I received a beautiful card about friendship from a special friend.  It was completely random and unexpected and it brought a huge smile to my heart.  I know that the scriptures say "Give and it will be given to you" but I didn't expect it to be so soon! Thank you to my special friend..YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE! 

True Catharsis

     Lately I've been going through a true catharsis in body, mind, soul, and spirit.  For my body I've been eating healthier, playing tennis, and taking long walks.  For my mind I've been doing some meditating in the mornings and some self-reflection in the evenings.  I've been using the book mentioned in this previous post to guide me in my meditation which includes bible scriptures.  For my soul I've been listening to music by artists from the neo-soul movement and those who influenced the movement.  Growing up I was heavily drawn and influenced by this sub-genre of music and it still manages to stir up my soul.  This is one of my faves, makes me get up and dance each time and this one..and this one...

     Spiritually, I have also been praying more and asking for what I need and interesting things happen when one does that.  The other day I was looking at the cork board I have over my desk which has a bunch of creative knick knacks, messages, pictures, etc.  It was a bit cluttered.  I have the words FAITH in the middle of the board which is part of a beautiful collage that someone special gifted to me years ago.  It has been with me through lots of changes.  Its a beautiful collage that I have added to over the years and I realized that it was so full of stuff I could barely see the words FAITH anymore.  So I decided to give it a little makeover.  Its been sitting on top of my desk for days but today I decided to work on it.  I didn't want to stay indoors so I decided to pack my things and go down the block from my house.  This is a block which the city closes up to traffic all summer so the kids in the community can have a place to come together, play and do activities.  The block is right next to a playground and its always full of parents with their kids, teenagers playing basketball, and even older folks doing yoga or jogging.  I decided it was a good place to get creative so I went.  As I sat there painting, two little girls and their moms from the neighborhood came over and kept me company.  I spoke to the moms and gave the girls some paper and paint and they were painting away! They all thought I was an art teacher even though I told them I was not.  They kept saying teacher....lol.  Now I'm in trouble though because they expect me to go back tomorrow! 

     I am blessed.

     Below are the before and after photos of the collage center piece I painted.  I will be using these words as a centerpiece to a bigger collage which I am looking forward to completing this summer. 

This is the way it originally looked for a long time..really beautiful! 

but its time for a little makeover to focus on the word FAITH.

I stripped it of all the images and here is how it looked..Now you can read the words! 

 My next step was to paint the whole thing white and hide the residue of the images.

  and WALLAH!  Now FAITH is clear.  My centerpiece is ready for the next project. 

(to be continued) 

This was one of the images one of the little girls made...She calls it the sea monster..she did a good job!

Spiritual Sunday

     I went to mass today and it was very refreshing.  I had not been to church in a while and was craving to be in the Lord's house surrounded by the hyms, scriptures, and traditions.  It's like going back home to listen to old songs, hear all the old sayings, and participate in family traditions.  Going to church makes me feel like I am visiting God in His house.  One of my favorite parts of the mass is when we recite "Lord I am not worthy of you but only say the word and I shall be healed" which in Spanish is "Señor no soy digno de que entres en mi casa pero una palabra tuya bastara para sanarme" Its a little different in Spanish but it basically means the same thing.  That part is very meaningful to me because I feel that I am humbling myself in the presence of the Lord. Today's message included these scriptures: 


"A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and among his own kin and in his own house"

Mark 6:4

"...my grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.  I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses, in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me."

2 Corinthians 12

   I also fell upon the quotes below which speak volumes of wisdom.  I will contemplate on both the scriptures above and the quotes that I stumbled upon this spiritual sunday.  


"Hospitality opens the doors of our hearts and minds to the stranger among us, no matter how familiar he or she may seem to be.  Faith enables us to accept the gifts of others, no matter how alarming or strange they may seem to be.  Discernment helps us to discovery the prophets in our midst, no matter how amazing they may seem to be.  Hospitality, faith, and discernment-cultivate these."


"Look to Jesus and realize that regardless of your earthly status, you are called to make a difference by the witness of your life."

Here are also some images of the day:

Read about this in the tablet today, didn't realize this upcoming liturgical year will be the Year of Faith, its so meaningful to me.  

Found this pic online and know I have to totally remind myself of this always especially when I am stressed with schoolwork!