Kenneth Davis

   T H O U G H T   F O R   C O N S I D E R A T I O N  
TODAY'S WORD - ASSURANCE

     A criminal remains a criminal whether he uses a convict's suit or a monarch's crown. Adversity makes men, and prosperity makes monsters. Our mind is enriched by what we receive, our heart by what we give. If you look in the eyes of the young, you see flame. If you look in the eyes of the old, you see light. Even the darkest night will end, and the sun will rise. Let us fear ourselves. Prejudices are the real robbers; vices are the real murderers. The great dangers lie within ourselves. Change your opinions, keep to your principles; change your leaves, keep intact your roots.
     The great acts of love are done by those who are habitually performing small acts of kindness. There is always more misery among the lower classes than there is humanity in the higher. Being good is easy, what is difficult is being just. The wicked envy and hate; it is their way of admiring. One sees qualities at a distance and defects at close range. Almost all our desires, when examined, contain something too shameful to reveal. To put everything in balance is good, to put everything in harmony is better. One drop of wine is enough to redden a whole glass of water. Certain thoughts are prayers. There are moments when, whatever be the attitude of the body, the soul is on its knees. The greatest happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved; loved for ourselves, or rather, loved in spite of ourselves.
     The future has several names. For the weak, it is impossible; for the fainthearted, it is unknown; but for the valiant, it is ideal. What a grand thing, to be loved! What a grander thing still, to love! We may remark in passing that to be blind and beloved may, in this world where nothing is perfect, be among the most strangely exquisite forms of happiness. The supreme happiness in life is the assurance of being loved; of being loved for oneself, even in spite of oneself; and this assurance the blind man possesses. In his affliction, to be served is to be caressed. Does he lack anything? no. Possessing love he is not deprived of light. A love, moreover, that is wholly pure. There can be no blindness where there is this certainty. Life's greatest happiness is to be convinced we are loved.  Have courage for the great sorrows of life and patience for the small ones; and when you have laboriously accomplished your daily task, go to sleep in peace. God is awake. God is behind everything, but everything hides God.

Victor Hugo

Kenneth Davis

WELCOME TO 
SMOOTH
 CONTEMPORARY JAZZ 

Kenneth Davis

     T H O U G H T   F O R   C O N S I D E R A T I O N   
TODAY'S WORD - PRIORITIES

     You can get so well educated in America that your thoughts become detached from common sense. You can get so complicated in your thinking that the obvious isn't real to you anymore. In a president, character is everything. A president doesn't have to be brilliant... He doesn't have to be clever; you can hire clever... You can hire pragmatic, and you can buy and bring in policy wonks. But you can't buy courage and decency, you can't rent a strong moral sense. A president must bring those things with him. He needs to have, in that much maligned word, but a good one nonetheless, a vision of the future he wishes to create. But a vision is worth little if a president doesn't have the character - the courage and heart - to see it through.
     What we need most right now, at this moment, is a kind of patriotic grace - a grace that takes the long view, apprehends the moment we're in, comes up with ways of dealing with it, and eschews the politically cheap and manipulative. That admits affection and respect. That encourages them. That acknowledges that the small things that divide us are not worthy of the moment; that agrees that the things that can be done to ease the stresses we feel as a nation should be encouraged, while those that encourage our cohesion as a nation should be supported.
      We must try again to be alive to what the people of our country really long for in our national life: forgiveness and grace, maturity and wisdom. ...Our political leaders will know our priorities only if we tell them, again and again, and if those priorities begin to show up in the polls. You don't have to be old in America to say of a world you lived in: 'that world is gone. The biggest political change in my lifetime is that Americans no longer assume that their children will have it better than they did. This is a huge break with the past, with assumptions and traditions that shaped us.

~Peggy Noonan~

Estella Wright (Mayhue-Greer)

Estella Wright (Mayhue-Greer)

Kenneth, 

Thank you for today's post. I have talked to many, who are in a state of "I can't believe this."  My response has been, "There ain't nothing we can do now." Your post reminds me what we must do to move forward.

