TEATIME TUESDAYS

Doing the same thing repeatedly and then expecting a different result is known as insanity. So what should we call doing the same thing over and over already knowing the outcome? I suppose it's what my Bahamian peeps call being the conch! Conch, a cultural food staple, is usually beaten with a mallet before cooking-depending on the dish. Using a 'lil elbow grease, this Mollusca is pounded until it is thin and almost mangled, so it becomes extra tender in the stewing process. I reckon sometimes applying pressure and heat really does bring out your full potential. I must caution you though, too much heat to the conch makes it rubbery, and therefore good-for-nothing. But like the conch, some relationships had beaten me to a pulp. Still, after everything I had done to barely pull it together, yes sir, you know it! Muscle memory triggered yet another round of tenderization.

Recently, for some odd reason, I keep seeing the caption—"broken crayons still colour."  For a long time, I too subscribed to this notion that its okay to be broken and functional. I now see this phrase in a whole new light, as it suggests to me that in your broken state, you're still effective. The lie detector determines THIS IS A LIE! Contrary to popular belief, while some broken things still work, don't be fooled, they do not operate at full capacity. Obviously, since people have a tendency to replace broken things. By virtue that the body has been created to heal itself, this tells me 'wholeness' was the original blueprint for our lives. Sadly, we have succumbed to this fake-it-til'-you-make-it culture-so much so, that it's hard to detect an issue at first glance. Do me a favour, abandon team brokenness rocks, aye!

Evil step-sisters, wicked queens, big-bad wolves, little boys who lie, a beast, 'thee' prince charming, talking animals, the trickster masquerading as a gentleman, I mean the list of relatable characters goes on. Sarcasm aside, have you seriously ever considered the storyline of a fairytale? There is some seriously twisted stuff that happens! The kind of things that ironically have an identical parallel to real life. I mean just downright discouraging. Just like a fairytale, real life-is sprinkled with good and evil, the heroine and the villain, obstacles, and overcoming them. 

Going outside your house these days without a mask can almost get you charged with indecent exposure. Everything is such a mood that we can no longer tell the difference between regular folk, erring on the side of caution, versus those who wish to exploit this dilemma for personal gain. As if it's not bad enough that we have been ordered to stay indoors ("Yay," screams all the introverts), we are now required to stand 6-feet apart to minimize physical contact. We not singing Diana Ross', 'Reach out and touch' round here.

Olivia Pope, cannot 'it's handled' your life to normalcy. Unfortunately, you can't swipe left on your problems to make them vanish, and you can't put a filter on your issues to make them look cute and flawless. Iyanla Vanzant may be able to muster an excellent tear-jerking conversation, but even she, nor anyone for that matter, can't 'fix' what isn't acknowledged.

In 2011, I caught fire. Yes, I mean, I was going up in flames, while doing a rather typical everyday task.  One that I had done at least a thousand times before. Simply cooking dinner. Maybe I'll tell you guys all the gory details some other time. But for now, more than the fire itself,  I want to delve into the aftermath. As my bandages were being changed every couple of days, three things about that routine stood out to me.  Firstly, the process was embarrassing. Secondly, it was painful. And lastly, the wound had a god-awful smell.  The whole ordeal just got to me to thinking differently about healing. I soon concluded that it's near impossible for recovery, of any kind, to be peaches and creme.  Healing is messy, its painful, and proper healing doesn't happen overnight. As uncomfortable as it was, I didn't miss a day of work. But there was no way I could be shouting YOLO either.