A Guide to Your Own Personal Dimension

A Pause for Thought: How Can I be Woke, When I Can't Even See?

A musical slam poetry short story

Prologue

Montreal 1690s, Kandiaronk the indigenous (aka kondiaronk, the rat, chef des hurons),
critiqued our self-proclaimed enlightenment.
Our development had long been onerous,
And still we thought us to be civilized and intelligent.

State Formation is non-essential, in The Dawn of Everything,
Questioning our modern orthodox begetting.
It recounts a non-linear history, like none I've ever heard before,
And concludes with controversial answers that throw our schooling, right our the door.

Alan Watts vividly recounted this same indubitable Hoax,
Which I too try to relay to you, through these inexorable keystrokes.

Catalyze
the inner paralyzed.

Short and Friendly Cognitive Advisory

Sup lovely peoples.
You'll wanna take your hands
outta your pants,
and just let this physical n empirical
taste of this benign flow
move you into your lucid STATE-of-flow;
flowin' you right through the stale roof of your status-quo plateau.

Pop you outta your online, n offline and inline rudderless bubbles.
Bringin' you a step closer to self-actualization; a brainless-struggle evaaaasion;
Unconventional cortical-cohering;
defining your own cause, purpose; meaning.

Scaling yourself to young Bloom's Sweet Spot.
Mindfully investing effort for strength; and pain for pleasure.
Mastering all that makes you hot,
And drilling your existence, into a Gladwellian Outlier.

Preamble

James Ashton evolved the alpha into a human,
As he noted 9 leader types, and gave an anecdote each.
He said Human-centric economy is our trending solution.
But how do I pitch in if I can't make a doltish speech?

..and so i bequeath to you,
this packaged dissonance in a spiel.
My advocacy is not for some cheap debut,
But for a human-centric-learning deal;
for everyone;
forever free;
forever real.

"Full-body-BLASTING!" (would be awesome to have Russell Peters say this in his light-hearted comedic tone)

Chapter 1 - Ambition

The ozone layer couldnt keep these lyrical rays from seeping into your thoughts, your dreams and your aspirations;
turning you up, and waking you forward, and bringing you closer to feeling your, meaning. Inspiration.

Where have you been? Lost in the meta? Looking for pesetas? Is your heart even beating?
Have you asked yourself yet what's real, other than that dangling carrot that's constantly fleeting?

Time to wake up.
Time to rise up.
Time to learn who you are.
Time to grow who you are.

'Til you learn who you are;
'til you grow who you are;
you ain't nothin but a brick,
a drunken fool at a bar.

A pawn in a game,
a slave, chasing fame?
Money? Respect?
A trip? Hell, a jet?

Whatever it is that you currently praise, think, is your lifetime really worth it in its place?

Do you understand the value of your time? Or do you waste it all away watching Amazon Prime?

The only real currency you've ever really owned;
the only real gift, through which you've ever flown.

Invest your time wisely
- that is the essence of self-respect.
It is the source of living happily;
not wasting it, laying in bed.

Stretch long, and stretch out,
breathe in and breathe out.
Set your eyes on a move,
and dive in with a groove.
Head first, like a falcon;
flowing smooth; not like Bolton.

They tell you you're an introvert,
But either you're still feeble
or you just haven't found your people.
They tell you you're an extrovert,
But either you quietly self-suspect,
Or you simply haven't found yourself. Inspect.

See, life is all about balance;
everything in moderation.
Form habits to develop your talents;
a simple linear equation.

Chapter 2 - Distractions

Wanna talk about sex, baby?
There is no, you and me,
unless there's trust and dignity,
and some in-clu---si-vity.

My girl is my counsel,
my Zen, my ecstasy.
When she's far, far away,
so goes my serenity.

'Til I see her again,
I keep making her proud.
She always does the same;
See, we're no Jersey Shore crowd.

Still though, she loves fashion.
"One must dress the part!"
Though "It's what's inside that counts", we teach,
Is hypocrisy the trending art?

