Two weekends ago I spent the time celebrating with childhood friends. And I had the time of my life doing so: dancing, catching up on childhood memories and laughing till the tears flowed.
Marvalous at any Age: Vintage Marva 1989
My husband and I traveled to Atlanta to attend my life long friend’s birthday anniversary party which was based on the seventies Soul Train theme. The music, decorations, and disco lights took us back to a special place in time and the nostalgia was pure magic. Winning the [Party Shop] Soul Train trophy along with a life- long friend was as thrilling as winning a coveted writing award. As I reminisce and savor the memories, I recognize how important it is to take ownership of my deepest yearnings; those seemingly small elemental desires that shape our mood and often deeply impact our demeanor. The disagreements, the tug of war over where to go, what to see, and what & where to eat were all part of the circle of events of a weekend that we aimed to make the most of. In as much as we disagreed, we also had moments of celebration and sheer delights which have left me thinking. I cannot, should not, assign responsibility for my feelings to my husband, my friends, my family, or my children. There were several times over the weekend as we arranged to go site-seeing, prepared for the party or even while at the party that I was tempted to give in to the moment when something posed a challenge; when the moment wasn’t quite what I desired or expected. When my husband or someone in the group disappointed me, I was tempted to give in to my emotions and cast blame, holding someone else responsible for my feelings. I soon found however, that when I stepped outside of the box and refocused there was a special delight in the moment. Several plans didn’t work out the way we [I] intended: my husband refused to go site-seeing on day one. On day two my BFF’s partner refused to come on board while this time, my husband joined us. [Lesson learned-Men are as temperamental as women are.]
Soul Train Nostalgia
In the midst of it all, we negotiated and made space for possibilities. On the long train ride to down town Atlanta, my friend and I recalled childhood memories that had us laughing like middle school girls. Once we recognized that we had missed our way and wouldn’t get to the Aquarium as we had planned, we detoured and stopped for dinner at the first restaurant we saw. It turned out to be one of the most scrumptious meals I ever had. Worried that we might get back late for the party, we chose an expensive cab ride back to the hotel. At the party, we danced, posed for photographs and bonded with friends. The next day, we toured the King Center and were poignantly reminded of the wondrous possibilities that dreaming presents. The graphic imagery of the portraits of Dr. King and his gorgeous wife, the walk along the freedom boulevard, hearing Dr. King’s words at Ebeneezer Baptist Church stirred something deep in our soul that pushed us to let go of petty preoccupations and simply enjoy the day and all the possibilities it presented.
KING CENTER: Walking the Path of Courageous Dreaming
My Dear Friends, Thank You For Your Delightful Source of Friendship & Wisdom!
It has been my greatest wish to foster a creative community of practice which allows the space for empowered women to fellowship and support the creative outpourings of each other. And so I have been steadfast with my community of friends, Circle of Friends International, an inter-generational group that reaches out and uplifts each other. My friends and I hold dear to Picasso’s words: If I don’t show up at the canvas , there is no muse that is going to come get me. We have come to realize that living a creative life requires focused and consistent work. Even when the muse doesn’t show up, we have to work steadfastly at our practice. There is potency in such a philosophy and with this approach, I believe, comes joy. Joy in experiencing the support and oftentimes, the fanfare of good friends. Joy in the little steps attained & sometimes, the milestones. With my friends and family, I have chosen to consistently create, receive and celebrate joy especially when I have to step upon the rubble of disappointment and move with determination and claim that joy. As 2014 comes to a close, I am shouting out to my friends:
Let the world see who you are fully, truthfully, and without apology. Take risks and seize the moment to go after your wildest dreams.
This coming year as I move to step boldly onto uncharted terrain I want to do so with full expression of my heart and soul. Instead of a resolution I have whispered a promise to myself, which I share with you now: Celebrate Everything!!!
Share Your Legacy & Enrich the Future
Utilizing Face Book as a major research tool, I connect with my family worldwide and focus my research on the contemporary lives of the members of the DRESSEKIE FAMILY. My story begins with my great-grandfather Sylvester George Dressekie who arrived in Jamaica from Scotland around 1858 and bought land and settled in St. Mary, Jamaica where the town was subsequently named after him. He met and married Elizabeth Martin and they had seven children including my grandmother, Enid Dressekie who named her youngest child, my mother, after her mother, Elizabeth.
My Mother-Dezrene Elizabeth Wade
The Dressekie Legacy: The Roots of Life-Writing & Identity in Post- Colonial Jamaica
Through my story, I question the textual marginalization of people of color in academia and literature and hold myself accountable to contribute to the global discourse on genealogy & share this story of empowerment –one that I think brings an interesting perspective of the Caribbean Diaspora and emphasizes that not only are we multifaceted but our stories carry themes of historical empowerment and contemporary achievement that are relevant to all people. It is one that tells a beautifully nuanced story that needs to shared and celebrated.
Tell Your Story & Empower Your Tribe
Nicole McClean-4th Generation Dressekie Tribe
Every family has its stories; legacies that can inspire and empower future generations. Unless we write our stories, we won’t SHARE the problems they encountered; how they overcame them, their greatest happiness, and the wisdom they [could] have imparted with the passing of every generation. These ARE STORIES THAT CAN SUSTAIN & NURTURE US.
