09.16.09
My feature with Nesheba of ESpiritE
When I woke up at 4:30 am today, I knew something was up. I was very excited and I could not help but think about my feature with Nesheba of ESpiritE. I had listened to a couple of her shows, and I had been very impressed. So, I had a very good vibe.
For some reason, I started thinking about my poetry, and how much I had grown as a person and an artist since the beginning of my career. Two words popped out of the blue: Life and Death. I grabbed a pen and wrote them on a piece of paper. I realized that I could use them as acronyms or abbrevations of several terms to form pronounceable words. This process is used in poetry with the form called “acrostic”. An acrostic is a poem or verse that spells out a name or message with each letter starting a new line.
Anyway, this is what I came up with:
Life = Liberated Inside For Ever
Death = Divine Expression Abiding Through Hope
I thought about those acronyms until the show started…
The interview lasted two hours but flew! We talked about deep topics such as spirituality, reincarnation, and death. Nesheba and I share the same vision. She is extremely professional in her approach and makes you feel very comfortable. I feel blessed and honored to have been on her show!
Feel free to check out the interview by visiting the following link: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/ESpiritE-Radio7/2009/09/16/Wednesdays-Smooth-Jazz-Neo-Soul-Spoken-Word-and-More
After the show, Nesheba of ESpiritE sent me a wonderful e-mail to thank me. She allowed me to share the message with you.
“Certificate of Appreciation
This certificate is awarded to Cendrine marrouat
In recognition for your invaluable contribution to Nesheba of ESpiritE -Radio7 Show apart of the Creative Division of ESpiritE-Inspirations. You are such an wonderful inspiration and healing force for the world, you’re spirituality riches to the depth our the soul. As you transcend and channel your thoughts that radiate through your spirit and previous life’s we are blessed and honored by it. Causing us to stop, think, mediate, relax, and discern the greater gifts that life has to offer from God.
Embracing that which is within and connecting to God and the universe is one of the greatest blessings given by God. The gift even greater than that or in line with that is AGAPE LOVE & your poetry is Love from your heart & soul….Again, we appreciate you sharing your gift with the world….Peace & Love Family!!!
Date: Wednesday, September 16h, 2009
Signature: Nesheba of ESpiritE-Radio7″
When you receive such a testimony, you know that you have done a good job. I wanted to touch people’s lives and it seems that I have been able to do that in more ways than one!
Once again, big thanks to all the people who listened during and after the show! Elder Beatmaster called in to show his support and this made the feature even more special for me!
If you want to check Nesheba of ESpiritE’s show, here are a few links for you:
ESpiritE – Radio7 site: http://www.espirite-radio7
ESpiritE – Radio7 Show Page on BlogTalkRadio: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/espirite-radio7
ESpiritE Radio7 – WSDJ Radio Network on the ShoutCast Directory: Search for WSDJ Radio Network
As always, stay blessed!
07.28.09
Celebrating Great Minds – Part II
Two or three years ago, on a plane back to Canada, as I was reading one of Alphonse de Lamartine’s numerous poems, I noticed that one of the flight attendants was smiling at me. I closed my book and we started talking.
“I notice that you are reading Alphonse de Lamartine.”
“Yes, I am. Have you ever heard of him?”
“I am a huge fan. However, I had never met anyone before who actually reads him.”
What the flight attendant said did not surprise me. Alphonse de Lamartine is one of the most amazing writers in the history of French literature, and yet, most people have barely heard of him. I want to celebrate this great soul today.
Alphonse Marie Louis de Prat de Lamartine (October 21, 1790 – February 28, 1869) was a French writer, poet and politician. He is considered as the first French romantic poet.
A passionate man, he had an unequalled way with words. The only writers that touch him are Khalil Gibran, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Victor Hugo. The timeless messages in his novels and poems are the deepest that I have ever read.
Below are a few quotes taken from http://thinkexist.com/quotes/alphonse_de_lamartine/:
- “Sometimes only one person is missing and the whole world seems depopulated.” (his most famous quote)
- “To love for the sake of being loved is human, but to love for the sake of loving is angelic.”
- “There is a woman at the beginning of all the great things.”
- “Limited in his nature, infinite in his desires, man is a fallen god who remembers the heavens.”
If you ever talk to fans of his body of work, they will tell you about The Lake. This poem recalls a brief but intense love affair between Lamartine and Julie Charles, who died before they could meet again.
Source: http://blog.luciolepress.com/2008/02/23/alphonse-de-lamartine-17901869-and-the-lake.aspx
The Lake
And thus, forever driven towards new shores,
Swept into eternal night without return,
Will we never, for even one day, drop anchor
On time’s vast ocean?
