The Oldest Profession

For as long as I can remember I have been hearing the phrase “it is the oldest profession” but I don’t think it was until my early adolescence that I realized what the “it” referred to in that statement.  Most if not all of us know the “it” is prostitution or the selling of sex. It was not until today however that I began to think about the ramifications of such a statement on the whole of our current social structure. I asked myself and posted on twitter (@13ofnazareth) if “Prostitution is the oldest profession…does this mean all existing professions descend from prostitution?”

Only one person responded by retweeting the phrase and for that alone I am gonna suggest you follow (@NaniJoose) ‘ like I have a million followers yet and that is gonna drastically change the landscape of people paying attention to her tweets but I just felt reciprocation was in order because her lone response got me thinking…maybe no one is saying anything because public agreement would require the possible admittance to being a prostitute. Association with the term itself tend to carry a negative connotation even when it does not regard the act of sex such as prostituting an art form which is considered disrespectful to the art and to oneself…but I digress because that is a blog unto itself.

My focus here is that our social structure seems to be based on a “profession” that we claim to abhor at least publicly. In most areas of the world prostitution is a crime punishable by law but in those same areas one is encouraged to “sell oneself” for the best employment opportunity, to increase skill and package oneself in a way that reveals one is best suited for…the position if you will;  on top of all this…marketing and entertainment are driven by the mantra “sex sells.”

It appears to me that prostitution is not only the model for all business types but society is structured in a way that we cannot escape it without destroying society itself and once you open this can of worms there are at least two ways to examine it…

1. you can accept that you have been groomed from birth to sell yourself to the highest bidder…but not matter how much is bid upon you;  you’ll always be an object for sale
2. you can accept that sex as a natural act is purposed to be an enjoyable means to multiply the species and applying that principle to our work ethic is how we multiply our wealth

Now if you go with number one you probably will spend or have spent the majority of your life hating what you do as well as the reasons you do it in a day-to-day struggle to make ends meet, but if you go with number two chances are you are to some degree happy with who you are, what you have, how you got it, and you possibly intend on getting more opposites to attract.  Whatever you choose even if it’s not listed here you have to keep in mind that the underlying principle is somehow applicable to your life.  This realization puts you in a position of having the power to choose how you interact with its presence.  I don’t want you walking away from this thinking we are all whore so what the use although you are free to do just that; I just figured that as long as this business model remains unexposed there will be young bodies, young minds and young souls getting pimped in the dark because they are afraid of the shame being in the light will bring…for some this a fate worse than death.  I also don’t want you walking away saying that I co-sign prostitution but you are free to do that as well;  I do however co-sign placing yourself up front or being upfront with yourself to expose the naked truth of who you are and leaving yourself room to change as the time requires once you establish your ultimate goal in life and if you don’t have one I co-sign your search for it because if being exposed is the only reason you expose yourself…you’re a whore already.

There are universal laws at work always and ignorance of them does not absolve you from the consequences of acting in favor of or against them, or as the officer told me as he wrote my speeding ticket, “Ignorance of the law is no excuse.” Remember if we stand on the shoulders of our ancestors we can see farther than they ever dreamed possible but to deny their presence no matter how dismal it may have been or how shame filled it is in our eyes proves us undeserving of the benefits we receive from their struggle.  Your ancestors and mine were “prostitutes” for little to no pay in order to help make this country a place where we can potentially be royalty;  they exposed America for the brothel it is long before it was America and now that you know this…the question is…what are you gonna do about it?

Are you gonna fall in line, continue to mistreat others in the ways you’ve been mistreated because you figure that’s how the game is played or are you gonna be compassionate and purpose driven in your every thought and flip the game on it head? Are you gonna take success by force or are you gonna take success by choice? Are you gonna be/do what you’re told or are you gonna be/do what you are?

this is a work of thought in progress and is subject to evolution and refinement over time. if nothing here is applicable to your life forget everything you just read, but if you see true possibility applicable to your daily existence run with it and keep me posted on the results…whatever the case your comments are welcome

A League of My Own

Confession: I am a man who is not a sports fan and I have never had an interest in sports beyond playing in the fields and streets during my youth. I do not have a favorite player and the only players I remember are the ones people always talk about or those who have shoes I like; oh yeah and I have never owned a pair of Jordans.

I used to want a pair really badly but couldn’t afford them in high school but the thrill has since evacuated my mental premises. I would much rather design/make my own shoe with my own name or a name of my creation on them…but anyway.

I am also not an anti-sports fan in that I don’t go around talking about how bad sports are blah blah blah. I am honestly just not interested one way or the other although I can clearly see the attraction and have even been known to watch a game or two. Most often I do so simply to spend time with people I love who happen to be sports fans. I even recognize a great play when I see one.

With all that being said, don’t count me out just yet because I recently went to the Bahamas and spent several hours during my trip practicing Archery.

To Whom It May Concern (a word in progess)

you trying to wait til I finish my secret squirrel
so you can be the first to hop on my acorns
but when times were hard like the oak tree’s bark
you acted like I was unworthy of your watch

that’s time of day; you know what time it is
in a minute hour positions are gonna shift
might only take a second with my first place gift
you diss me into a days,  I’m week with no strength

it was for the love of money ‘cuz loving God ain’t hip
enough to sell records and rent luxury whips
I hear luxury whips many souls til they submit,  Selah
the diamonds in your chain treated like they’re Allah    12:12pm – 6/9/10

• I call this a word in progress because it is an unfinished verse that will be updated at my leisure. I don’t know when or if it will ever be finished or what direction it is going from here.  I do know that it is an experimental piece that I just thought of and whomever is welcome to follow along. The bold time/date stamp(s) indicate points where I stopped writing, this of course will make more sense as time progresses.
• COPYRIGHT NOTICE – I know there are people calling themselves poets who intentionally search the web looking for material they can steal in hopes that no one in their circle will recognize it.  So in all politeness I ask if anyone shares my any of my work anywhere in any medium without my written consent to do so that no monies be earned from that sharing unless I am earning them and that appropriate credit be given.  I could ask impolitely but that will involve my lawyer,  your money, and your public embarrassment because creativity is my business and if you disrespect it,  it has no choice but to disrespect you in return. Now if that made no sense to you here is the simplified version:  IF YOU STEAL MY WORK, I WILL SUE YOU AND WIN! thank you and have a nice day.