I swore off suits and stopped being "boss".
Cause the name tag meant classy.
Instead i want us to create one class,
Just check your hygiene regularly.

..then she covers herself with dirty makeup.
Is it fear of looking lame?
Societal expectations? I give up.
Seems our silhouette must fit a frame.

She says it's for her skin,
Keeping it white and healthy.
Meanwhile in the west,
many would call it pasty!

So many flock to the Botox,
the plastic and the fake,
not seeing their own beauty,
as the price that they pay!

The west wants to tan,
The east wants to bleach,
The west wants its nose small,
The east makes it reach.

"Woah, big nose", they pointed
On my arrival to this far away land.
I said ok, though clearly disappointed.
"No, very handsome", they made me understand.

I learned to appreciate then fell in a pickle,
one tiny quibble after larger quibble.
Defending what seemed abyssal,
And yet never seeming less civil. A riddle?

No matter where I went,
I have felt myself at home.
Surrounded by compassion,
Never made to be a gnome.

Only unless I faced red tape,
Then it really didn't matter.
To a system, I'm a number
No matter where I scatter.

Chapter 3 - Sierra Leone Face Slap

Now let's get real for a minute.. look around you and see.
Don't just watch what they show you, soak in the reality:
That which isn't straight obvious;
all of it, dubious wokeness.
It's all been purposely varnished.
Made indistinguishable - and tarnished.

"Civilized Slavery" is what Edrisse had thrown,
At my Canadian life contrast, while driving us to Freetown.

He was a beautiful man,
rich in every way,
though his salary, a year's span,
was my per diem - my lunch pay.

He was paid in worthless currency,
and held a meaningless passport,
This locked his labour to his city,
Nowhere to run to, but a basketball court.

All the youngins there dreamed of one day,
Making a djembe just for Messi.
They watched tv sports from far away,
Dreaming fleeting dreams of being finally free.

How can a sports "industry" be so lucrative,
When it's nothing more than fun n games?
I would think it would be intuitive,
That our schools should take precedence; what a shame.

Low supply v high demand may raise the value of our prime dime, but so it makes sarce any worthwhile values, turning our lives into a sad pantomime.

See Edrisse, he had a loving wife, and 4 healthy kids.
He owned his own home, and not a penny owed to murids.

He had food for 2 months plus, had i fired him on the draw.
When I explained my lone life, he knew what he saw.

My mortgage alone would need an SL army, for life.
He recognized that my richness, was an illusion, a fife.

We bonded like brothers, no social class divide.
I gave him an ebook, he gave me his one prize.

A 20yr old yoga book
he'd held next to his bed,
It had a white man on its cover,
wearing black tights, legs spread.

My family wasnt only Lebanese, no more.
Nor was it only Canadian, no more.
Nor was I church goer, no more.
I was at home where I stood; ONE 'OUSE, TO THE CORE.

Chapter 4 - Brick Bakery

I ain't no luminary rapper,
I just want you to see;
what I've seen is for everyone,
not only for me.

Bring your love back for learning,
those wide eyes beaming;
yearning for understanding;
for belonging, gleaming.

See I'm no one to Hollywood.
Not a fan of our public schools.
My friends thought me a genius,
But I thought me a jester; just a tool for the fools.

I've learned we're not monsters;
not killers; not nowhere.
Yo is boogy man really real?
Then why we sleepin' in 'is lair?

Oh I know, 4 lifeless walls.
It seemed an eternity;
that's what the system, it calls,
educational equity.

"Fear your mistake, boy.
Abide authority,
and you'll one day own a lake, boy.
No room for autonomy.

You're too ignorant to think,
as good as he and she.
You'll always be ok, though,
if you just listen to me."

Said big brother with a smile,
as he grabbed your precious time,
and put it in his pocket,
so he can live fine off your dime.

All the while scaring you,
Instilling belligerence and hate.
We call 'em inculcated myths;
fed to you like cheesecake.

