Posts tagged Thea Monyee

I am so excited to announce a new campaign inspired by Lori Grover’s 7th graders at Wayne K-12, in South Georgia!  I will be conducting interactive Q&A’s with classrooms all over the world vis SKYPE, meeting students who have studied my work as a part of their curriculum, introduced to them by awesome teachers like Lori Grover! I am very excited about this! Anyone who knows me knows that my favorite part of writing and interacting is connecting with people, and this gives me the opportunity to step off the stage and into classrooms everywhere!  This definitely includes college campuses and adult schools.  If you know a class or a teacher that woule be interested in scheduling a Sol-Skype Session please contact me at Bookthea@gmail.com to discuss the details of making this happen.  

I thank you in advance for the support and I predict that this will be an amazing campaign that is going to grow beyond what I and Lori Grover could have imagined=)

Sincerely, 

Thea Monyee

I wrote the following in December 2011…No doubt a note to self for me in this moment.  Please enjoy=)

In 2011, I survived many life changing events. In the midst of transformation I relied on faith and gratitude to keep me centered. Teetering to the right or the left merely highlighted my weak areas, and yoga, meditation, and love propelled me forward. This year was a success largely due to the ineffable support system I am blessed to have. With their love and guidance I thrived during a difficult time, when others may have disappeared beneath the weight of it all.

2012 presents a new challenge. As I look back at the lessons I accumulated in 2011, I cannot shake the feeling that 2012 will be a test of all that I have learned. This will be the year that intentions become ways of life, and former ways of coping will attempt to usurp the newer and healthier coping skills I am trying to develop. 2012 will be the year of commitment and resolve, the demarkation of past and future self.

As heavy as this may sound, I find it to be exciting! I look forward to the battle ahead because I know the victory is not in the outcome. The victory is being alive. The victory is in the growth. The progress is in the moment.

No more fleeing.

No more doubting.

No more allowing someone else to fight on my behalf.

No more questioning my truth.

No more doubting love. 

It is time for dreams to leave the pages of journals everywhere, and walk amongst us. It will take blood, bruised skin, and tears, but no one said creating life would be easy.

I will not abandon one book, poem, or story in 2012.

I will not forget one friend or loved one in 2012.

I will not run from truth or love in 2012. 

Those of us who are plagued with an analytical mind suffer with the dichotomy of light versus dark in a way most of our less attuned counterparts could not imagine.  When clear and focused our light is splendid, blinding, and contagious.  When muddled with emotion our dark is heavy, debilitating, and sadly, contagious.  We follow both with passion, vigor, and commitment which drives us to either shatter records of growth and achievement, or nose dive faster than you can say, “Hold on, morning comes.”  

The elusive cure is balance.  We know this because we have experienced its healing properties time and time again in our lives, but similarly to psychotropic medication, we avoid the proper treatment because we have become perversely accustomed to our symptoms.  Moments of balance bring clarity, energy, joy, and responsibility.  Moments of balance bring choices, difficult ones that we have spent a lifetime escaping, mastering the art of self-inflicted snares and booby traps along the way.  Moments of balance chase away pity, victimhood, and other aspects of our personality we have deemed innate, though none of us was born wearing a scarlet letter.  Moments of balance require confrontation of fears, feelings, and people; a slow dance with our boogiemen to the tune of our mother’s haunting lullaby.  The very idea of a cure is terrifying.

But what is the alternative? 

Cycling between light and dark indefinitely? 

How many relationships will that cost us?  How many opportunities will we destroy in the wake of our cowardice? How much peace will we have to forego to maintain the lifestyle we now live?

Too much.

And haven’t we already given enough?  If you add up the sleepless nights, the nausea, the self- deprecating humor,  the loves lost, the bridges burned, the moments missed, the pain, the pain, the pain….If you add it all up it still does not add up to one-tenth of the potential that still lies before us.  It evaporates in comparison to the gratitude-filled mornings, the smile in our bellies, the love we have longed for, the paths that are yet to be revealed, the opportunities waiting to be jumped into, and the joy, the joy, the joy awaiting us. 

It is time to face reality: We are funding both sides of our spiritual and emotional civil war.

