I just took that step that requires commitment. I have just registered my domain name. It is blacksoilliving.com. So why is this a big deal? Well, it requires me to commit to consistant posts. It also allows me to upgrade my site. So stay tuned. This is the beginning of the Redefining.
Black Soil Living
Redefining
Hi Everyone.
For those who are former followers, I am renewing my presence in this digital world. For those who are and will be new, welcome.
My randomness has not changed. The “black soil” has just been seasoned and is richer than before. I have gone through a deep loss. I have gone through the grief that accompanied that loss. I discovered in that process that I was also grieving the loss of 45 year old identities.
I hear you saying, “What?” For 45 years my identity was somebodies’ something which consumed the original. I was my husband’s wife, my children’s mother, and the Pastor’s wife. I am still my children’s mother but they don’t need me the same way. The question, “who am I now?” popped into my mind and I grieved that loss.
I am now ready to find Pat; To redefine and to live the rest of my days as my New authentic self. What does that look like? We will find out together. My soil is getting richer.
I Surrender – For NOW
Those who have followed me and know me know that I am resistant to pharmaceuticals. It is my very last resort. The health issue that I have is the source of any other potential issues: high blood pressure. I didn’t know I had the condition until a blood vessel burst in my eye. I had to have surgery on my eye. The day of the surgery, my BP was so high that they rescheduled. That was the day this battle began.
Since then I have been regulating my BP with vegetables, specifically beets. It was going well, but I did get periodic spikes. The spikes in BP measurements are my Dr’s concern. She said they were just as damaging to my blood vessels. So for now I will take a very low dose of lisinipril. One of the side affects is allowing a build-up in potassium that damages your kidneys. To me that is trading one problem for another. My goal is to eventually get off this medication. In the meantime, I will eat clean and exercise and take this poison. Those who pray to the Heavenly Father, please pray for me.
Good to Be Back
Hi Everyone,
It’s good to be back. I’ve gone through many stages and moments of grief in the last year and a half. I still have moments but they are not overwhelming or incapacitating. Maybe one day I will post about that but not today. I have had many thoughts, many Soil enriching experiences, but I couldn’t bring them together coherently. I am on the road back to my wacky, random thoughts. I will be posting about my raw vegan/vegan food journey, mental health and spiritual things. Of course other subjects will pop up from time to time. It only serves to enrich my Soil. It is getting more powerfully enriched , more powerfully Black. Oh yes!
Got to go now. The first food post is in the oven. It’s my lunch for today. I will probably be sharing it tomorrow. See you then.
Remember, everything in your life, whether good or bad, can enrich your life, enrich your Soil. It is your choice.
Strong Shallow Roots
My roots are strong but shallow!
Knowing your roots is important. If you don’t know where you came from, how can you know where you are going? Non-colored people are more likely to shout this epitaph and are thrilled to go to Scotland or that little village in Italy to discover their roots. I was watching Project Runway All Stars and in one of the episodes the 23 and Me founder offered the designers free DNA tests. She talked about the importance of knowing your ancestry, knowing your roots. There was great enthusiasm for this activity and its results. Then a commercial for Ancestry.com came on and echoed the same thing. My mind turned to my ancestry. What is it? I know it’s African but which country. Is it Ghanaian, Nigerian, Kenyan, Zambian? More often than not the response when a black person speaks about not knowing and the effect of not knowing is “Get over it. You are American.”
Because I can’t reach in to Africa with specificity of country, how deep can my roots go?
My known ancestry tree is planted in Alabama. Each branch is strong. I am the granddaughter of strong women and men. I am the great-granddaughter of strong women and men. I am the grandneice of strong women and men. I am the mentee of strong women. They all survived Jim Crow south with wisdom and grace. They taught me how to see and perform to survive.
Can you imagine how much stronger I would be if my shallow roots ran deeper; deeper back to the black soil of a specific country, a specific city or village, a specific tribe of Africa.My roots are shallow but strong.
Inspite of all this, I am grateful and proud of my Strong Shallow Roots!
"Black Soil" Living 