Unless we commit to writing them, Family Legacies are lost to us. Do you want your grand- children to know the lessons of your life? Will you share your wisdom? Will you inspire them to overcome their own challenges? I encourage you to share your legacy & enrich the future. Take the time to write your scribblings, collection of anecdotes, aspirations, your stories, family jokes and remembrances. This is an invaluable reservoir that you can tap into & IMPART A LASTING LEGACY TO THE FUTURE OF YOUR TRIBE.
Unless you record them, these stories won’t be available to pass on someday. I believe that every one of us has a book inside of us. I invite you to think about this and begin one of the most interesting and exciting chapters of your life: The exploration and recording of your life story. What’s preventing you from participating in this family legacy writing project?
A Festival of Books Words, Performances & Forging Friendships
Marva with Mitch Kaplan & Elizabeth Shown Mills
The Miami Book Fair International 2014 was an exciting opportunity to enjoy the glorious world of books and words. Certainly, this festival of books reminded us of the power of words and that books are an indelible part of our lives. Most important, it reminded me of the value of writing in all of our lives. I am so delighted to be part of this enduring tradition.
Marva with Mervyn Morris & Claudia Rankine
ONCE UPON A TIME
Rocks, Water & Plants: Let the Power of Nature Renew Your Spirit!
The Imagination is Everything. Einstein
I am always amazed at the power and potency of the land when I travel or even when I walk and observe familiar landscapes. I often wonder what is it about the land that allows it to exert such power over us. And how wonderful it is to be able to experience this power, to be charmed and captivated by it without having to answer to anyone or even pay a price, if we choose. On the other hand, ownership of land and access to it seems to imbue mankind with power that often leads to tyranny and oppression. Land ownership it seems gives us access to power, an opportunity to lay down roots and establish our territorial rights. Yet, the Native Americans believe that man cannot own the land; it belongs to all of us to be shared and enjoyed and of course, to utilize its healing powers to revivify and renew our lives. While this idea is appealing, I remain plagued by questions of how we may balance this noble idea with imperialistic notions of land ownership: How in this modern era bloody wars are being staged over land and our local geographic locations and zip codes determine the quality of life we live. Without answers to these questions, I find solace in the notion that my mind itself can be a landscape that no one else but me can lay claim to; that within this private internal space I can traverse vast depths and be as wildly imaginative as I want to be; that I can take wings and fly and settle in whatever corners of the earth that I choose. This, I believe, is true power!
Plant the seeds of your dreams today, tend to your garden daily & watch your life blossom. Anonymous
The Best Day of Your Life
Don’t start your day with the broken pieces of yesterday.
I am not sure just where I read these words, nor can I claim them as my own. However, what I can do is to claim the simple message they convey and embrace it as part of the foundation on which to rest the pillars of my life. This powerful metaphor works to remind me of the value of embracing each day as a fresh start; each morning I wake up as the first day of my new life. As simple as this philosophical approach may seem, it is without question one of the hardest stances to take in life, for it seems that the challenges and the problems and the issues that confront us are always conspiring to keep us in their grasp, holding on so tightly that we forget the small and wondrous things that also inspire and uplift us and bring us joy.
The Ocean is a Delightful Source of Renewal
Realizing this, I have decided to make a commitment to seek out and hold onto optimism and make that a deliberate focus of each day. It is simple. While I face the challenges, the disappointments and heartaches, I also examine ways in which I can tackle them and accept with gratitude, that there are strategies and approaches I can utilize to lessen their impact and perhaps even to conquer them. I now stand up to that nagging voice that insists that being a midlife adult I should have it all figured out. Confronting that voice, I hold myself accountable to examine opportunities for celebration in any day and to lift them up and enjoy the splendid pleasure of doing so: The feel of the sun on my back while walking through the park; the sound of a baby’s gurgle; the butterflies flittering around in my backyard and the unexpected words of a love song on the radio connecting to deep primal chords within. How wonderful that these sensory delights are abundant and free!!! Driving to work this week, anticipating a meeting I would rather not participate in, I turned the radio on to hear the uplifting refrain, “Gonna make this the best day of my life. Life…life!!!” I simply turned the dial up and bounced my head around to the beat knowing that this wonderful feeling was my mine to grasp and hold onto all day. And indeed, I did.
The Blue Lagoon, Portland
Travel has the ability to take simple lessons and transform them into moments so powerful they can define a worldview forever. As we travel and investigate another’s culture, it seems we broaden our knowledge as well as learn some important lessons about ourselves. I began my summer rendezvous with a trip to my homeland Jamaica where I enjoyed time with family on the north coast before moving on to Portland where I participated in the 6th Annual Maroon Conference in Charles Town. The conference deepened my understanding of the Maroon society, a group that has withstood the effects of imperialism to hold steadfast to its African heritage and assert its identity.
Natural Beauty!
