Welcome to Mirth and Motivation!
Before you leave a comment, STOP, consider this: Our comments are part of our digital footprint on the internet. They tell the world how we think and respond to information. I know YOU took time out of your busy schedule and landed here. I’m rooting for you to say something inspiring that will help others who read my posts. THANK YOU! ❤
Hello world!
“When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.” Viktor E. Frankl
Hello world: Welcome to Mirth and Motivation!
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Respite Reminder: I’m Taking My Advice. Will check occasionally. Back soon!
Welcome to Mirth and Motivation!
Mirth and Motivation is a lifestyle and motivational blog offering an eclectic mix of mirthful and motivational pieces: Life Tips / Advice, Affirmations/Wellness, Women’s Lives, Food, Travel, Interviews, Inspirational posts, Reviews, Peace, and social media ruminations on people, places, and events that shape our lives. That said, I invite you to stay awhile, read some posts, and share your thoughts with this growing online blog community.
I started this blog 17+ years ago, as a way to help agents/staff at the company I worked for stay motivated. This was my first blog post on this site, hence the dodgy title. After the market crashed and we were downsized, I decided to keep it going. Therefore, the main goal was, and remains, to encourage myself and others to keep moving forward. It has been a long and rewarding journey.
WHAT HAVE I LEARNED?
Over the years, I have learned a lot about blogging, its many positives and pitfalls, and how important it is to stay focused on our own Why or raison d’être. We can choose to focus on one of the fundamental rules of blogging: making connections with others by adding value through our message/content, comments, and social interactions. We can also choose to turn our attention elsewhere. It is entirely up to us.
Nevertheless, one thing I know for sure is that if your heart is invested in what you blog about, you will stay the course. Remember to stay true to who you are and why you blog. It can’t just be about monetization. Add value. Help others. Stay Encouraged.
Another thing I know for sure is that we all want to be heard, appreciated, and respected; empowering messages are far more appealing than incendiary attempts to attract blog attention. If your blogosphere surfing brings you here, relax, kick back, and share a positive tidbit on your worldview.
HOW DO WE STAY MIRTHFUL AND MOTIVATED?
Read more…
Motivation Mondays: Revisiting Juneteenth
“Hold those things that tell your history and protect them. During slavery, who was able to read, write, or keep anything? The ability to have somebody to tell your story to is so important. It says: ‘I was here. I may be sold tomorrow. But you know I was here.'” Maya Angelou
Motivation Mondays: Revisiting Juneteenth
Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, and Liberation Day, is a holiday celebrated on June 19 to commemorate the emancipation of enslaved people in the US. The holiday was first celebrated in Texas, where on that date in 1865, in the aftermath of the Civil War, enslaved people were declared free under the prior terms of the 1862 Emancipation Proclamation. Juneteenth refers to June 19, 1865, when Major General Gordon Granger ordered the enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in Texas at the end of the American Civil War.
In January 1865, Congress finally proposed the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, solidifying the national abolition of slavery. By June 1865, almost all enslaved persons had been freed. While slavery ended at different times in states across the USA, the name Juneteenth was first used in the 1890s by African Americans as a reminder of the challenges faced on the walk to freedom, the resilience and determination to preserve Black history while recognizing the ongoing fight for equality.
Today, Juneteenth is celebrated in many ways across communities in the USA. There are parades, talks, and gatherings to learn about, read about, and enjoy African American culture, history, and food. It is celebrated like many other special holidays, with a focus on the events that led to it and the Emancipation Proclamation. Did it end there? Did freedom reign for African Americans thereafter? No. Read on.
READ: History – What Is Juneteenth?
NYTimes – The History and Meaning of Juneteenth
Official Juneteenth Poem by Kristina Kay:
We Rose
From Africa’s heart, we rose
Already a people, our faces ebon, our bodies lean,
We rose
Skills of art, life, beauty, and family
Crushed by forces we knew nothing of, we rose
Survive we must, we did,
We rose
We rose to be you, we rose to be me,
Above everything expected, we rose
To become the knowledge we never knew,
We rose
Dream, we did
Act we must.
“Nobody’s free until everybody’s free.” Fannie Lou Hamer
Motivation Mondays: Revisiting Juneteenth
In response to the Emancipation Proclamation and the proposed 13th Amendment to the US Constitution, which was approved by Congress on January 31, 1865, and ratified on December 6, 1865, a more sinister form of oppression arose. A new set of laws was instituted that were racially segregationist, discriminatory, and deliberately created to set back any gains African Americans expected to receive from the newly ratified Amendment.
What happened during 1865 and into 1866? Southern states passed the Black Codes, which were restrictive laws limiting access to African Americans and forcing many freed people back into a new form of slavery; “a dependent labor economy, the codes established virtual re-enslavement through harsh vagrancy and labor contract laws.” The Vagrancy Laws allowed local white authorities to arrest freed people for minor infractions and commit them to involuntary labor. It was a new form of enslavement that subverted the 13th Amendment and re-enslaved many.