You always find the right message. Keep upthe good work!

Kenneth Davis

 SMALL STRAWS IN A SOFT WIND by Marsha Burns

     November 10, 2024: You are in a spiritual pause. Take this time to reflect on the progress you have made and see how far you have come. You are about to enter into a phase of preparation for that which is ahead. But, you do not have to be afraid that you will miss the next move of My Spirit. It is I who will prepare you and position you to accomplish My will, says the Lord. Move with the flow of My Spirit. Galatians 5:16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

   T H O U G H T   F O R   C O N S I D E R A T I O N   
TODAYS WORDS - SPIRITUAL PAUSE

     Pause and remember - Every single event in your life, especially the difficult lessons, have made you smarter, stronger, and wiser than you were yesterday. Be thankful! Pause and remember - No one is coming to rescue you from yourself; your inner demons, your lack of confidence, your dissatisfaction with yourself and life. Only self-love and good decisions will rescue you. Pause and remember - Life is a process of surrendering. Make the decision to let go of what no longer serves you or makes you feel good. Know that you are worth more and something better will arrive once you create the space.
     Pause and remember - If you empty yourself of yesterday's sorrows, you will have much more room for today's joy. Pause and remember - stop mentally abusing yourself. Stop agonizing over your past mistakes and worrying about the future. Life is hard enough without the added fear, panic and anxiety. Your soul is crying out for love and encouragement. Take a moment to breathe deep, get present and find some compassion for yourself. Then, go out and treat yourself right; pamper yourself and take care of your needs. You are worth it!
     Pause and remember - You alone are responsible for taking an interest in your own growth. Understanding your deepest fears and pain is what will move you forward. If you can do this, you will be rewarded with not only a deeper connection with yourself, but also with others. Pause and remember - The spiritual path is not always going to be smooth and easy. There are going to be difficult situations, hardships, losses and lessons. Don't lose faith along the way. You are exactly where you need to be. Pause and remember - You are unique. You are special. Every mistake, trial and hardship has helped to sculpt your real beauty. Pause and remember - The more you stay focused on your blessings the less stressed your life will be!

~Jennifer Young~

Kenneth Davis

   T H O U G H T   F O R   C O N S I D E R A T I O N   
TODAY'S WORD - REVELATION

     From his roots as a slave, the American Negro - sometimes sorrowing, sometimes jubilant but always hopeful - has touched, illuminated, and influenced the most remote preserves of world civilization. I and my dance theater celebrate this trembling beauty. Its roots are in American Negro culture, which is part of the whole country's heritage, but the dance speaks to everyone... Otherwise, it wouldn't work. Dance is for everybody. I believe that the dance came from the people and that it should always be delivered back to the people. Making dances is an act of progress; it is an act of growth, an act of music, an act of teaching, an act of celebration, an act of joy.
     If you live in the elite world of dance, you find yourself in a world rife with racism. Let's face it. Racism tears down your insides so that no matter what you achieve, you're not quite up to snuff. One of the worst things about racism is what it does to young people. My dancers must be able to do anything, and I don't care if they are black or white or purple or green. I want to help show my people how beautiful they are. I want to hold up the mirror to my audience that says this is the way people can be, this is how open people can be. The creative process is not controlled by a switch you can simply turn on or off; it's with you all the time. Choreography is mentally draining, but there's a pleasure in getting into the studio with the dancers and the music. I feel an obligation to use black dancers because there must be more opportunities for them, but not because I'm a black choreographer talking to black people.
      Everything in dancing is style, allusion, the essence of many thoughts and feelings. The abstraction of many moments. I wanted to explore black culture, and I wanted that culture to be a revelation. One of the processes of your life is to constantly break down that inferiority, to constantly reaffirm that I Am Somebody. We talk too much of black art when we should be talking about art, just art. Black composers must be free to write rondos and fugues, not only protest songs. I am trying to show the world that we are all human beings, and that color is not important. What is important is the quality of our work.

