In the mean time go Crack that Concrete, go show the world it aint over!

Love,

Linda Orji

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Before you exit, I would like to share with you a recent BREAKTHROUGH experience, which occurred on January 20, 2018—starting from preparation to the presentation of Sweep it Out. It was spoken out loud for the first time at the amazing Empowerment Palace’s 2018 Women’s Taking Flight Summit.

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Sweep it Out was inspired by my grandmother, my father’s mother. She stood at about 5 feet but even in her upper age you could still see her strength, from her tiny size of 4 ½ feet to her white teeth.

Cecilia Orji

She would sweep the entire house bending over for long periods of time—no complaints. She mopped the entire kitchen floor on her knees with a rag—no problem. One thing I remember is the way she fixed her lips when she was focused on something. When she inhaled and exhaled she took the air in and let it out by fixing her lips in a round shape as if she was whistling—and you knew she was in the zone.

You see, I have an old soul and I’m always interested to know how the older generation would think in certain situations. I ask my father questions about my grandparents because I believe that the wisdom the older generation carries with them is something that needs to be recycled into our future generation.

Mazi Michael Oguagu Orji

I believe it’s the duty of the living to capture the wisdom of the ancestors in some shape or form, to nurture it and provide it to the world. Many of us are at war with ourselves because we are missing those values that existed years ago.

The picture above was captured not too long before my grandfather passed back in 2014. As stated on Instagram, I never thought I would see such grandiosity of beauty, strength, wisdom, love, and pain simultaneously, until that very moment.

I like to take bits and pieces from the stories my parents tell me about my elders and create my own story, then  turn it into a conversation. The conversation is a form of meditation for me. I hear the voice how it would sound. In my grandmother’s case below, it was with a heavy but yet soft sounding Nigerian accent. I would then write about the experience and turn that writing into poem format. I know it sounds weird, but this is how I create. In my honest opinion, as long as you’re not harming anyone in any way, then there is no wrong or right way to create.

When I closed my eyes and found myself talking to my grandmother, contemplating about what I should speak about in my spoken word at the 2018 Empowerment Palace Women’s Summit, the conversation went something like this…

Grandma (Nigerian accent in full effect): Linda, my granddaughter. The one who was created for this purpose is asking me what to say. I am not the one you need to confirm with. It is God. Ehh? But because you came to me I will answer. You know, in our culture, we don’t like to bring things out, like the story you have. It is not something we do, but you must lead the way, because there are many many other women—not just in our culture but in many others—who have accepted such abuse as part of their life.

When I was small, my mother made me sweep the house. I asked mama why am I sweeping dirt when the ground is made of dirt already. I didn’t understand then but when I became a woman I understood she was teaching me the importance of keeping your house clean. Not just the house where you live, the house where your spirit and mind live. We must always sweep out every day because each day something new comes in. Some people don’t dust and you see the piles of dust well… well, when the sun shines. People are good at covering things up and making it look good but when the sun shines, God will show you truth. There will be women sitting in front of you who need to hear your voice. Let your sun shine so they may see well- well. There is an Igbo proverb that says: Kpachara anya gi. It means to wipe away the dirt from eye or to ‘be mindful.’ Open your eyes and foresee. Linda, it is time…

Soul Survivor Writer:

Yes! It’s time to talk.

About the dirt that soiled my soul, sharpened my tears, and halved my whole

Body—coated with mud, from adolescent years into adulthood.

Confused and misjudged.

Mentally and spiritually confined to memories of being molested by my own bloodline.

Beginning at the mere age of nine.

Disgusted by the pounds of litter that came with every jitter.

When I heard his voice it sent a quiver, cold and bitter!

I asked, Why God? How could you consider to not reconsider?

You knew his intentions for me when I was alone in my own father’s home,

Jersey City, Woodlawn Avenue, no one knew…

To be continued at a women’s event near you! See you there! And once again, enjoy your stay at YOUR PURPOSE!

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Unique, original, mind puzzling, backwards poetry book by me Coming Soon!

The post The Uncommon Woman Taking Flight: Arrival appeared first on Linda Orji Creative Universe.

At this time, make sure your posture and heads are in full upright position, and that your seat belt is correctly fastened. Please set your portable electronic devices to ‘airplane’ mode until a purpose-filled announcement is made. Now, I would like to direct your attention to the reading below and introduce you to how I became a part of the Empowerment Palace’s 2018 Women’s Summit.

