When the Spirit of Detroit Warriors become Weary

by Chellyz View

It was Saturday, April 28, 2018, and as usual I sat on the edge of the bed.  Another typical morning where I would procrastinate and do meaningful and unmeaningful tasks which causes me to run late every day.  Sitting in one spot for thirty minutes is a daily ritual while thinking about the scheduled events that would be attended or the activities that should be completed during the day.  As time passes I decided to scroll through my phone. I found an article that stuck to my eyes like that unwanted piece of tape that continues to linger on your hand or clothes that you just can’t remove.   I was compelled to read the Detroit News article written by Robert Snell entitled, A deadly rivalry / Chapter 2:  The Seven Mile Bloods Hunt for Rivals After a Chance Meeting on Detroit’s West Side.  My heart, mind, and body couldn’t mobilize itself to function after reading the article.  I thought about a generation of young people who needed guidance.  They had the traits of being Warriors, Game Changers, World Shakers, and Productive Leaders to uplift Detroit in a positive manner.  However, the skills they possessed weren’t used to add comfort to the community.  They used their skills to survive in their neighborhoods and to fit in where they felt they had a sense of family.

Comeback, Comeback, everybody talks about the Comeback of Detroit.  However, who cares about a comeback if they ain’t experiencing the fragrance of roses and the warmth from the rays of the sun.  The brutal scent of inequality is unpleasant.  Blocks with abandoned houses, water shutoff notices, and a failing school system, but hey who really cares?  Not the people who are basking in the comeback.  Again, I just sat there asking myself, Where are the Warriors?  We need you!  Let’s come together and save our village.  Then my mind drifted to a flashback of last week.

After visiting someone who lived in a nice secluded suburban subdivision, I thought this is an oasis.  What if I packed my bags and  pushed the family outta the “D” and we disappear into the Oasis.  I shook my head to the left then to right as my internal response said, “NO.”  I realized My neighborhood in Detroit is My oasis.  Everyone can’t run.  Everyone can’t turn their backs and ignore the discomforts and disparities of the village.  Everyone can’t lose sight that, we are the change.  We ain’t Saviors but the Almighty from above did equip us with tools to save ourselves.  Most importantly, He gave us Warriors, but their spirits have become weary.  In the dictionary the synonym for Warriors are soldiers or fighters.  The Warriors are the ones who put on their armor of discipline and self-sacrifice to ensure not only their children are taken care of, but everybody’s children on the block.  The Warriors are the diligent and dedicated individuals who develop non-profits, have become vigilantes on street corners, plan community events, volunteer at recreation centers and after school programs, donate to charitable causes, and strategize protests and marches to rally against crime, violence and find missing children.  However, these Warriors are too weary.  The Warriors are the grandmammas, granddaddies, and elders on the block, but they are fading away like the illusion of an oasis.

The young people in Detroit need to know they deserve peace, love, comfort, a real sense of family that cares about their well-being.  Three months ago, I remember meeting a man who seemed to be a Mighty Warrior at a local recreation center.  I briefly told him of an event I wanted to plan for the community at the center.  He studied my intentions with a distraught look on his face.  The Warrior politely told me, “Ma’am good luck with that.”  He expressed he had been apart of community events for over 30 plus years and at times parents won’t bring their children to different programs.  However, if there’s a basketball game, the place is packed.  I felt his frustration.  I have experienced the disappointment first hand.  I also remember planning an event and trying to do almost everything with limited help and it was a partial disaster.  A fun-filled event became a chaotic moment that was showcased on the news.  I am not a Warrior, but I am an Advocate for my Motor City and felt defeated.