 
~Alvin Ailey~

Kenneth Davis

IT'S TIME FOR 
JUST JOKING MONDAYS

Curtis! By Ray Billingsley

Kenneth Davis

Joycelyn Lacy (Sommerville)

Kenneth Davis

SMALL STRAWS IN A SOFT WIND by Marsha Burns

     November 12, 2024: You are going through a season of feeling like you are being used without reward, but you must remember that I will reward you, nonetheless. I see your heart and know your motives, and you have nothing to be ashamed of as long as you do what I have called and chosen for you. Forgive those who have belittled you and move on. Colossians 3:23-24 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward.

  T H O U G H T   F O R   C O N S I D E R A T I O N
TODAY'S WORDS - WITHOUT REWARD

     Every man should view himself as equally balanced: half good and half evil. One should see the world and see himself as a scale with an equal balance of good and evil. When he does one good deed the scale is tipped to the good - he and the world is saved. When he does one evil deed the scale is tipped to the bad - he and the world is destroyed. If men possessed wisdom, which stands in the same relation to the form of man as the sight to the eye, they would not cause any injury to themselves or to others, for the knowledge of the truth removes hatred and quarrels and prevents mutual injuries. You must accept the truth from whatever source it comes. A truth does not become greater by repetition.
     The knowledge of God, the formation of ideas, the mastery of desire and passion, the distinction between that which is to be chosen and that which is to be rejected, all these men owe to his form. You will see the mercy of God toward His creatures, how He has provided that which is required, in proper proportions, and treated all individual beings of the same species with perfect equality. ...for it is an act of great and perfect goodness that He gave us existence; and the creation of the controlling faculty in animals is a proof of His mercy towards them, as has been shown by us. The more we desire for that which is superfluous, the more we meet with difficulties; our strength and possessions are spent in unnecessary things and are wanting when required for that which is necessary.
     We suffer from the evils which we, by our own free will, inflict on ourselves and ascribe them to God, who is far from being connected with them! At times the truth shines so brilliantly that we perceive it as clear as day. Our nature and habit then draw a veil over our perception, and we return to a darkness almost as dense as before. We are like those who, though beholding frequent flashes of lightning, still find themselves in the thickest darkness of the night. It is man's duty to love and to fear God, even without hope of reward or fear of punishment. At times the truth shines so brilliantly that we perceive it as clear as day. When man possesses a good, sound body that does not overpower him nor disturb the equilibrium in him, he possesses a divine gift. In short, a good constitution facilitates the rule of the soul over the body, but it is not impossible to conquer a bad constitution by training.

~Maimonides~

Kenneth Davis

BIRTH   ANNIVERSARY GREETINGS
 TO 
NORMA BERDEN
 WINBORNE

     A well-written life is almost as rare as a well-spent one. There are good and bad times, but our mood changes more often than our fortune. Everywhere in life, the true question is not what we gain, but what we do. Go as far as you can see, when you get there, you'll be able to see farther.

~Thomas Carlyle~

Joycelyn Lacy (Sommerville)

Kenneth Davis

     Announcement and invitation received from Inez Epps and "The Class of 1971". Please confirm your participation ASAP.......

     Good afternoon Kenneth, I told you that I would keep you informed about what was going on. Well my class and a few of your classmates will have a Christmas Party at the Holiday Inn on Central Avenue, Sunday, December 8th, from 12:00pm-4:00pm. The cost is $55 per person. The dance floor will be rocking with DJ Michael Seymour. 

Menu: Spring Mix Salad Salt and Pepper Cornmeal Fried Catfish Southern Fried Chicken Au gratin Potatoes Chefs’ Vegetable Medley Rolls Freshly Brewed Coffee Iced Tea Chefs’Choice of Two Desserts Ranch and Italian Dressing.

Payments can be cashApped $btw71, Zelle:9013594560, Mailed: Inez Siggers 7284 Old Dominion CT Memphis, TN 38125.

Please share with your classmates, because I do need to make the payment ASAP. Thanks.... Hope you can join us Inez... 