Mississippi and South Carolina were the first states to enact the codes. This was also a precursor to the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), which was founded in 1865 and, with it, foreshadowed the rise of Jim Crow laws. So people in the black community noted that in 1865, African Americans were freeish not entirely free.
Read: History – Black Codes
Wikipedia – The Black Codes, also called the Black Laws
Won’t You Celebrate with Me? by Lucille Clifton
won’t you celebrate with me
what I have shaped into
a kind of life? I had no model.
born in Babylon
both nonwhite and woman
what did I see to be except myself?
I made it up
here on this bridge between
starshine and clay,
my one hand holding tight
my other hand; come celebrate
with me that every day
something has tried to kill me
and has failed.
More Below
<!–more–>
“We shall overcome because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Motivation Mondays: Revisiting Juneteenth
As African Americans celebrated the events of Juneteenth, lurking in the background was the rise of the KKK, which by 1870 had reached into every Southern state, countering any gains the 13th Amendment offered. The goal was to reestablish white supremacy and set aside any expectations of equal access. Right in step with the KKK were the Jim Crow laws, a collection of state and local statutes that legalized racial segregation. Jim Crow laws lasted over 100 years, from the post-Civil War era until 1966, and the tacit plan was “to marginalize African Americans by denying them the right to vote, hold jobs, get an education, or other opportunities.” Between the Jim Crow Laws and the blatant violence of the KKK, for black folk, freedom looked nothing like its textbook definition.
The violence and terror the KKK showered on African Americans is in the history books, and lynching was the most horrific of those acts of violence. Since their rise coincided with the post-Civil War Reconstruction period, Congress battled them by passing the Reconstruction Act and the 14th Amendment, which guaranteed universal male suffrage. Women’s suffrage had to wait until the 19th Amendment, ratified on August 26, 1920. Jim Crow also saw the rise of fearless leaders in the African American community who spoke out and fought the Jim Crow laws: the NAACP, Ida B. Wells, Charlotte Hawkins Brown, Isaiah Montgomery, and so many others who even gave their lives for the cause.
While the Klan tightened its grip on the South, Congress initiated three other enforcement acts, including the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, to stem the rise, but it didn’t deter them. By the early 1920s, the 2nd generation of klansmen were growing strong as anti-black, Roman Catholics, Jews, foreigners, and organized labor. With time, their influence waned, and by 1964, when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act, both Jim Crow and the KKK lost steam. In its place are the complex and covert forms of racism we see today.
While Juneteenth had been celebrated since 1865, it was not legally recognized as a national holiday until June 17, 2021, when President Joe Biden signed a bill officially designating June 19 as a federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery in America. The struggle for full and equitable freedom in all its permutations continues.
READ: History – Ku Klux Klan
History – Jim Crow Laws
Lineage By Margaret Walker
My grandmothers were strong.
They followed plows and bent to toil.
They moved through fields sowing seed.
They touched earth, and grain grew.
They were full of sturdiness and singing.
My grandmothers were strong.
My grandmothers are full of memories.
Smelling of soap and onions and wet clay
With veins rolling roughly over quick hands
They have many clean words to say.
My grandmothers were strong.
Why am I not as they are?
Positive Motivation Tip:
PHOTO CREDITS/ATTRIBUTIONS: All Photos: via Pixabay, Adobe Free Stock, Wikipedia, and My Personal Photos
Ask. Believe. Receive. ©
Elizabeth Obih-Frank
Mirth and Motivation
Positive Kismet
Motivation Mondays: Four June Highlights
“I am not what happened to me; I am what I choose to become.” Carl Jung
Motivation Mondays: Four June Highlights
“Recovery is a process. I’m a work in progress.” EOF
The month of June has sped by so fast that I have decided to look back at some of the highlights that made it special. This month has been a busy one with writing classes, running meetups, birthdays, and celebrations among friends. Through it all, I’ve wanted more rest, more hydration, and less stress. How is that all going? Let’s just say that hydration is winning the race for now. Below are snippets of four events that stole my heart this month. It is not an exhaustive list but a snapshot of some special moments from this month. The photo collage captures each of the four, so take a closer look. What about you? What events in your life stood out for you this month? Which events below stood out for you?
I.
Happy BAA 10K Weekend! – June 21
I hope your Father’s Day weekend was wonderful! I enjoyed my time in Boston. I was there for the 2nd of the 3-part B.A.A Distance Medley; the 10k run. The final part will be in the fall.
It was great to be around other runners in Boston, to connect with people who remembered me, and to say a huge THANK YOU in my heart to all who wished me well as I struggled to cross the finish line in April after suffering a massive health crisis.
