Intersectionality (a GeoPoem)

I am a transsexual woman.
     I need to love my body.
I am a singer.
     I need to sing.
I am a writer.
     I need to write.
I am a student.
     I need to study.
I am a Buddhist.
     I need to chant.
I am a wife.
     I need my baby to be happy.
I am a teacher.
     I need to learn as much as I can.
I am a work in progress.
     I need to stay positive and believe in myself.
I am a White person.
     I need to fight against racism.
I am a seeker of the truth.
     I need to let go of my attachment to lies.
I have the capacity to be happy.
     I need to fight for that happiness, and never give up on it.

Going Out on a Limb Here...

Nobody thrives on abuse
It doesn't make you stronger
Dishing it out is not power
Taking it is not strength

I've made that mistake
Learned that thinking too well
That costs too much
And it keeps costing.

The Buddha sat under a baobab.

What is power to a tree?
The power of a tree, I think, is
     to take in light and
     to make nourishment for itself.

What is strength for a tree?
The strength of a tree is
     to give shade,
     to grow tall and spread out its limbs,
     to give small things a home, and
     to grow fruit.

A random statement

I am a Buddhist and an atheist (or possibly a pantheist). I believe in the big bang as the original creative force and that things and people and places and ideas have divine aspects but that things evolve along both mundane and mystical paths. My relationship with God was soured by being raised among Southern Baptists, who distrusted joy and feared and hated difference. I was sure different! For me the thought of an old white guy in the sky who built, owns, and controls everything is odious, especially when, in my understanding, humans created God.

vlog for 1:29:11 Magic, Murder, and the Weather

12/22/10 The Vlog Before Christmas!

Blogging Fuyu Persimmon, Song V -- Kamakura

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This is the first song I wrote and recorded for the project. I felt that I had to start from faith, and that meant a lot of different things to me. I knew I was going to be writing about my life, either directly or indirectly, and as a Nichiren Buddhist, I understand Nam Myoho Renge Kyo as being life itself. So I began from the notion that whatever struggles I face, I have a place to go to refresh my spirit, and a source of power for change. I felt free to just lay my cards on the table, and talk about where I was & where I was going. I also felt like I was making the determination to see the project of writing these ten songs through.

"Kamakura" refers to a city in Japan, and is a reference to a quote from a letter written by the priest Nichiren Daishonin to a follower to encourage them not to give up: "Be diligent in developing your faith until the last moment of your life. Otherwise you will have regrets. For example, the journey from Kamakura to Kyoto takes twelve days. If you travel for eleven but stop with only one day remaining, how can you admire the moon over the capital?" (Letter to Niike).