Black women are some of the most beautiful women on the planet, with God-given curves that some go under the…
Picture this: You are awakened with soft and gentle kisses from the glistening rays of the Saturday morning sun peeking…
Mane & Chic is not your ordinary natural hair blog – it’s an eclectic mix of hair and fashion. Don’t get…
It’s hip. It’s hot. It‘s totally fab. All the cool kids are doin’ it….going VEGAN, that is. And, one of…
For my sisters in the struggle, my fellow prayer warriors who bum rush altar calls and wait, who bombard clergy…
Have great fear. Tiger Text is here.
As if practicing fidelity wasn’t hard enough, somebody saw fit to create an mobile…
My mother always taught me to pace myself…
Yet like the ticking of a clock, I hear the urgency in garnering…
Ding, ding.
The Tavis-Sharpton on air fight over whether or not President Obama was going to have a black agenda started…
You don’t need to survey five or six of your girlfriends and listen to their opinions. You don’t need the…
My mother and my grandmother are like the father and mother I never had – my mother being the father,…
I recently had the chance to sit down and watch Spike Lee’s 1986 film, She’s Gotta Have It. The main character,…
It’s always interesting to see how power-deprived respond to new-found power or opportunity. If a group of people fought for…
If there is any industry that has dominated Twitter’s public timeline, it is the world of fashion. Industry insiders from…
Actress Hattie McDaniel was the first black person to win an Academy Award, winning a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for playing…
Whether by the flicker of the television screen or the saturating effect of being broadcast as front page news, the…
As I listen to the words of India Arie’s Wings of Forgiveness I realize just how trite those hateful text messages and accusatory arguments with my ex-boyfriend were. Two years have passed since then and I find myself reflecting privately on the relationship that hurt me significantly. Without pining, I think of the good and bad with a better understanding of who he was when our relationship ended.
India’s melodic voice serenades my tattered soul as I uncover the facts about our failed bond: I met him in summer, we fell in love by fall and I was heartbroken and alone just in time for New Year’s Eve.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
“Spent so much time trying to be right that I was dead wrong.”
Indignity brought me to tears but I mustered up the strength to call off my search for the two survivors in my derailed relationship. I could only rescue myself – the wayward traveler who left home without a sense of direction or a compass. I’d become so enthralled with my boyfriend that I forgot about my dreams and aspirations.
“If Nelson Mandela can forgive his oppressors surely I can forgive you for your passion.”
Many nights I contemplated calling him for answers; I wanted and thought I needed closure to move on. As luck would have it, those calls were never returned and answers remained untold. I was surviving but still afraid to admit that I could stand on my own two feet and move on while forgiving us both.
“You’re only human.”
Cyclical evolutions are apparent in our lives: you give and you receive, you forgive and you forget, you live and you die. Life is filled with tumultuous ups and downs but that’s the beauty of it.
“If Gandhi can forgive persecution surely you can forgive me for being so petty.”
Like many others, I’ve been dealt some pretty harsh blows but the reassuring fact was that it’s never more than I am capable of handling. Sure, people defy logical reasoning everyday and it besmirches our perception of love but we can’t point fingers, self-blame or cry rivers now can we?
“I’m only human.”
We can only hold one another accountable for being human. Flawed creations that play the cards dealt to the best of their ability.
“Found the game of love is not about how much you can take. In fact authentic love is about how much you can give.”
As India’s song comes to an end, I smile. I’m nowhere near ready to date again but I know the hardships I’ve endured taught me how to forgive for my own sanity. In the larger scheme of things, these time lapses spent involved with others make us all better humans – if we allow it to.
Stockpiles of ancient keepsakes leaves little room for new mementos so instead of resting in the unforgiving purgatory of relationship failures, let’s revel in the fact that we have lived to see another day. And while we admit that there are a few bruises, we are never broken.
It’s a good thing that Gabourey Sidibe is comfortable in her own skin because there are plenty of people out…
Article from The Grio – For the second time in less than a year, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has…
From BlackVoices.com – She came to the White House as a FOO (Friend of Obama) of the highest rank, with a…
Vogue Italia launched Vogue Black and Vogue Curvy as supplemental web sites to focus on fashion, beauty, and news in the aforementioned factions.…
WWD recently reported that the 2010 CFDA Fashion Award winners could be shaped by newly influential fashion bloggers. Both WWD and The Cut spotlights bloggers…
Beautyfully written, This song really got me when I first heard it and I’m also loving India’s picture.
This is one of my favourite songs by India to date. I heard it a time when I was going through a break up with my ex and it helped to start the healing process. Nicole, I hope you get to smile and experience love again someday when you’re ready.
Wow…Nicely written and makes you realize the season of people when they come into your life, it could be for a while and it could be for a short period of time, nonetheless you seem to have evolved from the situation nicely…
I agree – very well written. This is also my favorite song on that CD.
Great article Nicole. I have been here a couple times in my life and I can say the last one was easier because I adopted this thought process and I had this cd to help me through. “Good Morning” is my song too.
Thanks ladies. Your kind words are appreciated. Dana, I love Good Morning too.. I love that entire CD actually :)
This article really touched me because I’m going through this right now…you created a wonderful, thoughtful piece. It seems like I go up and down with getting over my ex…and I look forward to the day I can officially move on…this article definitely helps me to get a little closer to that place. Thank you!
This is awesome. Great insight and wonderfuly written. Kudos!