Kenneth Davis

   T H O U G H T   F O R   C O N S I D E R A T I O N   
TODAY'S WORDS - GET YOUR BEARINGS

     Life's too short to worry about the little things. Enjoy what you have today, not what you might get tomorrow. The choices you make now, the people you surround yourself with, they all have the potential to affect your life, even who you are, forever. Life is full of screwups. You're supposed to fail sometimes. It's a required part of the human existence. It was amazing how you could get so far from where you'd planned, and yet find it was exactly where you needed to be.  What you have to decide... is how you want your life to be. If your forever was ending tomorrow, would this be how you'd want to have spent it? Listen, the truth is, nothing is guaranteed. You know that more than anybody. So don't be afraid. Be alive. 
     It's funny how someone's perception of you can be formed without you even knowing it. Your past is always your past. Even if you forget it, it remembers you. No matter how much time has passed, these things still affect us and the world we live in. If you don't pay attention to the past, you'll never understand the future. It's all linked together. It was like when you're a little kid and you run into your teacher or librarian at the grocery store or Wal-Mart and it's just so startling, because it never occurred to you, they existed outside of school. There are some things in this world you rely on, like a sure bet. And when they let you down, shifting from where you've carefully placed them, it shakes your faith, right where you stand.
     Sometimes, we just have to be happy with what people can offer us. You're not a sucker. You're just nice. You give people the benefit of the doubt. Even if it's not what we want, at least it's something. Sometimes a question can hurt more than an answer. But that was the problem with having the answers. It was only after you gave them that you realized they sometimes weren't what people wanted to hear. You get what you give, but also what you're willing to take. You should never be surprised when someone treats you with respect, you should expect it. The best gifts come from the heart, not the store. Don't think or judge, just listen. Everything, in the end, comes down to timing. One second, one minute, one hour could make all the difference. Clearly, sharing something could take you a long way, or at least to a different place than you'd planned. Like a friendship or a family, or even just alone on a curb on a Saturday, trying to get your bearings as best you can. It's a lot easier to be lost than found. It's the reason we're always searching and rarely discovered--so many locks not enough keys. Life is an awful, ugly place to not have a best friend. The truth about forever is that it is happening right now.

~Sarah Dessen~

Kenneth Davis

WELLNESS WEDNESDAY
The 2 Best Sleeping Positions for Your Health,

According to Science
By Brooke Nelson
Updated on Oct. 05, 2024
https://www.thehealthy.com/

     One simple adjustment to your sleeping position can improve your circulation, ease back pain, and prevent snoring. How do you sleep?  Tossing and turning until the wee hours of the morning should be the exception, not the rule. But if you’re among the 50 to 70 million American adults who suffer from sleep disorders (per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), you’re all too familiar with this nightly routine. 
     While it’s tempting to blame your mattress for your troublesome sleep problems, some experts suggest the real culprit might be you’re not dozing off in the best sleeping position. Science says some sleeping positions will not only help you get a better night’s rest but also prevent health problems. And it could take just one simple tweak to discover the secret to a better night’s snooze.

The worst sleeping position

     It may be a good position for skydiving, but lying spread-eagle on your stomach is not the best sleeping position, the National Sleep Foundation says. While sleeping on your stomach might help alleviate snoring, it can pressure on your muscles and joints and cause aches, irritated nerves, and numbness.  According to WebMD, sleeping on your stomach can also strain the lower back and neck, and your back, which could actually make snoring worse. To avoid this, prop your forehead on a pillow to allow room to breathe while sleeping face down. Luckily, only about seven percent of adults default to sleeping on their stomach. Health advantages (and disadvantages!) aside, you might be curious to learn the link between your sleep position and your personality.

