We should focus on living good

What a week it has been since we last made the link! Listen friends, last week, I attended an event at the UWI chapel that was a powerful reminder of the fragility of our mortality. It was also a beautiful reminder that the contributions and connections that emanate from a person's life definitely carry greater value than the actual duration of that life. Yeah, man! Is better wi focus more on living good than worry about too much about living long.

I attended the service of thanksgiving 'a song of praise' for an amazing soul named Scarlette Beharie, whose light radiated briefly but beautifully. And what an event it was! Spirits were lifted and souls were touched as a beautiful life was celebrated with song, dance, poetry, and stirring tributes from some of the most talented and celebrated artists in Jamaica who also happen to be friends of Scarlette.

It was an absolutely amazing show that based on the quality of the acts and the calibre of the performers, if dem did a sell ticket me couldn't afford it. And it was certainly a fitting send off for a young woman, who served passionately and generously in various areas of the arts. It was inspirational, uplifting, and entertaining. And I lost count of the number of times I was moved to tears. Yeah, mi nuh 'fraid fi admit seh mi bawl. And it wasn't me alone. Tears flowed freely all around me.

Hear mi nuh man, there were lumps in my throat when the rich, resonant and robust voice of Michael Sean Harris gave strident and soulful presence to Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah, while Marlon Simms delivered a riveting and transcendental dance rendition. And when the song ended, and the dance continued with Marlon's silent, poignant procession, gently cradling a piece of white fabric, the lump melted and eye water buss!

Then the pastor, Rev Astor Carlyle, gave us a message that was captivating in style and heavy with substance. I was already impressed when he began by announcing that he is pastor for a church that believes a sermon doesn't have to be eternal in order to be immortal. And by the end of his short, strident, and stirring message, I became an instant fan. Yeah, man! Dah pastor deh have it. As the ever effervescent Deon Silvera remarked to me after, if he had an altar call at the end of his message, probably everybody who was not yet saved would've taken the step. And I agree.

RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD

I also fully understand now, how after experiencing the funeral for J Capri last year, the former Lady Saw, now Minister Marion Hall, decided to change her life. Trust me, I now know. I had already been moving towards a deepening of my relationship with my Creator. Yeah, peeps! I had already resolved to seriously realign myself with the Almighty and strive to live my higher purpose. And Rev Carlyle's message was just the extra push I needed. Yeah, man, so ahmm ... bet unuh couldn't guess where I was and what I did Sunday?

Oh, and then Monday of this week now, I spent an hour giving a talk and a bit of impromptu performance to some grade nine students at Cumberland High School in Portmore. And, look here nuh, that one deggeh-deggeh hour reminded me emphatically about why I have the utmost respect for the remarkably strong, patient, and dedicated people the majority of whom are women who get up every day to take on that thankless, underpaying, and overly stressful sacrifice of a job called teaching.

Trust mi, I rate teachers to the highest degree. I really don't know how dem do it and stay sane. I'm happy I got the chance to rap with the youngsters though, although it also gave me a loud and strong reminder of why I left that field of work. I'm already slightly crazy, and dem pickney deh woulda push me over the edge. And I know I definitely don't have the requisite patience and temperament to teach anybody anywhere below the tertiary level. If unuh still guessing about Sunday, well, that's subject for a whole other box! box-mi-back@hotmail.com