Black Beauty
Loneliness comes with the territoryof being a black womanfully seated in her power; not even rose wateris a scent strong enoughto cover up its smell. Our power comes from reception.We take the world in,let it penetrate us. We run the world through our bodyevery conflict,every victory,every war,every celebration,every heartbreak.We take it all the way inand […]
The Weight of Visibility
For decades I was told my excess weight was probably a psychological tactic to protect me from pain. After experiencing sexual abuse as a child, and rape as a teenager, I had begun to pack on the pounds throughout my years of addiction and recovery as a shield to keep me from falling back in […]
Worldwide Maranasati
Buddhists meditate on a corpse – preferably one “swollen and bloated;’ putrid and turning to skeleton as vultures, dogs and worms feast; tendons dangling off femurs and tibias – to stay connected to the irrefutable fact that life ends. All life. It’s called maranasati and, in its true form, you just can’t do it without […]
Chasing Pain
Every athlete knows you rip it apart before you can build it; that’s the nature of muscle. By stressing the muscles under progressively heavier weight, you break apart the muscle fibers under exertion. When you cease lifting the weight, resting muscles rearrange the broken fibers and reform into new configurations, making you stronger. With consistency […]