Defying Gravity

Good morning!

It's Women's History Month and I'm here to celebrate being a girl loudly AND proudly! 

My girl Elphaba said it best: 

"So if you care to find me
Look to the western sky
As someone told me lately, "Everyone deserves the chance to fly"
And if I'm flying solo
At least I'm flying free
To those who ground me, take a message back from me

Tell them how I am defying gravity
I'm flying high, defying gravity..."

If you know then you know how I gets down with books and theater, but to see some come to film means that I get to enjoy them as many times as I want at home- from the comfort of my couch!!!

Much like, "The Color Purple," "Wicked" is a moment... no, it's a MOVEMENT for me!

"... and if I'm flying solo/ At least I'm flying FREE" I felt those lyrics!! I'd rather be alone and free then tethered and miserable! 

I believe that I saw this movie three times in the theaters! And every time, I find a new reason to love it and cry just a little harder!

Isn't life about defying gravity?

Shattering glass ceiling and opening up doors for others to walk through?

We seem to HAVE to work harder, though, don't we? Especially Black women because we have the "burden to be better" Maj. Charity Adams of the 6888th BN made that abundantly clear!

So what, we may not have "discovered" gravity or electricity. We didn't paint the Sistine Chapel or Mona Lisa.

BUT we did give birth to the men who did!

Put some respect on women; their rightful places in this world and their bodies! And their "rightful" place is wherever they want to be, whenever they want to be there.

For far too long, women have had to shatter glass ceilings and crawl over broken glass just to be seen and heard, but still ended up with scraps.

Are we still making less than men but doing the same job??

DEI be darned; with or without it, as a woman, you're probably overqualified for the position anyway. 

I am not here to bash men or to diminish their contributions to this world (there's no "but" to that statement) because men, GOOD men, will use their power to uplift their women; they will recognize and acknowledge the contributions of the women in their lives and always celebrate her!

May their grounds stay fertile because "Everyone deserves the chance to fly!"

I do not believe that Elphaba wanted to defy gravity, but sometimes people in our lives play in our faces and then we have to stand on business.

Listen, before you make a lil' jokey joke about me, ask yourself if I play with you like that. *Finger clap three times*

I mean, she said, "To those who ground me, take a message back from me!"

The whole scene deserved an Academy Award; from her throwing back that cape and gripping that boomstick to her iconic closing notes!

Defying gravity is a battle cry, but it's also subjective. It doesn't have to make history for you to defy gravity, it just has to matter to you!

The roads that we travel through life are uniquely our own. Some may have yellow bricks, others may have potholes and gravel... regardless, I seem to take the road less traveled because there's less traffic and it's always difficult. 

I have yet to find the "Easy" road or "Easy" street!

I asked before, what is something that you aspire to do that you haven't done? For me, it was building LEGO sets!

And it took me a while to get into them because I had convinced myself that I would be no good at them, but what pushed me to give them a try was seeing children do them with ease.

Now, if a four-year-old can build a LEGO set then I know me at my big ol age can build them, too. 

I almost got seriously injured one day with this type of thinking, another story for another blog!

I think my vanity gets in the way of me trying out a lot of things, too. I never like looking inexperienced or foolish, but that's the beauty of life, isn't it? Laughing at yourself and learning from your experiences because not everything we try and fail at is a mistake, just inexperienced experiences; those make good stories, too. 

So, why are we so concerned about the "perfect" time to do something or begin a new hobby?

"I'll wait until I finish school..."

"I'll start on Monday..."

You don't want to "When" your life away, do you?

"When I land my dream job..."

"When I save up enough money..."

"When I lose this weight..."

I think that we find our life's purpose not always during the best of times, but the worst of times; friends create comfort, but our enemies create movement!!!

The breakup. 

The demotion.

The loss of someone or something. 

There is something on the other side of that and God had to break you down to bless you. 

Remember how Jesus fed the multitude? He broke the bread and raised it towards Heaven. That is how I like to look at my life when it seems to be falling apart. 

We are so focused on reaching the feelings of success, wholeness, peace, happiness, etc. not even realizing that those are lifetime processes NOT destinations. 

The only destination that we are guaranteed in life is DEATH. 

I now understand that I can't spend my life waiting for these feelings and experiences, I have to spend my life living for them instead. 

What success looks like to me may not be what it looks like to you. And let me just tell you, "success" for me has become a simple portrait; waking up everyday with a grateful heart and a sense of pride and purpose for this amazing life that I'm living. 

I am defying gravity everyday when I choose to show up for myself. 

It isn't easy. 

I defied gravity when I recognized that I am a dangerous woman; a hornet. I can love and I can sting. 

I am a woman who recognizes that I want more out of life and that I deserve it.

Choose yourself everyday even when society wants you to feel guilty by calling you selfish or comes knocking on your door to keep you inside and hide your true self. 

Defy gravity by walking around confidently no matter who your momma or your daddy is because you have EARNED the life that you are blessed to live day in and day out!

Women are often compared to flowers, and like some flowers, they bloom against all odds like peonies, but most flowers need the sun, and to be cared for and tended to just like some women. 

Find the courage to exist as you want to and proclaim that a space belongs to you even when you don't feel welcomed.

It's time to heal that inner child within you and forgive yourself for being too accommodating and too passive when you should have stood on business and protected yourself.

It is not your business how others feel about you whether they're family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, etc. Your order of business is to LOVE YOURSELF and to embrace the flaws, quirks, and imperfections that make you, you!

As long as there's breath in your body then you can still rewrite and recreate your own story. Don't you know that purpose and power are on the other side of fear and self-doubt?

That path that seems out of the ordinary for you... or that demotion at work. Maybe even that divorce or untimely death, they may seem like obstacles to derail you, but they may place you on the path that you were meant to be on all along. 

Turn those wounds into wisdom! 

The scars are how we know that we are alive- they tell our life's story. Some scars we may look at and laugh and others may be a reminder of what could have been and so we give God thanks for another chance at life.

We all have been blessed with the opportunity to be more and to live as boldly as we see fit if we dare to defy gravity. 

I am PROUD of who I am. I am thankful for everything I have and everything that I am.

I have defied gravity time and time again.

It's hasn't been easy. 

It's ok to be first, just make sure you don't kick down the ladder when you've reached the top!

Leaving women out of history is only telling half the story and we deserve to be celebrated!

Just like a tree planted planted by the rivers of water, we shall NOT be moved!

 "...And nobody in all of Oz

No wizard that there is or was

Is ever gonna bring me down!"

*Deep Exhale*

"OOOOOH OOOOOH OOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHH!!!"

As Always,

The pleasure is mine!