As a child you eat it up,
you make yours what are his.
Frail values all setup,
never feeling what IS.

Chapter 4.5 - Speak Your Freedom

You ask me what I'm saying?
I tell you you're blind.
You haven't seen this earth yet:
Oh, how sublime!

Beauty at every horizon,
over and over again.
Till you spin yourself into kaizen,
no longer, proud men.

See, pride is your weakness,
your ego and your id.
Implanted inside you,
since you were a kid.

"Emancipate your mind";
did you not see what Bob saw?
I want you to look, to search;
to sense, in awe.

Get back to reading,
I know that there's a book,
out there just pleading:
"hey yo Johnny, come have a look!

See what I can offer you,
freedom of the mind.
I know you think I'm not for ya,
but I swear I'll help you find,

all that you ever needed,
you don't have to stay blind!
Give you all that freedom;
the one you blindly left behind"

"The limits of my language mean the limits of my world" said Wittgenstein.

"The word", Paulo Freire,
that's what he voiced.
"Our only path to liberation;
our freedoms; our choice."

Chapter 5 - Common Sense Frequency

We need more librarians,
Not roads that travel far.
As not a common Sierra Leonean,
Had ever even owned a car.

Let Brené Brown trigger your soft and shameful spots,
While Drs. Campbell and Peterson mend them with credible data.
Have Neil deGrasse Tyson help you connect the dots,
While Vertisaium and OpenCourseware complement your Coursera.

We all have access to e-tools now,
we just need to learn to use 'em.
Bring commonality back to our senses, how?
Through commonality in our humanism.

By learning about one another,
not hating on one another.
By joining the north and south;
by bridging the equator.

By crossing all imaginary lines,
placed there by the separator.
Enough of this age-old game of signs and shrines;
constantly divided, by the conqueror.

You've accepted Maslow's needs, but you reject that man is pure.
Realize this respected author, claimed the nature of man, is only to be secure.

So the root of what's evil
isn't out there, somewhere.
It's within me; it's within you.
We can't even compare.
It's been planted through endless tales;
buried deep, deep inside; to be scared, and to scare.

Freeze, fight or flea,
feed or fornicate;
our survival senses are known,
but frequency is too elaborate.

Though we invest and elucubrate,
we fail to appreciate,
how it connects us with all - and potentiates;
What we see, hear, smell - touch and taste.

It's a language of its own;
it's math and the music.
Its been innate since we were born,
it's what makes us all a unit.

Chapter 6 - Me, and My Connectedness

That leaf on the tree
brings life to you and me,
am I right to tare it off,
and to use it on my feces?

If I cant connect with what's there,
Will I ever discover all I truly am?
I think it's only once I'm aware,
that I can grow out of being a lamb.

A life form, whole and complete.
My identity, unshakeabl'.
My group affiliations and validity,
give my character a sweet rainbow.

They bring colour and beauty,
shades of cultures, beer and tea.

...but I am the canvas, and all else is the paint;
don't get washed under, or you might face distraint.

See Ive read nationalism breads two plastic pillars:

(1) to be proud of what we never did; this puts us - aaand our offspring - on strings that can sting.

(2) to hate those not on OUR grid; this puts us through fire rings for the risings of our kings.

If we prized equity n equality,
we would not prize our flag;
not above the living,
not if we don't want slag.

We'll destroy one another,
if we don't seek together,
a sovereignty of all life,
like we had promised each other.

In the declaration of human rights,
we agreed to stand strong,
against all attacks and/or plights,
intentionally getting along.

It's a blind childish dream, you think,
"Wake up and see the hurt!"
I've seen my share, n without the ink,
we've turned blues and greens into deserts.

"There's beauty in simplicity", he said.
None other than Einstein.
"Any fool can complicate things",
it takes vision to simplify.

...but to see, isn't past you!
It's there for everyone!
If only I cared to know you,
I'd understand we are BUT one.

I couldn't eat my breakfast,
had you not made me my spoon.
Had you not cultivated the land,
or taught me how not to be a poon.

