Why I am detail oriented

Celebrating my blackness has never been confined to black history month. Naturally, I am who I am wherever I go and every minute of every day. The other great thing is that my blackness is NOT the only thing to celebrate. My ethnicity and gender are strong and loving parts of me despite the unnoticed attention from the larger society. This does not stop me from celebrating myself and the different parts of me.

This is a huge reason why respected colleagues and friends see me as detail oriented. I never really saw myself in this way. After a number of years of hearing this word from colleagues and friends, I asked myself why am I detail oriented. I did not fully embrace nor understand why until recently.

My lenses, these perspectives you are rooted in; I have learned how to call upon them intentionally. Like everyone else, I have so many lenses. There is the gender lens, my experience of identifying as a woman, the dismantling racism view, the Afro Latina view, the Latina view, the writer view, the poet view, the blogger view, the hip hop view, the New Yorker view, the community view, the wellness view, the introvert view, are you seeing the layers?

Pulling in my different lenses when I need to, enables me to ask questions others may not. It invites me to take a larger, inclusive view. This is why having a diverse team is so profitable, effective and relevant. Diverse teams on all levels, gender, race, region, religion, etc... Are cutting edge, unique, forward thinking and realistic problem solvers. You have to practice what you preach, right? Unfortunately, I have been excluded from decisions, invitations, and so on because of some of the lenses I possess, therefore, I make sure to practice diversity and inclusion where and when I am able.

Let me take this moment to thank all of my colleagues and friends for sharing this and other feedback with me. Everyone has views of themselves and it is great to get to know the view from a different vantage point. I now move proudly between the big-picture visionary that I know myself to be and the detailed oriented person driven by curiosity and small acts of kindness that brings groups all together. I have an even deeper appreciation for the smaller things in life. I have embraced the detail oriented side of me.

What lenses do you mostly view from? What lenses do you need to explore more? I learn new things about myself when I ask for feedback from others. Having embedded the Four Agreements (book by Don Miguel Ruiz) into my life, I know NOT to take things personally, and NOT to make assumptions, I have learned to do my best to listen whole-heartedly and to keep my word. My hip hop view allows me to create, be inventive and use all available resources. I think some of you know this about me already. This is why I can say I am detail oriented.

Top Five

Since it is Black History Month, I have to pay tribute to my beloved hip hop. Hip hop has done so much for black people, and now it moves people all over the world. Hip hop was the music of the people and now it is the music of all people. You see, feel, hear and touch hip hop everywhere now. My favorite example of this is the newly premiered ABC show, fresh off the boat. The oldest son in an Asian family that has spent most of their time in the United States in Washington DC moves to Orlando, FL and he uses hip hop to guide him through this transition among other things.

The elements of hip hop have evolved along with the culture. Most would say the foundation is laid on top of emceeing/MC’ing, breaking/freestyling, DJ’ing and graffiti art. Others would add knowledge/knowledge of self to the mix. KRS one in his song, “9 Elements” (2003) adds some more, like beatboxing, street fashion/looking fly, street language, and street entrepreneur realism.

Who knew that the quiet love affair that began when I was a child over restless nights where I tuned into the Stretch & Bobbito show on the radio would blow up like it has? I was raised by and alongside hip hop so it will always be a part of who I am. The knowledge element has expanded to the point where there are hip hop based education curriculums, hip hop centers within and out of major educational institutions across the country, and a hip hop archive based out of Harvard University. I could go on and on about the books written, the movies made, and all the other ways the culture has fully infiltrated this country and the world. If you don’t know, now you know!

I am proud to say I am Hip Hop and in celebration, just like Chris Rock’s movie Top Five, I will share mine. Well to be totally honest, I will share my Top 3; I must admit that positions four and five change for me all the time. These positions are usually filled with the likes of Kid Cudi, Kanye West, MC Lyte, Ice Cube, The Game, Biggie, Heavy D, Big Daddy Kane, Wiz Khalifa and J. Cole. Although my list only has solo MCs, I have lists for duos, and groups and could easily make them for graffiti artists, breakin crews, DJs, books and curriculum... The businesses and opportunities available now that have grown upon the foundation of hip hop are endless.

