Words of wisdom

I was talking to my nephew over the weekend. Out of the blue, he said to me:  "Someone once told me that I expect too much from people, that I’d be happier once I’ve lowered my expectations of others and raised what I expect of myself."

I asked him who told him that.

"You did, Uncle Alieux!"  he said.

(I don't remember saying it, but it's profound enough that I'll take credit for it)

I'm always amazed at what he remembers

RIP Lena Horne

She was the first black performer to be signed to a long-term contract by a major Hollywood studio. She   went on to achieve international fame as a singer. She died last night at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York. She was 92 and lived in Manhattan.

Ms. Horne and Cab Calloway in “Stormy Weather.”

The title song became one of her signatures.

Some of her quotes:


You have to be taught to be second class; you're not born that way.


My identity is very clear to me now, I am a black woman.


I made a promise to myself to be kinder to other people.

song in my head

I was looking for a quote on beauty, and I came across this portion of Nelson Mandela's 1994 inaugural speech-

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us most. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and famous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in all of us. And when we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

slowly but surely

 

self-confidence is building up inside me

in bits and pieces 

like pieces of a puzzle.

I can sense it all coming together

slowly but surely.

one day I will have the questions

to my own answers