Forever soul in a never body, stand freezing cold in a hotel lobby. Prob’ly warm hands before security, suggest I hit the streets of scare city. On Fear Avenue, packed lanes of red lights. Cars howl in mad fright, haze blurs the sun's light. Hand out? Slapped! side swipe. hand up? swipe, decline. My boots been strapped tight, why I still survive. (In) Zero-sum games, been the cat with nine lives. Been shuffled like cards, been shaken like dice. Played by rule book between working 9-5s Been played by rule books that I did not write. I will write these signs. I'll stand in these lines. Peace sign, be kind as your eyes avert mine. As the shine shadows, will your windows roll? With your hands of time can you spare a soul?

Wondering who writes raps here? I have some verses I can share , but just want to make sure I'm not the only one who writes raps.

I haven’t been living with integrity. Yesterday, I was introduced to the concept of “Integrity of Purpose.” The idea is that our actions, behaviors, attention, and energy should be in alignment with that which we seek or define as purpose. Purpose, of course, comes in myriad forms – husband, father, wife, mother, employee, creator, writer, friend, Christian etc. There are areas in our lives where the integrity underlying our purpose aligns, where it reflects a true form of being in pursuit of “purpose.” And then there are areas in our lives where the underlying integrity is completely and utterly non-existent, or it is hollow, or an illusion, or we’ve lied ourselves into thinking we’re doing what is necessary to bountifully reap from our efforts, our work, our pursuit of it. “First of all, discipleship means a sincere desire to learn and a determination to learn at all cost… So the first condition, if we wish to become disciples fruitfully and learn a discipline which will give results, is integrity of purpose. This is not easily acquired.” I’ve been in New Mexico for nearly three weeks. The first two were spent in a small community on the edge of Carson National Forest, roughly 7,800 ft above sea level. I hiked, prayed, read, sketched, cooked, cleaned, made fires, fed animals, reflected/contemplated, but mostly I was distracting myself with the internet, watching videos/lectures, scrolling social media, online gambling, listening to podcasts, etc. And then, finally, the end of week three rolls around, and I wake up to this madness; after nearly two years of idleness, distraction, unfruitfulness, soul-numbingly and passively consumed by the simulacrum, I stop for a day. There is great wisdom in silence; its expansiveness is an eerie ringing inside your ears; a siren of silence that calls you front and center. This fragile space, oh delicate of delicates, is like tinkering with some infinitely precise science experiment—something so precious that the slightest movement or breath could knock the entire planet off its axis; it is where new life is formed, where your heart resides, where God speaks to you in secret, where the Soul is waiting to be heard.

Join me in wishing a massive welcome to our latest community members, Great to have you all on board ✨ Desmond Brandy Irene Taofik