The best sleeping position for you

     The best sleeping position for you may depend on any preexisting health conditions. “The best position to sleep in is likely on one’s side,” says Brian Koo, MD, a Yale Medicine neurologist and sleep specialist, who is the director of the Restless Legs Syndrome Program. “Sleep apnea and snoring become worse when one sleeps [on their back]. If there is no snoring in the supine position, then sleeping supine is okay.” If you’re not a snorer, sleeping on your back also works well, according to the National Sleep Foundation. Though only eight percent of people sleep on their back, doing so takes pressure off your head, neck, and spine. If your head is properly elevated, it can also help prevent acid reflux. Make sure your mattress supports your preferred sleeping position to further help your health and your ability to get a good night’s rest.

How to best sleep on your side

     Most adults sleep in a fetal position, according to the National Sleep Foundation. If this is your preferred position, there are ways you can doze off on your side and make it the best sleeping position for your health.  Curling up too tightly can restrict breathing and leave your joints sore. You can improve this by straightening out your body as much as possible and placing a pillow between your knees to prevent strain on your hips. Koo recommends not sleeping with your head on your arm or hands because it can cause nerve damage.
     For most people, the healthiest way to sleep is on your left side, curling your legs and placing a pillow between your knees. This position can ease any back pain and prevent loud snoring, according to Dr. Josh Axe. He says it can also help acid reflux. The National Sleep Foundation says it’s also the best choice for people with sleep apnea, though it can lead to wrinkles since half your face is pushing against a pillow. Not suffering from any of those ailments? These are the best sleep positions for every health problem.

     This is for information purpose only and should not be considered as a substitute for medical expertise. These are opinions from an external panel of individual doctors. Please seek professional help regarding any health conditions or concerns.

Kenneth Davis

        T H O U G H T   F O R   C O N S I D E R A T I O N   
TODAY'S WORDS - EXAMINE YOUR LIFE

     Know that life, which does everything perfectly, is now moving you in a new direction. The chess piece of your existence is being moved to a new square on the board of life. There are so many traps. There are so many opportunities. Life is a river, and we take our boat, and we go down it. What you focus on you become. So always focus on that which is highest, brightest, happiest and most noble of all things, enlightenment. Learn to be happy in any and all circumstances, whether you're experiencing pleasure or pain, whether there's loss or gain, whether the world loves you or hates you. Learn to be happy. There is a world of deaf, dumb and blind people out there, who are shuffling through their lives, not knowing how wonderful life can be. They have their moments, but they are very unconscious.
     No lifetime is a loss if you've learned something, because that learning stays with you. There is no such thing as a wasted life, if you have learned. We can't allow ourselves to be depressed or discouraged. There are people who depend on us, things to accomplish. We only have a little bit of time in this world before death swallows us up. Happiness comes from self-knowledge. Self-knowledge means that you have understood your mind. Your mind is the whole universe. You are your state of mind. Your state of mind creates your view, or your window, on life. Self-realization is the last game on earth worth playing. It is necessary to learn how to do a systems analysis of your life, to learn about the effects of places, people, jobs. 
     Angry people, unhappy people, people that seek to injure others, these people all have something in common. They waste energy. They don't conserve it and they don't know how to increase it. There is mental conditioning in your mind put in there during this life by your parents, teachers, the society. You've been told what is and what is not, what is right and what is wrong. Meditate on your own and refine your consciousness. Tighten up your life. Constantly examine your life and look for weak points. You know what's going on in your life. Humility accepts that God places us in the right place at every single moment, not a moment too soon and not a moment too late. You are happiest when you are most humble. You are most miserable when you are egotistical.

~Frederick Lenz~

Kenneth Davis

BIRTH   ANNIVERSARY GREETINGS

 TO 

DARRYLL CLEAVES

     To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment. The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall. It is not length of life, but depth of life.  In the morning a man walks with his whole body, in the evening, only with his legs.

