I feel like this has become a ritual to me... whenever something affects me I feel like i have to share that with the rest of you guys... even though it could all mean nothing to you.

So, Nicole asked "Who's Saul Williams to you? Why are you so excited?" lol and yeah, it's true, he's just one of many great poets out there that have touched my soul... but he was coming to Rutgers and I couldn't miss out.

First of all... the entire program was called "Drop Beats Not Bombs" and it was hosted by R.A.W. Rutgers against the war. a lot of the slams were politically or socially conscious, but not all. some were personal, some were just for fun. But almost 100% were good. They went on for about 2 hours before Saul even came up. we had a lot of groups represented and i'm sorry I can't remember them all, but my 4 favorite groups were Native Tongue, Verbal Mayhem, The Paper Project, and the Just Us league, as always. I think the paper project had a longer name than that, but i can't remember. they aren't an RU group, they are vets from the iraqi war, coming home confused, ashamed, and angry about the war. They are the only group that brought me on the verge of tears.

But anyway, saul williams began and went on for about 2 hrs. I think he read... 4 poems? 4-6 poems. though one he stopped half way through because it was a request though he didn't really remember it. But more than he recited, he talked. we talked, a 2 hour dialogue on everything from religion to college to marriage to food. haha and THAT was the best part.

Homeboy has too much insight. i wish everyone could have been there.
and it wasn't even that poetic-type insight, it was real, it was honest, it was raw haha.

we talked about the politics of religion, which should have been added as an addendum to my previous post... about how the institution of religion has gotten us all fucked up, fighting each other, excommunicating people, when so much of the Bible, so much of Christianity was altered by PEOPLE. with political interests, with a desire for control. So many people that follow the Bible don't know the Bible, not REALLY. choose not to look into the real reasons for our "Christian" holidays, or question why the Holy Trinity is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit... instead of Father, Mother, and Child... which would make more sense.Why is the female shut out of Christianity? and no, this was not some DaVinci code rampage, lol.

But we also talked about the loss of feminity of our lives. how feminine qualities have been shown as weak, when the feminine is needed for the balance in everyone. "not showing vulnerability does not prove strength. not showing vulnerability is a weakness. it'll make us fall, it'll make us fail".

Oh man... we talked about passion. About following your "calling". He told us ignore all the shit your parents, friends, and the whole damn institution tells you what's right, and find your own calling. lol. he thinks that doing this and that b/c that's where the money's at or security's at, or pride is at, will get us nowhere as a nation and a world. we will not learn to evolve, we won't grow, we won't find harmony, we won't get peace. but he had a point... we need to try to figure out what we are being called to do. And it may not always be what you want to do, or what you're interested in. Saul didn't want to be a poet...he wanted to be an actor... and went to school for law haha. he still doesn't call himself a poet. But to him, poetry it came naturally, and what's more is that he found that he could use it to evolve and become a better, clearer person. AND help others evolve and investigate their own circumstances. his poetry is simply "the residue of the work that he's doing on himself". FIND YOUR CALLING. and I would add that it's not even always the thing that you like to do, that makes u happy. it's more than that. there's a bigger picture out there. there's something you're supposed to do in this world, whether it's for yourself, for your family, or for the world.

He was asked... how does he deal with the fact that so many people seem to not care about anything... seem to not have a passion, but he argued that everyone is in some way willing and eager to learn, it just really varies what knowledge they're seeking. everyone can find a passion, people are natuarally good, they're not really apathetic. "think they're an asshole, approach them as an asshole, and that's what you'll get. Approach them as fucking Buddha that could teach you something great and you'll be surpised what you'll find out."

And where does he get his optimism from? haha. "You want to know the truth? Fuckin better diet and B vitamins" lol. but seriously, he truly believes that when you learn to care about what goes into you, you can really affect what comes out of you. be in tune with your body and notice how you feel after eating certain foods and then eat accordingly. it makes a world of difference.
And even not related to food... be aware of what you ingest. "People walk around listenin to a a bunch of crap, watchin a bunch of shit and then complain 'I can't seem to write a masterpiece'. Well, no shit... you're not taking in masterpieces how can you expect to produce masterpieces?" haha he's teaching a course right now and making his students go vegan for the semester... saying if you expect me to evaluate the shit that comes out of you, you gotta evaluate the shit that goes into you. haha. well, he didn't inspire me to go vegan, but he did make me realize that everytihng from food to the shows we watch on tv really do affect how we feel and how we are.

It was great to just be in the presence of someone who has so much of himself together. haha. someone asked him how he felt about all the problems in venezuela about this that and the third and he was like. "you know what man, honestly, I don't know! I'm too focused internally to worry about the outside world. it doens't mean that i don't care, it's just that i feel like everything will work itself out... that's where I'm at right now."

That's where I want to be. that's where i felt everyone wanted to be after he was done speaking. and i need to stop writing about this so i can move on with my day, he rambled so much and touched on so many things, but i'll iterate one last point. Someone asked him what advice he had for people trying to balance bills and the banalities of life with the realities of their dreams. and he said
"Fuck that, man, I pay my bills writing poems... no one can tell me that they can't do shit!"

haha. great times, great times.
:-)