When the Teacher is Ready?

It was almost a decade ago when one of my teachers,  Adisa Omar, told me “when the student is ready the teacher will appear.”  I eventually learned that the statement did not originate with him but it was definitely applicable to our relationship.  For years people have been telling me that they believe I would make a great teacher; many who have said this have stated that my poetry is more of a teaching tool/lesson plan than entertainment in their eyes.  I have always humbly accepted it at face value but I never really saw myself in the standard classroom setting and this has not changed in the least.  I have recently decided that I would like to share the lesson I’ve learned with others of any demographic willing to listen with an open heart. Upon making that decision I declared to the universe that I would like to conduct workshops…be careful what you wish for.  Straight from my mouth the God’s ear and back into my experience within the same week I received a phone call asking me to conduct a workshop.  For all intents and purposes this seems great because I got exactly what I asked for.  Well the problem is I have never done a workshop, never written a lesson plan, or created a curriculum and the time is drawing near for me to present what I am going to present to those who have invited me essentially so they can validate having to pay me and prepare the students.  Truth is I don’t know where to begin as all of my “teaching experience” has been in the moment and reactive to what the student is seeking.  People ask me questions and if I have answers I provide them but as far as structuring a direction in which to carry a groups of student who I will be meeting for the first time, I am drawing a blank.

I know what I would like to teach but I have zero understanding of workshop format. Its pretty much  like the  zero understanding of poetry I had when I started writing years ago.  I just went with what made sense and while it presented some of the same difficulties I now face.  The difference is the workshop have  middle men/women who have to know what I am going to do before I actually do it.  So here I am typing my thoughts they come hoping to write my way to a solution and simultaneously wondering if this appearance of students means I am ready to be a teacher.

I guess I can run a compare and contrast analysis between my idea of poetry and my idea of a workshop to  see what will work in both and what new knowledge I will need to acquire to successfully pull off the latter.

My idea of poetry is a creative rhythmic personal expression used to communicate one’s observations and experiences to the world in a condensed manner using various literary devices. This is all done hoping the audience will grasp the intended meaning but since each audience member will bring their own observation and experience to the table poetry is completely open to interpretation; in short people will hear what they want to hear. I am aware that my idea of poetry is more connected to the performance of it but I am more connected to the performance as it has been my livelihood since 2002.

My idea of a workshop on poetry would teaching the above definition of poetry by condensing the decade and a half of experience I have writing and the decade of experience I have performing into 60-90 minutes. Included in the 60-90 minutes must be time for me to explain my idea of poetry,  allow the student to practice what I have explained, share what they’ve practiced, and then close with a question and answer session that allows them to leave with some idea of my idea(s) about poetry as a seed and/or water in the formula of their own ideas about poetry.

Not bad for someone who has no idea what he is doing but moving on…

The primary link between my ideas of poetry and a workshop about poetry is the condensation of experience.  In writing my poems I have been condensing experience for years now; so that means I am equipped to do the job even though I don’t know how to do the job. I am like guy claiming to be a mechanic with all the tools a mechanic owns but  who has never worked on a single car.  The swift way to handle this is to just attend some workshop I know but I have no time to attend any workshop before I have to turn in a lesson plan.  Damn!

Okay looks like I am gonna just have to try it and see what happens sink or swim and use the first experience and a tool to teach myself how to do this…pray for me…no for real bow your head and say a prayer for me right now, I am gonna need it.

…and who knows maybe one day I’ll be telling this story and finish it off by saying “when the teacher is ready, the students will appear” or “I don’t do workshops because of blah, blah, blah” but I am sure you would agree that the former sounds so much better.

From Scratch

So I’ve been the not so proud owner of several blogs throughout the years.  This however is the only one that has carried my name all of them have been defunct for at least a year.  I tired to maintain all of them for the purpose of being accessible in a variety of places online.   Some of the blogs were based on spiritual concepts and others were about poetry, but it turned out to be the cyber-equivalent of trying to please everyone and basically became more stressing obstacle than creative outlet.  I would eventually just leave each blog alone but I left them all online.

I have decided to let all the other blogs go and to delete them. I will gradually be uploading post from these blogs here when the spirit moves me. I will ultimately use this blog at my leisure to talk about whatever.  I am an artist and I strive to be an inspiration but honestly most of what I do online is for the purpose of genuine  interaction with my fan base. This blog however will be strictly for me and while you are more than welcome to come along it won’t make a difference in what I say or don’t say here

It won’t always be pretty because life isn’t. It won’t always be deep because I’m not always in the mood to be the deep guy. It will however be my honest expression about what ever I am feeling at that moment in time because when I die I just want there to be a place where the world can get a clear glimpse into the man I’ve been, the man I am, and the man I am becoming but even then they will have to seek it out.

Ladies and Gentlemen if you happen to be listening or subscribed….I give you 13 of Nazareth from Scratch.