Are you ready for the Top 3?:
1. Nas
2. KRS one
3. Rakim

My favorite thing about hip hop is that the debate about the hottest MC, the hottest album, the hottest group never ends and now there are more debates, who the hottest entrepreneur who ever came out of hip hop? The hottest actor? The hottest mixtape? And so on and so on.

Find your strength in love

As Valentine’s Day approaches, I recall the 1985 classic from Whitney Houston, the greatest love of all. I love the way Whitney would belt out the last line, the last love of the song, “Find your strength in love.” She would pause and get ready to make that last love go on and on.

Naturally, as we are in the middle of Black History Month, we know that Martin Luther King Jr. demonstrated how to find strength in love. He died showing the world that it can be done. Like many, it is believed that the message from the song, the greatest love of all is self-love. This is the foundation upon which love is built. You must love yourself enough to love the partner you have chosen. You must love yourself enough to grow and learn. You must love yourself enough to be open and continue to evolve.

It is also lovely to see how others are maintaining this message. At the recent Grammys, I heard the words love, and heart over and over again. Madonna sang, “Living for love.” She just oozes strength with a strong statue and dominant presence. Beyoncé won for being “Drunk in love.” I heard the words heart and love a lot in Ed Sheeran's song, "Thinking out loud" and Ariana Grande sang, “Just a little bit of your heart.”

I see a heart and know it to be the symbol of love. How do you find your strength in love? I call upon love every day to help me make better choices instead of reacting, love helps me respond. Instead of being afraid, I call upon love to assist me with taking good risks. Martha Beck, talks about this in her book, the Joy Diet: 10 Daily Practices for a Happier Life. One of the elements to the joy diet is to take risks for your heart’s desire. I believe in the other nine elements as well, do nothing for fifteen minutes daily, tell yourself at least one truth a day, allow yourself to desire, create, take good risks by doing one thing that frightens you daily, treat yourself by giving yourself treats, play, laugh, connect and feast.

So for this Valentine’s Day, I ask you to look for the strength in love. Just singing and/or listening to that great 1985 classic song, the greatest love of all reminds me of my own strength and the strength of love. As I have said before when you look for something, you will find it. I will continue to seek the strength in love, it has only brought more love and goodness into my life.

Commit to your value

I want to thank Adrivo: The Travel Session and the DC Full Wellness Spectrum community for a great, recent weekend retreat. I am proud to be apart of such a community. Adrivo is designed to make weekend retreats available to DC area residents who need to get away for the hustle and bustle of hectic lives and take a moment to regroup.

During the weekend, we uncovered the storyteller in us and how to move beyond stress by connecting body, mind and emotions. There were collective definitions of spirit connection and commitments by everyone attending on how that would look like for them moving forward. We got reminded of the importance of play and the artists in all of us. We danced zumba and net walked; yes, net walk, networking while walking. There was yoga and stretching too.

Discussions of mindfulness occurred as well as a cooking demo. We crumpled up different dollar bills and recognized how their value will not change. A brief getaway within community demonstrates commitment to our value. I value myself enough to believe in and practice wellness. I value myself enough to value community especially one that is made up of like minded knowledgeable folks. I value myself enough to take a moment for myself.

The community builder in me collected and encouraged everyone to share their bearthday. I still remember everyone’s bearthday. It was great to have start up enthusiasts present too. The fact that entrepreneurs were present encouraging our community of wellness shows how they value themselves and us as a community.

Commit to your value and what you bring to the table. As Deborah reminded us, “No one can take that away from you.” Everyone has a contribution to make. You show you commitment to your value by joining our community. You can also demonstrate it by joining us at the next Adrivo: the travel session retreat. Maybe I will see you there!

For more information on the DC Full Wellness spectrum community, join our google + community, cut and paste this link https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/111633755737344743269