Either it is, or it isn't...

Danjaruz Depiction:



Daily Danjaruz Deliberation:
"There ain't no substitute for the truth. Either it is or it isn't..."- India.Arie "The Truth"

Danjaruz Disclosures, Declarations, and Diatribes:

This post is all about truth. In a world full of lies and liars, in a world that often seems void of truth, we ought to give more thought to this notion of "Truth". What is Truth? What does it mean to tell the Truth or to be True? Who defines the parameters of Truth? How do we recognize Truth when we encounter it and how can we tell Truth from skillfull lies?

I lie. I lie to people I don't like. I lie to people I love. I lie to myself and I have probably lied to you. We live in a technologically advanced millenium where there are more than enough devices that allow us to create images, ideas, and such to whatever specifications we deem work for us. How do any of us that interact via internet say that we are true and "real" when we use synthetic devices as means of communication? There is something amazingly paradoxical about this phenomenon of interpersonal communication sans persons!

How many of you could go one week without talking on the phone, turning on a television, turning on a radio, or turning on your computer? Somehow I guess the numbers are low, but for some reason, I believe the people who lived in times when this was normal life lived truer lives. They were forced to (or blessed with the chance to) deal with nature, deal with each other one-on-one, connect with each other, touch each other, etc. I imagine dishonesty was tougher. This is not to say they didn't lie or weren't true, I am simply suggesting that we have more opportunities and devices to lead false lives, with no real recourse. We answer to a Creator we have never seen and we speak of how He knows our heart/spirit and the "truth" in it, yet we feed lies and falsehood to the people we communicate with daily and expect them to take it. And they do. We do. We give and we get, lies mixed with truth, truth mixed with lies.

I am going to list a few of my own personal truths and I encourage you, dear reader, to seriously think about what your own truths are. share with me, share with others, but all I ask is that you not give in to the fear of being Truthful.

Here we go (In no discernable order):

**Prince Rogers Nelson is the greatest musical artist to walk the face of this earth

** I live with clinical depression. I experience onsets of a series of symptoms at least three times a year. Sometimes I am good at wearing the mask, other times I am not. Sometimes I feel in control, most times I do not. It affects my moods in ways that amaze those around me. I say this not as an excuse for my actions, because I would do that no more often than I would if I were drunk [which is never], I simply explain. I feel it gives people a heads up so they can decide, early on, if they want to be bothered with me. Some do, most don't. I'm ok with that.

**"Stakes Is High" by De La Soul [from the album of the same name] came out in 1996 and is still the most relevant song speaking to the state of modern hip-hop. Click the song title for the lyrics and tell me if you agree. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

** The only times I am not lazy is when I am doing something so hard and challenging that it keeps me interested for a long time. The reason I am so lazy about almost everything is because it bores me after a short while. They say Aries folks are like that. We start new things with so much energy and determination, only to let it go shortly after we begin because we lose interest. The perfectionist in me, though, does not allow me to give up on something that I cannot do. So the harder something is, the more interested I am in it. Same goes for people. Predictable people bore me. The people I am most drawn to are people I find to be conflicted, tortured, woeful, weird, out-of-the-box thinkers, etc. But even those I get tired of after a while. lol

** Fall and Winter are the best seasons. My favorite time of year is the stretch between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

** Hip- Hop is a culture and like every culture, there are cultural deviants. I refuse to allow the misfits to detract from the beauty of Hip-Hop. Every rapper is not a hip-hop artist, and not every hip-hop artist is a rapper. Hip-Hop was born in the ghetto and the struggles of people, represented in the miscrocosmic "ghetto", are the life-force that sustains the culture. Everything else is artificial. Everything else dilutes the culture. Damn, white folks and their money sure are good at diluting cultures aren't they?

** God is REAL

** I feel no patriotism towards America. I will never again wave an American flag, I will never again sing the national anthem, and I will never again pledge allegiance to the flag. My children will never join any branch of military service as long as I have anything to say about it. I hate that I have to pay taxes. I do not support the wars or any of these presidents of government officials. If you ask me why I am here, I won't answer you. lol. This is America, after all, and I can feel any way I want and express it with no remorse.

** I have so many pet peeves, I scare myself sometimes. I'm like damn, I don't like anything or anyone do I? LOL

** I believe that Black people [Africans] are the backbone of this earth and are the most trampled on people. We are such a conflicted people. So many of us treat each other like crap,and I believe it is because we truly know nothing better. We dont know how to treat each other any differently. I am not speaking on how you cook meals for Miss Loretta down the street. I am speaking on a macro level. I am thinking about the choices we make, such destructive choices, but why do we make such choices? I wonder how much our environment affects our destinies and how much is up to us to create. I feel helpless when I think of the global struggles of African people. AIDS is killing folks on the continent. Poverty attacks us on all corners of the earth. Ignorance is pervasive. Drugs and guns continue to deplete our human resources. I am a Blackwoman in America and I am who I am and where I am because of circumstance and choices.
** The University of Pennsylvania is the best fucking school in America!!! Reckanize biznatches!! [Yeah, I'm dead serious]

** The man in the picture. This man breathes up all my air, mixes his funky draws with my thongs, farts when my mouth is open, and cracks jokes on me any chance he can. I love every moment of it. I have been through it all. the liars, the cheaters, the abusers, the users, the ones who weren't shit, the ones who were full of shit, the cowards, the husbands, the homosexuals, the unemployed, the baby daddies, the freaks, the stalkers, the lunatics, and the charmers. It took 10 years of dealing with all of these types of men to finally receive the man that I am destined to spend my life with. He answers all of my calls and responds to my text messages and emails. He never makes excuses as to why he can't spend time with me because it is his favorite pasttime. His loyalty and fidelity remain with me,and I have no need to question it. I don't have to ask where he has been because he keeps me well-informed. I don't have to ask permission to go out because he gives me the space I need to be me. Every morning I wake up to his sleeping form, I feel complete. Every night I fall asleep with some piece of my skin touching some piece of his skin, I feel safe. Every kiss makes me feel beautiful, and every lingering look makes me feel sexy. Every "I Love You" makes me feel like "the one", and every fight makes me feel strong. Every meal I prepare makes me feel like his Queen, and every decision we come to makes me feel like his partner. Every sentence of mine he completes lets me know that my mind has met its match, and everything we have in common reminds me of everything I have been missing. Everytime I panic and think to myself "What the hell am I doing living with this man??", he comforts me with his words of reassurance, his hugs, and something special. Whether a card, concert tickets, a deliciously cooked dinner, a word of encouragement, or his credit card to go shopping to get clothes that make me feel better about how I present myself, his actions show, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that he believes in the love we have for each other.

How do I know this time is different? Because it is the Truth.