Erika was the volunteer crew chief at mile 21 in April, and we got to laugh, hug, and take some photos in the Distance Medley tent.
Boston is always close to my heart; something about it reminds me of London. It was cathartic to be back.
I returned to run the 10k with my doctor’s permission and a desire to overcome the fear that rhabdomyolysis had brought into my running life.
It was a hot and beautiful day, and I took it easy, as getting to full recovery is a process. I’m a work in progress. God is good all the time. How was your weekend?
Have a great week ahead, all!
“There are only two lasting bequests we can hope to give our children. One of these is roots, the other, wings.” Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Motivation Mondays: Four June Highlights
II.
Happy Father’s Day – June 21
Happy Father’s Day to all. Father’s Day always brings back memories of time with my dad and the loss of that relationship when he passed away. My dad never got to meet my children, my own family and friends, or see me grow and evolve through many life challenges and wins. I miss his presence, yet his legacy continues to bless us in so many ways. May God bless every father with health, wisdom, peace, and abundant joy, and fill our homes with love, laughter, and gratitude.
Enjoy the poem below.
Only a Dad by Edgar Guest (1881 –1959)
Only a dad with a tired face,
Coming home from the daily race,
Bringing little of gold or fame
To show how well he has played the game;
But glad in his heart that his own rejoice
To see him come and to hear his voice.
Only a dad with a brood of four,
One of ten million men or more
Plodding along in the daily strife,
Bearing the whips and the scorns of life,
With never a whimper of pain or hate,
For the sake of those who at home await.
Only a dad, neither rich nor proud,
Merely one of the surging crowd
Toiling, striving from day to day,
Facing whatever may come his way,
Silent whenever the harsh condemn,
And bearing it all for the love of them.
Only a dad, but he gives his all
To smooth the way for his children small,
Doing with courage stern and grim,
The deeds that his father did for him.
This is the line that for him I pen:
Only a dad, but the best of men.
More Below!
Read more…
“True love is eternal, infinite, and always like itself. It is equal and pure, without violent demonstrations.” Honoré de Balzac
Motivation Mondays: Malena & Klepetan in a Stork Love Story
Recently, while scrolling through my Instagram feed, I came across a post by Sir David Attenborough, a British broadcaster, writer, and natural historian. It was about a pair of white storks who shared a long and everlasting love story. I was immediately drawn to his post because I found the story compelling and the love and devotion between the storks, Malena and Klepetan, so moving that I wanted to learn more. Someone in the comments section of Sir David’s post shared this version of the story with me, and I invite you to read it and contemplate its beauty. What lessons can we learn from these two storks about love, resilience, commitment, and trust? What can we learn from Stjepan Vokić’s kindness and assistance that helped Malena survive a gunshot wound and thrive in a relationship with Klepetan for 28 years?
We often talk about the resilience of the human spirit, yet that resilience exists in all life forms, and all life forms have feelings and can experience the deepest and most profound love in a relationship. Read and share your thoughts.
1. THE TRAGEDY AND THE RESCUE (1993)
The story began in 1993 in the small village of Brodski Varoš, Croatia. A school janitor named Stjepan Vokić found a female stork near a pond. She had been shot in the wing by poachers, leaving her severely injured and permanently unable to fly.
Vokić rescued her, named her Malena (which means “Little One”), and built her a cozy, insulated nest on his roof for the spring and summer. For the freezing Croatian winters, he built her a warm winter shelter in his garage. He became her caretaker, feeding her fresh fish and keeping her safe.
2. ENTER KLEPETAN (2001)
Because Malena could not migrate, she was incredibly lonely during the winter months. However, in the spring of 2001, a wild male stork landed on her roof. He chose Malena as his mate.
Vokić named him Klepetan, after the distinct klepetanje (clacking) sound storks make with their beaks.
3. THE 13,000-KILOMETER JOURNEY
Storks are migratory birds. When August arrived and the autumn chill began to set in, the instinct to migrate was too strong. Klepetan had to leave Malena behind to fly south for the winter.
He traveled an astonishing 13,000 kilometers (over 8,000 miles) from Croatia, across the Mediterranean, over the Sahara Desert, all the way to South Africa.
But the real magic happened the following March. Against all odds, Klepetan returned.
Let These be Your Desires by Khalil Gibran
Love has no other desire but to fulfill itself
But if your love and must needs have desires,
Let these be your desires:
To melt and be like a running brook
That sings its melody to the night.
To know the pain of too much tenderness.
To be wounded by your own understanding of love;
And to bleed willingly and joyfully.
To wake at dawn with a winged heart
And give thanks for another day of loving;
To rest at the noon hour and meditate love’s ecstasy;
To return home at eventide with gratitude;
And then to sleep with a prayer
For the beloved in your heart
And a song of praise upon your lips. Via poemofquotes
More Below! Read more…