Small setbacks could discourage anyone ranging from a Lifelong or a Future Warrior.  What I learned is if we are serious about changing our surroundings we can’t worry about the past or setbacks.  We must learn to plan for the good, bad, and indifferent.  Be prepared that there will be the benefits of rewarding results, and the heaviness of sadness on any given day.  However, we can’t allow the deterrents of doubt, and the lash from naysayers stop our desire for progression, or we would have all given up hope for better days many years ago.  I know there are some Seasoned Warriors out there, but it is time for New Warriors to step up.  These Warriors will not come from the fictitious land of Wak…….well, I’m not going to say it.  Those individuals who choose to ignore the problems about our lost children, loss of self-worth, loss of financial stability, and loss of value don’t have meaning in the village.  Many children and adults have wandered to unforbidden territory.  They have become addicted to the rise of adrenaline caused by unwarranted actions and often criminal activity.  They need guidance from the Warriors to help them find their direction that will lead them to new beginnings.  They need to connect to the Warriors, but we must help the Warriors because they are weary and need encouragement and assistance.

The Tried and True Warriors have paid their dues and must pass the torch of saving our city to the Pristine and Eager Warriors before it entirely loses its flame.  The New Warriors must add some fuel to the flame to rekindle the momentum and keep the commitment of saving the lost souls of the village.  Who will accept the call?  Who will be willing to show compassion to those who want the help to accept change?  You may get weary, but who doesn’t?   Find your calling.  Find something you are passionate about.  These babies, our people, and Detroit needs you.  The community longs to be pampered when it feels neglected.  I don’t want to just have conversations, but I want to find solutions.  If you have any suggestions, please leave them in the comment section.  My heart would love to hear from you!  Will you step up and be the next Warrior?

-Let your heart be full of new ventures that will lead you to the possibilities of limitless conversations!

 

 

 

 

 

It’s a Wrap!  So what’s next?

By Klassy K’s Sports Korner

Hey, hey, hey, it’s your girl Klassy K, the one and only! I hope that you guys are well, healthy, and still somewhat disappointed. Not at me of course, but at some of your Michigan teams. I mean what-the-what is going on around here, except that maybe Mother Nature is punishing us for not correcting the water conditions in Flint?  If someone has a close relationship with Mother Nature, you can remain anonymous, but can you please let her know that it’s the state government and not the Michiganders, shoot we pay our taxes! The calendar states the first day of spring was March 21, well some Michiganders had snow on their tulips, cars and other stuff that we are so sick of seeing it on top of, that white slushy stuff… go to hiatus! I am so tired of it, so that’s why I went to Florida for spring break and while on break I got a chance to see what the sun actually looked like again in 80 degree weather.

Well, my vacation could not have been completed without watching my home team, the boys in blue, University of Michigan playing the Villanova Wildcats. I was watching the game sitting in a heated whirlpool and sipping on two margarita’s while watching it on an 85 inch T.V only to lose my buzz when they lost, 62-79. I just knew I was going to see the Michael Jordan memes on social media, you know that Michael Jordan meme, where he is looking pitiful, eyes all red from crying.  However, I never thought they would have made it to the championship.  I also say, well done U of M coach John Beilein, the coaching staff, and players still deserve an applause.  I felt the excitement watching my team on television, it was like watching Obama winning the presidency in 2008 or the Pistons Bad Boys winning the NBA championship in 1989 and 90 or when they won in 2004, or when the Red Wings won the Stanley Cup so many times, well you get the picture. I don’t know about you, but I was excited, it’s the little “good” things that happens in Michigan, especially if it’s the home team.

Well, I hate to add salt to the open wound during surgery, Da Pistons did not make the Playoff spot.  They lost it to the Philadelphia 76ers, so to all of you that were “hoping” that Blake Griffin could have used his “Kia Powers” or “All-Star Powers” were body-in-the-cemetery wrong. Remember, there is no “I” in TEAM. For those that may not know what his “Kia Powers” were, google his Kia car commercials, then you’ll see what I am talking about.  I know, I know, a lot of you hopefuls, including myself, have that 10% of hope that maybe, just maybe next year Da Pistons are going to be stronger than ever, if they can stay off the injury list.