O Lake! Only a year has now gone by,
And to these dear waves she would have seen again,
Look! I’m returning alone to rest on the very work
Where you saw her rest!
Then as now, you rumbled under these great rocks;
Then as now, you broke against their torn flanks;
The wind hurling the foam from your waves
Onto her adored feet.
One evening, you recall? We drifted in silence;
Far off on the water and under the stars hearing
Only the rhythmic sound of oars striking
Your melodious waves.
Suddenly strains unknown on earth
Echoed from the enchanted shore;
The water paid heed, and the voice so dear
To me spoke these words:
“O time, suspend your flight! and you, blessed hours,
Suspend your swift passage.
Allow us to savor the fleeting delights,
Of our most happy days!
So many wrteched people beseech you:
Flow, flow quickly for them;
Take away the cares devouring them;
Overlook the happy.
But I ask in vain for just a few more moments,
Time escaping me flees;
While I beg the night: ‘Slow down,’ already
It fades into dawn.
Then let us love, let us love! And the fleeting hours
Let us hasten to enjoy.
We have no port, time itself has no shore;
It glides, and we pass away.”
Jealous time, will these moments of such intoxication,
Love flooding us with overwhelming bliss,
Fly past us with the same speed
As dark and painful days?
What! will we not keep at least the trace of them?
What! They are gone forever? Totally lost?
This time that gave them and is obliterating them,
Will it never return them to us?
Eternity, nothingness, past, somber abysses,
What are you doing with the days you swallow up?
Speak: will you ever give back the sublime bliss
You stole from us?
O lake! silent rocks! shaded grottoes! dark forest!
You whom time can spare or even rejuvenate,
Preserve, noble nature, preserve from this night
At least the memory!
May it live in your peace, may it be in your storms,
Beautiful lake, and in the light of your glad slopes,
And in these tall dark firs and in these savage rocks,
Overhanging your waves.
May it be in the trembling zephyr passing by,
In the endless sounds that carry from shore to shore
In the silver faced star that whitens your surface
With its softened brilliance.
May the moaning wind and sighing reed,
May the delicate scent of your frangrant breeze,
May everything that we hear and see and breathe,
Awaken the memory of — their love!
(Editor K.’s note: I transcribed this out of The Norton Anthology of World Literature, Volume E. This translated version is by Andrea Moorhead)
If you google “Alphonse de Lamartine”, you will find hundreds of websites. So, get enlightened right now! 
06.26.09
Lest We Forget
What do Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett, Ed McMahon, and Shelton Elkins have in common? They all passed away this week. My deepest condolescences go to their families and friends.
We all die. We will never know when or how. But, WE die. There is nothing we can say or do that will change that particular problem. Losing people we love is always challenging and it may take a while for some to recover from it.
I remember MJ’s trials and how half the world condemned and judged him. I remember when most said that his musical career was dead. Simply put, he was hated for years. And now that he has gone, the whole world is on its knees, singing his praise. Former judges have become worshippers (except for Perez Hilton, maybe). Haters are now lovers of his music.
I never watched Charlie’s Angels except when the movie was released. I heard of Farrah Fawcett through Who’s the Boss and I know she had cancer. And Ed McMahon is unknown to me. On the other hand, Shelton Elkins is not. He was a friend and a tremendous writer.
I am a fervent user of Twitter. I also like Facebook. Yesterday, I saw the most incredible amount of messages about MJ and FF. Everybody was understandably sad. I also saw another side of the coin: people starting to spread rumours about other people dying. I will not comment on that, because it would be a waste of time and energy. Those people were obviously looking for some publicity.
However sad those past events have been, they have also brought millions of people closer. While this particular fact is great in itself, it also makes me wonder about one thing: when somebody is alive, people pinpoint each one of their faults and mistakes. When they pass away, they realize how much they loved them. Why wait until Death is around the corner to finally focus on a person’s achievements?
My aunt was 52 when she died from breast cancer; my mother committed suicide at 54; and my grandfather passed away last year after losing both his legs and his desire for life. I may not understand what they went through. However, I know what a life of anger and pain can lead to.
I am far from being perfect. I am stubborn and sometimes a little moody. However, when I make a decision, I know I will never regret it. So, let me tell you this. Do not wait until someone passes away to tell them how much you love them. Do not dwell on the past or the pain they may have put you through. If you have a bone to pick with someone, talk things over in a respectful manner and start with a clean slate. If it is not possible, then write them a letter. Just do what you can to be at peace with them and yourself. I did that with my family members. And it helped me experience death in a positive way…