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As I mentioned in  Apostrophe, A post trophy, I’m in this phase of overcoming my fears and allowing only my creative purpose to lead me. After speaking at Apostrophe Lounge, I was on an incredible spiritual high that drove me to want to share my art with more people, more women. So I searched Google for ‘women spoken word Charlotte area.’ As I was scrolling down the list of events on Eventbrite.com, five words on a flyer pulled me in like bait, THE UNCOMMON WOMEN’S TAKING FLIGHT.

The fact that those words described my current state of being was not just a coincidence, so once again before fear took over the moment, I reached out and inquired about the event. I know right—me and my hellos (shout out to Adele).  The message read:

Hello, I am reaching out to inquire about sharing my art at this empowering event. I am a spoken word artist, blogger and inspiring author simply desiring to share my message. Feel free to visit my blog www.lindaorji.com Thank You

A few days later, completely forgetting I had sent the message—because like I told you guys, when I do these things I’m in a trance; after it’s done, I really do not remember it—I received a reply.

Good evening, Linda Orji. Thank you for being interested, and I will look at your website that is very pretty on my day off tomorrow.  I love spoken word and I would like to chat with you more. Looking forward to speaking with you before this week is out. Thank you, Linda.

It was signed Pastor Erica Malachi. I looked at the flyer again, this time more closely. I found it interesting that the flyer states, Founder Erica Malachi, not Pastor. That hinted to me that the title pastor did not define that woman. Now, if y’all know me y’all know my thoughts began to march around in my head like an HBCU crankfest marching band, and all the things I didn’t initially pay attention to started smacking me in the face.

Is Cara Jakes Coleman related to T.D Jakes? Let me Google her… Yes, she is! OMG, what did I get myself into? And I can’t believe I reached out to a Pastor! I hope she doesn’t judge my website. I have some curse words in some of my poems and posts. Am I “Christian” enough to speak with her? My art doesn’t have the word God written all in it, but it does have God written all over it. Will she be able to see that? I hope she doesn’t ask me if I have a home church because right now I enjoy my alone time with God and my art and am not looking to be a member of anyone’s church but my own. 

Talking about how society impacts our thought process, right? For a while I had stopped attending church on Sundays just because I needed to spend more alone time simply meditating. Church distracted me sometimes. When I tried to explain it to devout Sunday morning church goers, they didn’t really comprehend, with which I was completely okay. I can’t be sure if there’s anyone out there who feels the same way, but if there is—you aren’t alone. I strongly believe that if God is in you, church is where you are.

A few days later, I was laying down, thinking about my own things, and—ring, ring!—an unrecognized number flashed on my phone. I let the person leave a voicemail, and lo and behold—it was her! Oh no! I wasn’t ready (in my Kevin Hart voice). I said to myself, “I need to sit up, and get my pen and paper ready, and put my “professional” voice on for this call. I’ll have to call her back.”

When she picked up she greeted me with, “Girl, what is up!” I was so confused—that’s not the way I was expecting a pastor to talk to me! The conversation was quite natural, and my “professional” voice faded about two minutes into it. We talked about my background, and I even broke it down to her about why church was at times a distraction for me—and she completely understood!

Erica even said that sometimes she would do the exact same thing as me: spend time alone, outside of the church. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. To hear her confirm this for me was a total weight off my shoulder. She went on to explain her vision and mission for Empowerment Palace. As we continued to converse I became more and more relaxed.

The topic of spoken word eventually came back around, and she informed me she has already gotten everyone she needed for the event in January, but she will be happy to make space for me to speak. How did someone who’s never met me or heard me speak have so much faith and trust in me?

She also said she wanted to offer me an all expenses paid opportunity to attend a four day three night annual Ladies retreat to Myrtle Beach. It was an amazing trip. To be around such a strong group of women was beyond inspiring. The bond and sisterhood we created spiritually is truly unbreakable.

Initially when my Uncommon Woman Taking Flight journey began, my inner voice said, “What!? God? Hello… (Adele melody playing in the background) Can you hear me? Is this something I am supposed to be doing right now? Already?”

A response came right away, “Hello, can you hear me? You were created to be all that you can be, my light will shine through you. You have endured so much pain in your past because I was equipping you for elevation and high altitude.”

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Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your purpose-filled announcement. Captain God-In-You has turned off the Fasten Seat Belt sign, and you may now move around the cabin. However, we always recommend to keep your seat belt fastened until you reach YOUR DESTINY.

The post The Uncommon Woman Taking Flight: Departure appeared first on Linda Orji Creative Universe.

