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Thankful for my blessings
August 15, 2018
Look here nuh, I have to thank God for the opportunities and experiences with which I'm blessed.
After more than three decades as a performing artist working mainly in theatre and comedy, I've honestly grown weary of the sometimes gruelling grind of life in entertainment.
Yeah peeps, the up and down tends to get to me, I kid you not. But I continue to do it, because hey, it's work. And it pays ... sometimes!
Interestingly, requests for me to do speaking engagements have increased significantly over the last couple of years.
And I've jokingly expressed the view that some people just a use dem brains by inviting me to be 'keynote speaker' or 'motivational presenter' instead of entertainer. Why?
Booking an entertainer means paying premium fees. As speaker, however, they usually feel they can get away with just presenting me with a gift basket, commemorative plaque or some other token. Still, the engagements are always mutually fulfilling, so I happily oblige.
VALUE OPPORTUNITY
I also value each opportunity to meet new people and visit new places. For example, I recently had the honour of being keynote speaker at the Independence Gala hosted by The Jamaican Foundation of Houston, Texas.
It was awesome, plus brawta. An' mi nah tell unnu mi business, but I got more than 'token thanks'. Yeah man, the warm welcome, hospitality and generosity, dem give it to mi 'bigly'.
In fact, I'm now booked to return to that oil-rich state in December. I can't wait!
The most rewarding recent experiences I've had, though, was a walk through Kingston last Thursday and a show in Manchester on Sunday.
Both were labours of love and both were blessings to my soul. The show was a fundraiser for St Barnabas Anglican Church in Mile Gully, hosted by a gentle giant of a musician named Harold Davis and featuring an array of his awesomely gifted friends.
The walk, from University of the West Indies, Mona, to Emancipation Park, was an act of solidarity with another friend, Errol Fabien.
A popular actor, comedian and TV host in Trinidad and Tobago, Errol is currently doing a 'walk2freedom'.
It involves walking in silence for a total of 30 hours, two hours each in 15 different Caribbean countries, to mark 30 years of freedom from drug addiction.
Joined by my church sister Samara Johnson, I was proud to make the symbolic walk with my courageous Caribbean brother.
I feel blessed, with a tank full of thankfulness! How about you?
