My City...Heartbreak

On the last Monday of last month (April 2015), I watched a part of my city burn. It seemed really surreal. Especially since most of the places that were front and center was in places that I frequently passed through in my youth, early adulthood and before I left Baltimore; most of the time for work.

As I watched coverage on a national media conglomerate, I couldn’t quite place the feeling I was feeling. Didn’t know if it was empathy, fear, shock or sadness…It wasn’t until the next day when I read a quote from a young lady who lived in one of the neighborhoods that I figured out what it was…Heartbreak.

I’ve always said over the last few years living in Baltimore, that the youth of today have become reckless.  Most of them are coming from broken homes and also are subjected to a school system that is really bad when it comes to education. Some of them were raised by children themselves so they have no sense of respect for themselves or others. No sense of right or wrong…no moral compass…no moral ambiguity if you will.

Whenever I travel anywhere and strike up a convo with anyone and I tell them I’m from Baltimore, those familiar with Baltimore go, “The Wire made the city look like its bad and dangerous…” My response has always been Baltimore is way worse than what you see on The Wire. Now the world as a whole knows it too.

Baltimore is one of the many cities in America that we need to fix at the grassroots level. We can’t wait until we send them to our poor school systems to try and nurture them…we need to get to them before they leave the home. Show them that with hard work and motivation things can be better. We need to show them that there is more to life and this world other than what you see outside of your window. We need to show them how to dream again…

-Namaste
 

One Year Ago on this Date...

One year ago on this very date (Sep 26), I took a giant leap of faith. I packed up and in the early morning of this date one year ago, I left Baltimore for Charlotte. It has been a very trying year for me...especially the last few months. In some ways I feel as though that's OK. I didn't quite know what to expect when I embarked on this undertaking. This was new territory to me. I left my comfort zone and started anew.

In a way, I usually feel like I'm still just visiting but every time I get paid I brought back to the reality that I'm not still a visitor. (I'm paying NC taxes, lol) I am finding being from somewhere else is also a good conversation starter as well. I've had small talk(which is weird because I hate small talk) with people who almost always immediately pick up on my accent. I proudly say I am from Baltimore.

I miss Baltimore...I'm not going to lie. I miss my family, I miss my friends...I miss that energy Baltimore has and one about my O's...Eutaw Street is going to be rocking next month. I think once I get back on track, I'll go back to visit for a few days. Or I will make it my mission to get back at least twice a year.

Well as I begin year 2 of my transition, I hope things look much brighter on the other side of the trees. That's all I have for you guys this week.

Until next week...



-Namaste

The Dharma and the Sea or The Old Man and Bums...

Hey faithful few, I know I said that I would post images for you guys this week and I have started working on them but I want to expand upon my post from last week.  

The other day I was thinking about letting go and taking leaps of faith and how for the most part of my life how I've played it safe...and then I thought how I decided a few weeks ago to take a giant leap and break that habit of playing it safe. I then realized that I was finally feeling the wind beneath my feet. 

Today its been 1 month to the date that I moved Baltimore to Charlotte.

I feel like such a free spirit right now....like Hemingway or Kerouac...a lot of times the feeling is euphoric but also in a catch-22-kind of way its harrowing. I say harrowing because for someone who has almost always played it safe, this sort of feeling seems like it can lead to "slackitude-ness" or carelessness. Even though I have mixed thoughts on this feeling, I am enjoying it. I'm enjoying it because its a new feeling for me. It's fun. My mind right now feels so clear right now. I gotta say that right now I am in a very good place. I wish I would have done this years ago.

The image below is one of the pics I took a couple of weeks ago. I figured I'd post at least one image for you guys this week...again I am going to try and get some more for you guys next week.

Until then...

-Namaste