Celebrating Our Differences
I was taking my Morehouse Brother across the street to meet my Grandmother. She lived across the street from Mom and Dad. As soon as He and I walked into her house, she looked at him and said, “Eddie Whitlock. You were in my pre-school class at…
The word “education” comes from the Latin, educare, meaning to lead out. To lead out of what and into what is the question that parents and cultures and civilizations have always had to consider. Each child that is born is in a sense a million years old because…
For eons, it has been said that true education means to “draw out” knowledge not put it in. One might ponder, then, why, the world over, education systems require paid teachers to formally dispense what they “know”. Presumably, teachers know by learning from others who have learned,…
Recently I looked up and my world had changed significantly. My Babies have babies. Mommy will be 92. Honored to be the officiant at my longest life friend’s homegoing service, along with doing the memorial services for my two Morehouse roommates. And if that’s not enough, I find…
The Garden Spices editor has a way of planting seeds that sprout and reach out in unexpected directions for nourishment. As a result, I have been accused of obsessing about the word time- it’s connotations and creative interpretations. The word time just seems to jump out at me wherever I go. Now…
There are multiple metaphors for connectedness: Perhaps Native American Chief Seattle said it best when he spoke about The Web of Life: “Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All…
So an important part of my trip to Alabama was the workshop held, whose second half turned into a powerful healing ceremony. I remember teaching about the state of Wuji – Emptiness, also known as Sunyata. I pointed out that the medicine wheel, mandala, and all these sacred…
TOGETHERNESS REQUIRES SACRIFICE When couples argue, they often stop talking to each other. This posturing only grows the divide between them. Open communication is essential to any successful partnership. It’s never about who is wrong or right, that’s just ego. It’s more about who’s willing to drop the…
For years I have been hearing that the “Goddess is emerging”. I have understood the statement to mean that when the feminine energies are brought into balance with the masculine energies, people, in wholeness, can exist in harmony with all life. What does harmony look like in practical…
As a Garden Spices Contributor, Dr. Joyce Brown has graced our pages with her many insights on caregiving, education, and affirming the beauty of life. However, nothing is more heart rendering than when she lets us peek into her family’s strength, revealing the foundation for how she became…