from THE VERANDA
where spoken word artists, word warriors, and poets speak Light and Elevation into our communities, nations and Universe.

What do you BELIEVE?
contributed by Shaunelle Curry

We read it, we hear it, we even speak it. The Grown Folks would tell it to us in our youth as if speaking it would somehow magically, mystically manifest it as truth in our lives. You know the words, "Believe it and you can achieve it." "Anything is possible if you just believe." "If you want it, believe God for it." Yeah, okay. But, what does this mean and are we committed to living it?

I'm saying, is belief this wistful, hopeful notion that if we think something is possible it might actually come true, as long as we struggle hard enough to make it come true? Oh, and let's add to that, "as long as it be God's will."

Excuse me for stepping on toes (mine included), but isn't "if it be God's will" so often used as an escape clause, a "just-in-case-it-doesn't-randomly-happen-for-us" clause? Think of how we misuse that to allow just enough space within for doubt--the possibility of failure, the possibility of actually getting the opposite of what we wanted. It becomes our alibi for not claiming the substance we're calling forth. It must not'a been God's will. Ouch. I'm just saying.

Not long ago I was driving home from a spoken word artists' gathering, and I was feeling good. Radio down, ear piece to my cell phone in place, and I'm rolling down the 105 vibing with my spirit-brother Diallo ("Bold One") several states away. He's a poet and songwriter, and a power-filled presence on this planet. We're tuned into that elevation energy that reverberates between people when they're connecting on the same plane. We're actively blessing each other with truth-tone words of joy and upliftment when before you know it, that word enters our vibe-space. Believe. So, we start resonating with it, bouncing it to and fro, breaking it down and up and all around.

"What is with this word, be, my brother?" It means to exist. "And how do you spell lieve?" L-I-E-V-E. "Aint that close to L-I-V-E?" "I mean, what I'm saying is, if to be is to exist and lieve is so close to live, when we believe aren't we calling forth life?" Yeah, yeah, yeah. Mmmm hmmm, uh-huh. Aaaaaah-haaaah. I mean, I'm just saying.

A couple of days after our telephone word-fest, I pulled out my dictionary. Believe comes from an Old English word belefan. And this comes from be + lefan. Be actually means to occur, to exist, to take up space. Lefan means to allow. Whoa.

So, when we believe we are actually allowing a thing to occur, allowing it to exist; we're making room and allowing it to take up space in our lives, whether for our good or our detriment. In other words, we're not making it happen. It actually wants to come through and it will when we make a place for it through our belief. Mmmph.

Anytime we allow something to occur, it already has potential, already has life-force, is already pushing to come through. Our job, if we want it, is merely to give it permission to manifest for and/or through us.

Doesn't this mean if we do not believe, we are blocking what wants to come through? To not believe is to not allow it to occur or to exist or to take up space in our lives. Aren't our half-hopeful efforts of "maybe-it-will-happen," with one eye cocked toward, "or maybe it won't," actually hindering what we say we're believing God for? Mmm.

Block the doubt. Stop blocking the good. The answer is already there, and it wants to come through. I'm saying.

What do you believe?

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