~Ralph Waldo Emerson~

Kenneth Davis

TIME FOR ANOTHER 

Joycelyn Lacy (Sommerville)

Kenneth Davis

   T H O U G H T   F O R   C O N S I D E R A T I O N   
TODAY'S WORDS - COMFORT AND ASSURANCE 

     Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want and deserve to get it good and hard. The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule. The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary. For every problem, there is a solution that is simple, neat, and wrong. The men the American people admire most extravagantly are the most daring liars; the men they detest most violently are those who try to tell them the truth. The demagogue is one who preaches doctrines he knows to be untrue to men he knows to be idiots. Sometimes the idiots outvote the sensible people. The central belief of every moron is that he is the victim of a mysterious conspiracy against his common rights and true deserts.
     The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think things out... without regard to the prevailing superstitions and taboos. Almost inevitably he comes to the conclusion that the government he lives under is dishonest, insane, intolerable. When a candidate for public office faces the voters he does not face men of sense; he faces a mob of men whose chief distinguishing mark is the fact that they are quite incapable of weighing ideas, or even of comprehending any save the most elemental - men whose whole thinking is done in terms of emotion, and whose dominant emotion is dread of what they cannot understand. So confronted, the candidate must either bark with the pack or be lost... All the odds are on the man who is, intrinsically, the most devious and mediocre.
     The government consists of a gang of men exactly like you and me. They have, taking one with another, no special talent for the business of government; they have only a talent for getting and holding office. Their principal device to that end is to search out groups who pant and pine for something they can't get and to promise to give it to them. Nine times out of ten that promise is worth nothing. The tenth time is made good by looting A to satisfy B. In other words, government is a broker in pillage, and every election is sort of an advance auction sale of stolen goods. Women have a hard time of it in this world. They are oppressed by man-made laws, man-made social customs, masculine egoism, the delusion of masculine superiority. Their one comfort is the assurance that, even though it may be impossible to prevail against man, it is always possible to enslave and torture a man. If a politician found he had cannibals among his constituents, he would promise them missionaries for dinner.

~H. L. Mencken~

Kenneth Davis

BIRTH   ANNIVERSARY GREETINGS

 TO 

CAROLYN PARKER 

GUNN

     Start your day in a upward direction, and the rest of the day will follow the uphill path. A truly strong person does not need the approval of others any more than a lion needs the approval of sheep. You have succeeded in life when all you really want is only what you really need. Always walk through life as if you have something new to learn, and you will.

~Vernon Howard~

Kenneth Davis

WELCOME TO 
SMOOTH
 CONTEMPORARY JAZZ 

    GERALD                    TROMBONE

  ALBRIGHT                   SHORTY

Joycelyn Lacy (Sommerville)

Kenneth Davis

   T H O U G H T   F O R   C O N S I D E R A T I O N   
TODAY'S WORDS - MAKE CHANGES

     Love and intimacy are at the roots of what makes us sick and what makes us well, what causes sadness and what brings happiness, what makes us suffer and what leads to healing...I am not aware of any other factor in medicine- not diet, not smoking, not exercise, not stress, not genetics, not drugs, not surgery- that has a greater impact on our quality of life, incidence of illness and premature death from all causes.
     At a time when 20% of people in the US go to bed hungry each night and almost 50% of the world's population is malnourished, choosing to eat more plant-based foods and less red meat is better for all of us-ourselves, our loved ones, and our planet. We all have an inner teacher, an inner guide, an inner voice that speaks very clearly but usually not very loudly. That information can be drowned out by the chatter of the mind and the pressure of day-to-day events. But if we quiet down the mind, we can begin to hear what we're not paying attention to. We can find out what's right for us.
     People who are lonely and depressed are three to 10 times more likely to get sick and die prematurely than those who have a strong sense of love and community. I don’t know any other single factor that affects our health - for better and for worse - to such a strong degree. Real power is not given to us or even created; real power is realized. It comes from realizing an inner sense of peace, self-worth, and happiness. Because the biological mechanisms that affect our health and well-being are so dynamic, when people change their diet and lifestyle, they usually feel so much better, so quickly; it reframes the reason for changing from fear of dying to joy of living. Think about it: Heart disease and diabetes, which account for more deaths in the U.S. and worldwide than everything else combined, are completely preventable by making comprehensive lifestyle changes. Without drugs or surgery. People don't dislike change, they dislike being changed. Even more than feeling healthy, most people want to feel free and in control.

~Dean Ornish~