We have a third option: Neutrality.

We can allow the darkness to pass over us knowing without it we could not recognize the light.  We can appreciate the light and harness it for the moments we need to survive, and thank the darkness for the lessons it teaches. We can observe the cycle without participating in it, and in doing so we will trade in the art of war for the skill of bringing light to dark places.

In 2004, at the sweet and naive age of 24, I committed myself to registering voters and educating co-workers, family members, friends, and neighbors about the upcoming election.  Not only did I believe it was my duty to inform my peers about Candidate John Kerry’s policies, but I found it equally as important to share information about the political decisions that are often the most neglected, yet have the strongest impact on our daily life: Our state and city elections and propositions.  My independent campaign taught me two important lessons. One, majority of Americans have absolutely no idea how to activate or navigate the political landscape.  Two, at the end of the day we elect the President that represents our values at that moment in time.

The epiphany of the latter struck me as I joined the millions of Americans crushed by the results of the 2004 election.  With my ego bruised and my sense of optimism flickering beneath the weight of disappointment, I conceded the opportunity for change, and resigned to another four years of uncertainty.  As I adjusted to the post election reality I began to pay attention to what people were saying around me.  I noticed that most of the people I had shared information with did not share my disappointment, or understand my dysthymic mood. I turned on the television and realized that the gap between fluff-based reality shows and primetime news was shrinking, and the post traumatic stress of 9-11 was fading into an occasional headache easily treated by a dose of self-indulgence. I stared into the often blank expression of President Bush and realized that this election was never about what his administration’s policies were doing to us; it was about what we as Americans were doing to ourselves.

Eight years later I find myself in a similar position as in 2004.  I am passionate about the re-election of President Obama, but this time I recognize that if he loses the election, it will not be because of his policies, Mitt Romney’s campaign of lies, or the Citizen’s United ruling.  It will not because of the tea party, racism, or low voter registration.  It will be because of the number of uneducated people in our electorate who do not know the name of their city councilman, who have never met their school superintendent, and who  fail to realize they have a state legislature that governs their lives in ways the federal government cannot constitutionally justify.  

President’s don’t create jobs alone, states share this responsibility.

It has become customary to blame the President when our lives do not improve, be they Republican or Democrat, because Presidential elections are the only time we show up to vote. This is the only information we seek, and therefore, this is the only time we voice an opinion.   There are thousands of officals elected to protect our interests, standing between us and the White House.  Don’t you think it’s about time we learned their names?

If we choose not to take the time to get to know the people and the policies in our towns, cities, and states, we will find that the results of the election will reflect our lack of interest, not the President’s lack of effort.  

There will always be a reason to believe that happiness inevitably leads to tragedy or heartbreak. Something to point to and say, “See that! I knew it was to good to be true.” Maybe it will be a promotion that you did not get, or a crush who doesn’t feel the same way, or a call from a doctor requesting additional tests, just to be safe. These moments do not come to disprove our happiness, they come to reinforce it. Instead of resigning to the belief that the floor is falling out from beneath us, be still and defy gravity. Happiness is sustainable, come what may.

Last night I sat with friends and family (pets included) and watched my debut on TV One’s Verses and Flow.  When I filmed for HBO’s Def Poetry Jam, in 2002 I did not know what to expect. I did not grasp the concept that I was going to viewed in potentially millions of homes nationwide.  I did not know such a thing as YOUTUBE would memorialize the performance for years to come. I have learned so many valuable lessons since then. Then, I thought my gift was just a hobby. Now I know it is my calling. Then I was afraid to showcase my physical beauty, now I love to show off the legs Monica Parker gave me. Then, I struggled to embrace the love and support of fans I only knew by email. Now, I thank them profusely for their loving reminder that I am doing God’s work. 

In 2002, there was a gap between Thea Griffith and Thea Monyee.  I am pleased to announce that last night that gap officially closed. We are now one in the same. Reconciled unto our-self. And there is no end to the joy and promise in sight.

From the bottom of my heart I thank you. Whether you are a close friend or an admirer who is too shy to write, your energy replenishes my own, and our collective light shined through last night.

Love Always,

Thea Monyee