Acceptance, Alignment, Anticipation & Affirmations
7 Things You Should Know This Week: "Social Media, Sharing & Self Love", Music You Missed, Books to Digest, National Poetry Month, and more
Hey! What’s Jazzin’?
Y’all…I owe you an apology. I let a few things slip through the cracks, and I’m not happy about it. The last time we met for this newsletter I gave you a little something extra, but that meant that I had to let go of a few other things. As I write from my home office in New Hampshire, I’m looking out at a beautiful view of the forest and now that spring is well underway, I am ironically missing the snow-dusted trees.
This week’s update will fill you up and make up for the lost time. 😉 The format going forward will be a bit more organized. I’ll share a moment of awakening (in the form of a short story or blog post), an inside peek at what I’ve been up to (you know: stuff I won’t share with the “masses”, music or album recommendation and some books I think you should ingest.
Let’s dig in.
“Social Media, Sharing, and Self Love”
Have you ever made a huge change in your life, like signing up for a marathon, and felt the need to tell everyone? Suddenly, every conversation must begin with: "I did this…" If you have then you're not alone. Humans love announcing things, but there comes a time when it gets old.
You know that feeling when you accomplish something and you can't wait to tell everyone about it? You think about all the people in your life who might be happy for you and celebrate your success along with you or at least cheer you on from afar.
But what if that urge was gone? What if there was no more need to publicly announce your accomplishments? How would your life look then?
ACCEPTANCE
April is only a week and a couple of days in and lemme say -- It "hit different". Let's just say I got a wake-up call from The Universe.
NOTE TO SELF: You don't have to announce everything.
During one of my meditations this week, I came to the awareness that this is a type of self-love and maturity, and it's not something that happens overnight or comes naturally to everyone. But the next time I feel pressure to share something publically, I will remember that my most important relationships are probably best kept private—for my sake and theirs.
We've all been there—celebrating a promotion, feeling like we've finally made it. And when people ask us to tell them about it, we over-share. But is that really how I want to treat your accomplishments? Nah... I'm good.
I've definitely been guilty of falling into the trap of oversharing without thinking first: as someone who creates content to enlighten, educate, inform, and for a living. I'm constantly finding new things that excite me, or interesting ideas that bubble up in my mind. Yet not every thought needs to be shared in order for me to feel validated -- and sometimes not sharing a thought or idea lets me explore it more deeply in private.
Think about it: when you were younger and got frustrated because your parents wouldn't give you candy or ice cream for dinner, you may have said something like "Well, so-and-so's parents let them do it!" You were attempting to validate your demands by pointing out someone else who was being treated differently than you were. It was an attempt at manipulation.
In much the same way, growing adults who announce their accomplishments on social media seek validation from society. They're doing what we did as children—seeking validation for their demands about how the world should treat them.
ALIGNMENT
Self-love is the best kind of love — it gives you freedom. Freedom from the need to always be heard. Freedom from the desire for applause. When you love yourself enough you are fine taking joy in your accomplishments and no one needs to know about it.
ANTICIPATION is delicious, and waiting is necessary.
7 Things You Should Know This Week
It’s National Poetry Month! It's the largest literary celebration in the world! No, really, it's a big deal. In 1996, The Academy of American Poets established the month of April to honor and celebrate poetry. One of my new favorite poets is none other than the amazing Amanda Gorman who recited “The Hill We Climb” at President Joe Biden’s inauguration. Check out her thoughts, recommendations, and resources.
My original music score QUADRILOGY is officially was officially released on Friday, April 1, 2022! It’s my original music score and is now available on all online streaming services!! There’s a DELUXE version (which includes bonus tracks) accessible through my website. These ‘idiosyncratic cacophonies’ and the electronic music score are being released ahead of the book launch & upcoming historical fiction podcast series: “Time Traveler’s Digest” which will be available in the fall.
While I’m on the subject of music, I don’t share music nearly as much as I did since I was on the radio. I totally blame what happened to us all in March 2020 which affected my desire to crank out music contact. How do you guys feel about me bringing back the Taste Test radio mix show? While you think about it, here are the top 7 albums you may have missed that are in heavy rotation in my earbuds:
“Dawn” by Yebba
“Black Radio III” by Robert Glasper
“Starfruit” by Moonchild
“Try&Remember” by Mayyadda
“BLK2LIFE || A FUTURE PAST” by Theo Croker
“Safe Space (EP)” by Marie Dahlstrøm
“Candydrip” by Lucky Daye
Aside from all the recent research books on copywriting and character development books I purchased recently, here are three of this week’s must-read book recommendations:
“DOTCOM Secrets” by Russel Brunson
“Clarity & Connect” by Yung Pueblo
“The Abundance Book” by John Randolph Price
I finally purchased a very condenser microphone as I prep my new podcasts. That’s right! I’m gearing up to premiere a new personal growth podcast. I’ve been receiving downloads to create affirmation videos to assist in the current global awakening. My goal is to produce at least 1 a month. There are three available on my YouTube channel for your listening and viewing enjoyment.
Spring Elevation Affirmations // Runtime 5 mins.
Positive Elevation Affirmations // Runtime 12:43 mins.
You are _______ - Be Encouraged! // Runtime 1:43
After recently devouring a dragon fruit, I stumbled across a neat brand and spent about an hour thumbing through timelapse videos of different fruits and vegetables being grown. Honestly, I cannot get enough of Boxlapse videos.
Photo of the Week
Photo caption: Soulangeana
Description: My partner and I drove up to visit his daughter at work. We grabbed lunch at Revival Cafe and Kitchen. On our way back, I captured this beautiful saucer magnolia during a recent trip to Boston. It was especially nice to see the streets filled with pedestrians and tourists, especially since our Christmas weekend stay last year was akin to what a quiet night on the streets of Gotham must have been like.
Well, that's all for this week — and that was a LOT! I appreciate you taking the time to read it all, and most of all, I am grateful for your continued support and patronage! The best way to support my work is to buy my music, hire me for digital content creation or voice-over work, or become a paid subscriber.
Be amazing and let’s keep creating an adventure of a lifetime.
Until then, See you next week!
Damien Lamar