Da Red Wings, are so done, they ended the season losing to the New York Islanders, ranking 5^th in the Atlantic division in the Eastern Conference.  I think some of them are just waiting around to see who is coming to perform at Little Caesers Arena or at their beach front house somewhere at an undisclosed location, probably nowhere near Michigan. Da Tigers currently rank 3^rd in the Central division, so that must be good, right? Well, let me also add they are 4-8 which means they won 4 and lost 8 games. Ouch! Da Tigers got a long way to go.  Hopefully, we can get some of that excitement back once the weather breaks, and no more bi-polar weather Mother Nature! We are confused, one minute we are wearing shorts, then we pre-heating our cars, work with me or I’m praying to God on you!

Klassy K’s Sports Korner: contributor writer for aheartfullofconversations.com

A Conversation with Our Future Self By Tresa Simmons

There is a saying that hindsight is 20/20.  We all have thought or maybe said aloud if only I had known this or that I would not have made the choices that I made.  If I could go back, my decision would be different.  I would like to believe this is true for most of us.  However, there is also a saying that wherever we go, there we are meaning we make decisions based on our consciousness at the time.  A sister in one of the Facebook groups posted a question.  What does your future-self need to know?  So I thought on this question because I did not want to be flippant; and at the same time, I did not want to go into my head.  I wanted my heart to talk to me.  Here is what I wrote:

Tresa you are powerful…own it.

Tresa you are enough…believe it!

Tresa happiness is your best friend…play, laugh, and treat her honorably.

Tresa your rage is needed as much as your tenderness…respect them equally.

Babbbbbby your sensuality is palpable…taste it and Enjoy.

Intimacy with you is so divine.  You, Goddess are crowned.  Be proud and make no excuses for who and what you are.

You have the capacity to love and to forgive yourself…do it!

REMEMBER you are a gift to yourself…unwrap it.

If you are anything like me, you probably thought when you heard the word ‘future’ it means far off.  Well, the future is everything even the next second by second in front of our present moment.  How would our lives be different if our habit was to empower ourselves daily by the words we speak over ourselves? In preparation for our future self to live her best life, this would be a good start.  Thoughts in mind create after their own kind.  If that is true, and it is why not create a different experience for ourselves beginning with how we talk to ourselves using the power of language – the power of the spoken word.  Talking to ourselves differently will lead us to see ourselves the way we want to be eventually leading us to be able to see ourselves as the very thing we speak about.

It will take diligence, tenacity, and courage for many of us to fertilize and plant new seeds (words) in our garden (subconscious mind) so we can reap a new harvest.  When we have spoken poorly even badly about ourselves for so long, it becomes second nature.  We will have to pull up the weeds of self-hatred, putting ourselves last, getting around to it when I can, I am not enough, why bother, what will change, fear, laziness, or whatever will come up for us that will keep us from implementing and maintaining a changed mindset.

Sisters, why not write to your future self and tell her what you would want her to know about herself and spend time pouring into her.  Tell her you love her.  Remind her of her divinity and how powerful she is.  Most of all, remember she is you.  Who do you want to become as in how do you want to express yourself?  What does being powerful mean to you?  How do you want to show up on the planet?  We can all start with the beautiful words we write to ourselves.  Turn what you tell your future self into an affirmation.  Write the vision and make it plain.  We do not know specifically what the future holds, but we can choose how we show up.  Make your future powerful by creating the life you want to be proud of.   This may seem so simple, but there is power in our language.

If at ever you feel overwhelmed with this simple process, breathe.  Our breath is indication that God by whatever name you call your higher power is present and breathing us.  As long as we have breath, we have been shown grace and mercy.  I have decided to create a card that I can carry around for the next 30 days and upon rising and before going to sleep as well as throughout the day speak the words I wrote to my future self.  It is my desire as I meet her again and again she is someone that I am proud of someone whose love for self is impeccable.

I invite you to join me on this new journey of self-discovery of how beautiful we are and of how dynamic we can be by speaking and affirming it is so.  For you that are willing to take the 30 day journey with me, I would love to hear how this has changed your life.  This experiment does not require perfection only that we do not quit on ourselves.