Chapter 7 - Political Animal

I can do without representatives
who care only for themselves.
They live above our systems,
forcing us to stock their shelves.

Should we dedicate a new legislation,
A new international court of justice,
Dedicated only to the perversion
Committed by the (public) servant amongst us?

Hell, maybe a guillotine is in order;
old-school public execution.
Though I am a pacifist who can't tolerate murder,
These murderers n thieves never tasted persecution;
Their game is beyond the reach of any legal prosecution.

Plato warned us long ago,
of our behavioural tendencies.
Psychologists have confirmed, and know,
Pavlov's dog and its intricacies.

Monkey see, monkey do.
You think you're better? I do too.
Only we're not, we're both goons.
We're all susceptible to the same blues,
Had we ever walked in their shoes.

Over 2 millennia have past,
And we still haven't grown.
When we're entrusted with authority,
We'll all look out for our own.

"Remove their rights to possessions", he said, before accessions, he said,
or they'll fill their own pockets.

"...and their rights to family too", he pled, "while he serves you", he wed, or their scion will fly rockets,

while your toddler crawls to a playground,
and flees brawlers whenever he's found,
to protect himself from the bullying,
that is inevitable and ever-worrying.

"Look son, that could be you some day,
The president of the United States!"
But wait, he's just a suit;
A fake smile; a prostitute.

Be the doctor, the scientist
and the artist who sets us free.
Be all that you were really,
REALLY, meant to be.

Not a toy military soldier,
used for make-believe,
but an unshakeable boulder,
who nurtures a human creed.

An athlete and a nerd,
Who loves dogs and loves birds,
Who loves cows and loves pigs,
And no, that's not absurd.

To those who sacrificed everything,
For the safety of our brethren,
I stand with you for the courage,
But honour was never to you given.

"Put down your weapons" said Chaplin,
In the Great Dictator speech.
It sent electrical shivers within,
As powerful as MLKs preach.

For long now we've listened,
Yet we still don't act right.
Who knows how right or wrong were christened,
But I KNOW I FEEL it when I BLIGHT!

Adams is quoted saying
"Liberty cannot be preserved without a general knowledge among the people"
So then is there such a thing as a free man, if we're still medieval laypeople? sheeple?

..but then what is a "real man", you might ask?
For long, I had no idea.
Now I realize, at last,
It's been a fairytale panacea.

There IS no such thing
as "being a man".
You are gifted this life;
yours only to plan.

Chapter 8 - Finally Woke

Let's break free of these shackles,
let's just unleash,
all that's within us,
that's been screaming with disbelief:
"oh you think you're a man now?
You have your house and your car?
You think your independence
is what's gonna get you far?

You're NOTHING without everything,
and you're EVERYTHING, with nothing."
This isn't a puzzle;
it's simple, though subtle.

"Do you hear me, just pleading?
I'm broken; I'm bleeding;
I'm caged in this body and my brain just ain't listening.

HEY, CAN YOU HEAR ME???
Have you not found the way yet?
I'm right here, inside you.
I, am not a threat.

I, am gratitude. I, am kindness. I, am trust.
I, am faith, in you, in her, in him; in us.

I, am.. Love.

Epilogue

...was this all too cliche?

To share in our humility, I will take the responsibility. Hold accountability, and practice some tenacity.

To be human is not only to err, but to learn and to grow;
to be able to share, to play and to forego;
to be able to sincerely belch out
at all those strangers from across the road:
"I love you, brother man; I love you, sister woman."
Now it's your go.

I'm out y'all.

Always with the clarity of gratitude,
an abundance of love,
and a lifelong craving for feeding our curiosity.

Thx for reading and/or listening.

  To Consider adding:
  Psychology of the masses, Gustave Le Bon
  Toussaint Louverture
  Sharpeville Massacre
  Braiding Sweetgrass (kimmerer, 2013)
  Idriss J aberkane hetero/hyperdox connaissance