There were so many times I reached out for help but kept getting pulled back as if this force was saying, “You are strong, right? You call yourself Soul Survivor, right? Let me see what you got!”  

I was sitting at my desk on craigslist, completely tuned in to helping someone find a job in the construction field. And lo and behold, a job, which seemed so out of place but yet so perfectly placed, read in bold print:

‘Spoken Word Artist Needed’

I had so much I needed to say, but thoughts of fear immediately tried to win…

Am I ready to face the crowd in this type of environment and emotional state? I’ve recited a poem once before, in front of maybe 10 people, in a small place – but Apostrophe Lounge? One of the most popular spots in downtown Charlotte? Am I even a “spoken word artist”? I mean,  I write, mostly, and have imagined myself speaking and touching people with my voice, but am I ready? I know I was born to do this – but am I ready? I want them to know that in front of them is where I belong. But am I ready? How can I be in this much pain and be ready? 

That’s when the God in me spoke to my me and said, “You were born ready. Yes, you’ve spoken before, but that wasn’t your breakthrough. Back then, you hadn’t faced any major life situations, like you have this time. And although it sounded like you were speaking, you were just talking, reciting an old poem. This time, you have to dig much deeper.” Then my art said, “I’m ready!” As soon as I heard those two voices line up with each other, I quickly sent an email, before fear could interrupt the flow:

Hello,

My name is Linda, and I am interested in performing…

Next thing I knew, this happened. What in the world?! I was on a flyer! They put me on a flyer! Just the sight of it frightened me, but there was no time to think about fears – IT WAS TIME to face them. So much so, I decided to use the flyer as my phone background so I could stare fear in the face, every day.

I didn’t want to make a huge announcement about the event on social media. I planned to have it professionally captured for those who were unable to experience being in the crowd.

At the end of the day, it was more about the people I was delivering to, especially those of African descent, and more specifically, women. It was about what they needed. I had put it off long enough – years, I might add. The words inside of me were holding on so tightly, they began pushing through my pores.

The strongest push came from the thought that my wounds might very well be someone else’s wounds, and my voice may lead their healing. From that point forward I became a force to be reckoned with.

My mind became saturated with the different messages I wanted to convey, but true meditation would only allow me to deliver one message that night.

I was in the zone for two weeks straight. Everything else was a distraction. I completely isolated myself from anything that could throw my focus off balance. I spent a lot of time alone, meditating.

Soul Survivor Writer brainstorming, August 31st 2017

I wanted people to see my passion and feel my heart every second I was on that stage. I prayed and fasted, filling myself with the abundance of spiritual overflow that came from meditation. I wrote and crossed out and re-wrote until Shout Out! was birthed.

The meaning of this piece goes beyond the lines. These two words meant… I will SHOUT OUT for anyone who feels like they can’t shout.

I will shout for the women who died from violence and abuse; I will shout for anyone whose destiny miscarried because of the overwhelming pressures of society’s reality. I will shout to capture present human error for the correction of future human error. My voice will be their voice.

I recorded myself speaking and listened to it at least 50 times a day, imagining myself speaking to people as if I had spoken plenty of times before. I was pushing away all fear, every day.

I arrived two hours early and sat in my car – yes, listening to my piece. 7 pm hit, and I walked inside to inform the event organizer, Paint & Play co-founder and owner of Create Amazing LLC,  Michael Colloway, who was very polite and helpful, that I planned to speak at 8:30 or 9.

The music and drinks were flowing, people were pouring in; it was lit! And so was my tunnel vision. I followed its light right back to my car and listened to my piece until it was time for me to go on stage.

I waited patiently to be introduced. After my name was announced, I walked on and removed my shoes. I was now entering my sanctuary, my home.  I welcomed my fellow Soul Survivors with a shout, “WHEN I SAY SHOUT Y’ALL SAY OUT!” When I heard  them shout, “OUT!” with such great strength and unison, that was my confirmation. Wow! The artistic energy, the intuitiveness, the freedom and encouragement as I took a long moment of silence and someone said, “Take your time.” And not too long after that another said, “Oooh, she got that fire!” They let me know they were listening. They weren’t just hearing, they were listening.

The atmosphere was warm and welcoming, and I am happy to say that Apostrophe Lounge is the place where I shouted out MY WHY for the first time.  To me, the experience was a post trophy for the pre, the beginning. A reward for facing my fear. The best and final reward of that night was when I was walking to my car and someone said to me, “I loved it! And I actually remember everything you said!” There is no better post trophy than that. Thank you Create Amazing LLC and Apostrophe for allowing me to be…me. 

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