Driving My Passion With Virtual Grenades

I'd catch a grenade for love
Throw my hand on a blade for love
I'd jump in front of a train for love
You know I'd do anything for love
I would go through all this pain
Take a bullet straight through my brain
Yes, I would die for you....

Bruno Mars sings these heartfelt lyrics in his fast rhythm song, Grenade. I love the beat; it has a pulsing tempo that just begs to pull your body into movement. However, if you listen closely, the lyrics will break your heart. When I take in his words, they makes me wonder about the things in my life that I would ascribe these same intense sentiments.

What are the passions that drive me to succeed and for which I would lay down everything. For me the number one answer would be relationships. I value the connections that I have with people. I am a deep, analytical soul and when I meet someone, I want to know everything about them.

Secondly I am passionate about self-actualization. I aspire to be the best possible version of me that can exist at this time and in this space. I love to make a difference in people's lives that will help them achieve their goals.

Lastly, I am passionate about leaving a legacy. I want to leave this earth having created pieces of myself that are left to lodge and grow and influence future generations. I don't want to disappear into the ether, but to have some tangible proof that I walked this earth and left it in a better state of being somehow.

So what do my ramblings have to do with unrequited love as it is described in Bruno's song. Well not much, but words and lyrics inspire me and cause me to reach deeper into my own psyche for parallel meanings.

What things in your life would you take a virtual grenade for?





Copyright Michelle Beckham-Corbin 2011

Breathe Change Into the World

Take a moment to breathe in the cold air around you and as you hold it inside your lungs, remember that you were placed right here, in this spot to make a difference. Whether that difference is within your own family or out in the world, know that you possess the ability to faciliatate change. It only takes one committed person to move a mountain. I'll see you on the other side.

Copyright Michelle Beckham-Corbin 2010

Escaping the Image of Me

Escaping the Image of Me

For years people have told you:

“You look just like her”

And while I don’t see the complete physical resemblance

Beyond similar hair and eye color,

I think what they were trying to do was to paint the feeling

That they had into words- the observation that our inner core, our essence is similar

Extroverted over-achievers with a flair for the dramatic and a love

Of being front and center

We have strong, independent personalities and value integrity and truthfulness

We are unflinchingly loyal,

Unless of course one has proven themselves to be lacking in the virtues we hold dear

Leaders

Thought provokers

Keeper of the peace

Risk takers (ok- we diverge here)

Brave hearts that seek to do what is right and not what is popular

Voracious readers of good content

Talented Writers

Gifted intellect


Lately you voice concerns about our similarities

And I ask, “Is there a reason why you don’t have positive feelings about being like me?

And you answer, “Because I feel like I am re-playing a movie role about your life”

Hazards of sharing journal entries of my life at your exact age….

And yes there are many, many similarities.

BUT there are differences that make you your own unique person

You are you and I am me

How lucky we are to have each other.

Copyright Michelle Beckham-Corbin 2010

JADED.......................

A lesson in living occurred last night on the way to an AAU girls’ basketball game with two 12 yr olds in tow. We were headed to the far side of Cincinnati for what proved to be an intensely competitive and aggressive basketball game. I pulled onto the highway exit from I-275 and standing there at the light, by the side of the road, stood a girl with a home-made cardboard sign. In big black letters, impossible to miss, were the words: “HOMELESS. NEED MONEY FOR FOOD. PLEASE HELP!!!” She was a petite, red-head with trendy clips in her hair and neatly dressed; her backpack and another satchel lying in the dirt by her feet. So strange to be out in the northern most suburbs (Colerain Township) and to see a girl somewhere between 18 and 25, ok, maybe I should identify her as a young woman, appealing to motorists for help. I was in the farthest lane from where she stood, but I could see that the cars in the other two lanes completely ignored her plight.

The 12 year old girls in my car took a long look at her and had absolutely no sympathy for her situation, which shocked me. Their reasoning: the labels on her clothing and back pack! They recognized the North Face Label on her jacket and pack and that her boots had an expensive designer label. The girls reasoned that if she was that down and out on her luck, she would have sold her possessions. The fact that she looked like any other college student: neat, well-scrubbed, etc., also seemed to factor into their belief systems: she just didn’t look needy to them.

Their previous experience of homelessness consisted of seeing raggedy people on downtown street corners looking vastly different than the young woman standing before them.

The sad reality that is beyond comprehension for kids such as these 12 year old girls is that as a nation we are facing the worst economic crisis that most of us have ever seen. People at all economic levels are losing their jobs, their homes, their futures, their……..hope. The new image of homelessness is far removed from the bedraggled, weary, dirt-smeared older person of yesteryear huddled on a downtown street corner under a pile of ragged blankets. Today’s homeless person could be you or me.

On the one hand, I am almost embarrassed at the lack of empathy that the girls had for this homeless young woman, but on the other hand it shows that they are still living a life of innocence, free from the harsh realities that swirl around them. I think given both sides of the knowledge coin, I prefer to have them be young, care-free and naïve a little longer. The harsh realities of life will set in soon enough.

I pray that the young woman standing on the Colerain Avenue Exit from I-275 at 5:30 p.m. last night was able to find refuge at a local shelter and that her life will turn around soon. My hope is that the nightmare that is homelessness finds a swift solution for all who find themselves caught in its downturn.

Copyright Michelle Beckham-Corbin 2009

RECLAIMING ME WHILE TAKING A STAND

A voice is calling me from afar

A muted voice, muffled by the fog of distance

Calling me home

Calling me back

Calling me to reclaim my soul

Its time to move forward

To take a stand

To take those gifts of nurture, guidance and firm hand

To cast a wider net

Letting those qualities of leadership and organization

Be used for a greater good

In order to touch many more people

People in need of inspiration

The whispers begin in a soft hush

And with each question, the tone and volume increase

Exponentially until by the last, there is a cacophony in my head

Begging for action to stop the pain

These are the questions

That now creep through the shroud of fog,

Entering my brain like tiny carpenter ants

Drilling into my subconscious mind:

What do you stand for?

What do you believe in?

What is of importance outside your immediate family?

What will you fight for?

What will you die for?

What is the ultimate sacrifice?

Until one can answer these questions

They will remain stuck in a sludge of indecision

Letting their minds follow the shallow breath of the wind

Like swiveling heads at a tennis tournament