During my time in Portland, I stayed at the Goblin Hill Villas, a place so beautiful and pristine, it seems lost in time. Goblin Hill brought me both spiritual tranquility and visual pleasure, reminding me of the how important is for us to step away from the often harsh routines of our daily lives and savor the simple pleasures of nature. The landscape delighted my senses with its magnificent beauty and charm. Truly, I have never before beheld such beauty.
Marvalous at the Piazza Venezia at the foot of the Capitoline in the heart of Rome.
Within a couple of days after returning from Jamaica, I jaunted off to Southern Europe to visit Greece and Italy and engaged in yet another experience which delighted the internal space of my creative imagination. In Europe I visited sites of ancient cultures that have exerted significant influence on the arts, sports, politics, language and philosophy of the rest of the world. Greece, a legend among nations and an inspiration for creativity held me spellbound. I reveled in the knowledge that this is the place where the gods of fire, wind, earth and sky once roamed the earth, and here I was, walking in their footprints.
The Vatican City: Experiencing Religious Traditions in a Place of Holiness
In Italy, I experienced inspiration at every turn. As I viewed the grand monuments of the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica Rome, I was enthralled with the creativity of Michelangelo and his peers. I wondered about the hearts, hands, and minds that crafted such magnificence. My trek through the Coliseum evoked memories of school days studying Julius Caesar and learning about the lifestyle of great emperors and the glory days of Rome. Now I truly understood the phrase, Rome was not built in a day!
Refreshing Great Minds With Savory Greek Cuisine:Members of the Creativity Team
Not only did my travels disrupt the habitual ways of thinking that dominate my life but I was ever so gently nudged to pause, digest, and reflect. … And think about the creative flair I will bring to next steps in the larger journey of my life.
Poetry Illuminates the Meaning of Life
Reading the Poetry of the Landscape
Poetry
Poetry is soca, calypso, rara, reggae.
It is the echoes of the abeng across the mountain top;
The cold smoldering seams between a couple’s silence ;
The hot passion of their midnight embrace.
It is the wondrous touch of a baby’s hand
And the last flower flung at a descending coffin.
..from Bridges to Memory: Poems by Marva McClean p. 50
At One With Nature: Thrilled to be Here
Literary Pioneer & Champion of Civil Rights
Last week, the world said goodbye to two notable women of letters; Maya Angelo and Maxine Greene. These two women were trailblazers who dared to disturb the universe and for that I am forever grateful. It seems I have always known Dr. Maya Angelou, listening to the sound of her voice on tape, reading her poetry and her novels and later, teaching them as well. Her proud bearing, her eloquently moving words and her no-nonsense stance have been guideposts for me along the journey. The famous line from her poem, “And still I rise,” has become the mantra for my daily living.
Educational Philosopher & Social Activist
I came across the work of Maxine Greene many years ago as a doctoral student investigating the achievement gap and the social inequities that ravish the school system. I was moved by the power and the grace of Dr. Greene’s words and the simple assurance with which she presented her work and affirmed her voice. I felt, yes, here is a kindred spirit who is giving voice to what I know to be true. She constantly asserted the link between the imagination and the sense of possibility, noting the remarkable power of poetry and art to bring people together and improve the condition of our world.
Both women were outspoken and unapologetic in their call for a more socially just world and the genius of both was reflected in the creative exercise of their imagination; the use of powerful words that stirred our hearts and moved us to action. I love the poetry of Maya’s verse as much as I love the poetic sensibilities evoked in Maxine’s prose. While I did not meet either woman personally, I feel empowered by their existence and grateful that they created such a rich body of work that offers a blueprint on how to pursue a creative path in our agency to disturb the universe and disrupt the status quo. In the challenges I encounter in the educational system and a society so rooted in injustice, I often question my role and wonder if I am doing enough and always it is reassuring to reflect on Dr. Greene’s words, I am what I am not yet.
Creativity Is Humanities Algorithm
exploring personal experiences of migration, cross-culture, nostalgia and belonging
Blog of the Centre for Imperial and Global History at the University of Exeter
The Writer's Writer
educator, public scholar, poet&writer - academic freedom isn't free
Jesse Hagopian's Lesson Plan for Liberation
Steve's body of work spans conflicts, vanishing cultures, ancient traditions and contemporary culture alike - yet always retains the human element.
A site of empowerment and support for women who believe in the power of friendship.
Creativity Is Humanities Algorithm
exploring personal experiences of migration, cross-culture, nostalgia and belonging
Blog of the Centre for Imperial and Global History at the University of Exeter
The Writer's Writer
educator, public scholar, poet&writer - academic freedom isn't free
Jesse Hagopian's Lesson Plan for Liberation
Steve's body of work spans conflicts, vanishing cultures, ancient traditions and contemporary culture alike - yet always retains the human element.
A site of empowerment and support for women who believe in the power of friendship.
Home, Garden, Food & Wellness
PLEASE NOTE: As of 2013, this website is no longer updated
Educator, Researcher, Wanderer
A blog about the National Gallery of Jamaica and Jamaican art
Of arts, culture and other random quirks of the mind
Circle of Friends, International 