The expression 'amalgamation of identities...'

has gone deep...

What courage Asra Q. Nomani must have to write a book like 'Standing Alone in Mecca'. And it is a courage that we can all borrow from. She says, 'I spent my young adulthood trying to understand the amalgamation of identities within me.'

While some people can synthesize their various identities, some of us struggle with them because, often, we do not know what we are battling. Our various identities keep wrestling with each other, and often we do not know how to manage them, let alone make them cohesive, causing us to live fractured lives.

I found that writing down my various identities - those that describe me at birth, those that define me from the place that I was brought up in, and those that I acquired along the way due to my experiences - helped me a great deal towards sync-ing them. I realize I need to - have to - must - make them harmonize with each other to create the melody that would define me.

Awww......very difficult to say goodbye...

to the adorable Archie and his friends Reggie and Jughead. Later, Betty and Veronica also joined the gang.

And how can we leave out Hot Dog??!!!!!

This genre of Bubblegum, Rock and roll is never going to go out of fashion, especially for those of us who belong to that 'age' of Sugar, Sugar by The Archies. Writing the words for those of us for whom this song still spins its magic, and puts stardust in our eyes....

Sugar, ah, honey, honey
You are my candy girl
And you got me wanting you
Honey, ah, sugar, sugar
You are my candy girl
And you got me wanting you

I just can't believe the loveliness of loving you
(I just can't believe it's true)
I just can't believe the wonder of this feeling, too
(I just can't believe it's true)

Ah, sugar, ah, honey, honey
You are my candy girl
And you got me wanting you
Oh, honey, ah, sugar, sugar
You are my candy girl
And you got me wanting you

When I kissed you girl I knew how sweet a kiss could be
(I know how sweet a kiss can be)
Like the summer sunshine pour you sweetness over me
(Pour your sweetness over me)

(Oh, sugar)
Pour your sugar on me, honey
Pour your sugar on me, baby
I'm gonna make your life so sweet, yeah, yeah, yeah

Pour your sugar on me, oh, yeah
Pour your sugar on me, honey
Pour your sugar on me, baby
I'm gonna make your life so sweet, yeah, yeah, yeah
Pour your sugar on me, honey

Ah sugar, ah, honey, honey
You are my candy girl
And you got me wanting you
Oh, honey, honey, sugar, sugar
Honey, honey, sugar, sugar
You are my candy girl

Maya Angelou speaks to all of us women...

Phenomenal Woman

    Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
    I’m not cute or built to suit a fashion model’s size
    But when I start to tell them,
    They think I’m telling lies.
    I say,
    It’s in the reach of my arms,
    The span of my hips,
    The stride of my step,
    The curl of my lips.
    I’m a woman
    Phenomenally.

    I walk into a room
    Just as cool as you please,
    And to a man,
    The fellows stand or
    Fall down on their knees.
    Then they swarm around me,
    A hive of honey bees.
    I say,
    It’s the fire in my eyes,
    And the flash of my teeth,
    The swing in my waist,
    And the joy in my feet.
    I’m a woman
    Phenomenally.

    Men themselves have wondered
    What they see in me.
    They try so much
    But they can’t touch
    My inner mystery.
    When I try to show them,
    They say they still can’t see.
    I say,
    It’s in the arch of my back,
    The sun of my smile,
    The ride of my breasts,
    The grace of my style.
    I’m a woman
    Phenomenally.

    Now you understand
    Just why my head’s not bowed.
    I don’t shout or jump about
    Or have to talk real loud.
    When you see me passing,
    It ought to make you proud.
    I say,
    It’s in the click of my heels,
    The bend of my hair,
    the palms of my hands,
    The need for my care.
    ’Cause I’m a woman
    Phenomenally.
    Phenomenal woman,
    That’s me.

All you women....and me

It is critical...

exceedingly so, in fact, that we come to terms with our situation, no matter how bad/sad/unfortunate it is. Wishing it away is not going to happen, trying to replace it is a risk (take it if you feel strong enough), finding ways and means of countering it or changing it - there's no surety, maybe no possibility either, that it can or will happen. Nor is it helpful to you if you get onto the 'why is this happening to me' track. The I-haven't-harmed-anyone-why-is-this-happening-to-me, doesn't work - it won't give you either the peace you need in your heart, nor does it give you any answers, simply because there are no answers for some things. The I-deserve-something-better, or this-can't-be-happening-to-me, or I-too-am-entitled-to-happiness thoughts only become more and more stressful and stress-producing as they go round and round in your mind and heart.

Difficult as it is - terribly, terribly so, sometimes - it is best to force yourself to come to terms with the bad/sad/unfortunate things in your life. And since Life moves in paradoxes, often, this is the only way your heart and mind will be free to make the best of your own life. At the end, you have to account for your own life, not for the actions of someone or for circumstances who/which made your life unbearable.

We are on this earth:
To BE HAPPY
To MAKE OURSELVES COUNT
To GIVE BACK TO LIFE THE LOVE IT GIVES US
To BE WHOLE

Wonderful words to spur all of us on:

You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.
~ Maya Angelou

I remember being told that...

friendships break, or develop deep seemingly unrepairable cracks, though it can be patched up, the crack is always there...as in, the mark where it has been patched up always shows. Not a happy or uplifting thought, for all relationships go through cracks, breaks, and patch-ups. Some have many cracks and breaks that are patched up.

So, imagine my happiness and relief when I came across this:

“When the Japanese mend broken objects, they aggrandize the damage by filling the cracks with gold.  They believe that when something’s suffered damage and has a history it becomes more beautiful.”
~Barbara Bloom

Breaks, deep cracks can be repaired.................. and plugged with gold!!!! Gold-filled patchwork!!!

A must-see, must-hear, must-experience...

The evolution of Bollywood music from Rafi to 'Badtameeze Dil' in five minutes, four seconds, at:

http://scroll.in/article/listen-to-the-flowering-of-bollywood-music-from-rafi-to-badtameez-dil-in-five-minutes-four-seconds?id=660093

and on to the Penn Masala website at:

http://www.pennmasala.com/index.html

Sheer uplifting joy of life and living...

Sharing words that...

at one point or another we all need to hear and repeat:

“Laugh, even when you feel too sick or too worn out or tired.
Smile, even when you're trying not to cry and the tears are blurring your vision.
Sing, even when people stare at you and tell you your voice is crappy.
Trust, even when your heart begs you not to.
Twirl, even when your mind makes no sense of what you see.
Frolick, even when you are made fun of. Kiss, even when others are watching. Sleep, even when you're afraid of what the dreams might bring.
Run, even when it feels like you can't run any more.
And, always, remember, even when the memories pinch your heart. Because the pain of all your experience is what makes you the person you are now. And without your experience---you are an empty page, a blank notebook, a missing lyric. What makes you brave is your willingness to live through your terrible life and hold your head up high the next day. So don't live life in fear. Because you are stronger now, after all the crap has happened, than you ever were back before it started.”

~Alysha Speer