Blog (The Dancing Hummingbird) — The Dancing Curtain

Traveling With An Afro

Many years ago, I decided to cut my hair into an Afro. For a long time, I had worn my hair in braids and then I straightened my hair and finally, I decided to go natural and wear an Afro. I absolutely loved it. I felt that it captured my personality. Both of my parents were worried about me sporting an Afro because they had lived in the 60s with the civil rights movement, discrimination, and of course, segregation. They were afraid how their daughter would be treated with an Afro. I reassured them not to worry that I will be treated just fine.

But I definitely had different experiences with an Afro than I did when I was wearing braids or when I had straightened my hair. I remember one time going through airport security. I went through the big scanner where they make you put your hands up above your head and not breathe and then they slide the door really quickly to scan your body. It showed that I was wearing some metal.

Oh shoot! I thought, I forgot to take my rings off.

So, as soon as I got out of the machine, I said, “I’m sorry; I forgot to take my rings off. Here are my rings.”

Creativity, Authenticity, MindfulnessKhristee RichOctober 2, 2020 Comments

Black Is Always More Aggressive

My parents have some dear friends. They invited them over for dinner one evening. Somehow the conversation turned to black dogs. At the time, my family had two black Labrador Retrievers. My parents’ friends were arguing that black dogs were more aggressive than lighter color dogs. It was an odd conversation. My family is black and they were white. My family had had many dogs over the years: 2 golden retrievers and three black labs plus my mother had a dog as a child. This couple had had one dog: a poodle. My father who loves a good conversation tried to steer the conversation to breeds saying that certain breeds were more aggressive than others and that it depends on how the dog was treated (if it was abused) but they stood steadfastly, saying that it was the color that determined the temperament. My father point black asked, “Are you saying a yellow lab is always less aggressive than a black lab?”

Authenticity, MindfulnessKhristee RichSeptember 2, 2020racism in America, racism in The US, prejudice, black lives matterComment

Have You Ever Been Told That Your Hair is A Hazard?

I am continuing to share more of my personal stories so that people can understand systemic racism.

When I worked in a psychiatric hospital in New York I had an Afro at the time. It was a very big Afro. One day the HR person asked me to come to her office and she told me that I had to cut my hair. I had never been asked to cut my hair for a job before.

I was perplexed.

“Why do I have to cut my hair?” I asked.

“Because it’s too long,” she said.

“What does the length of my hair have to do with my position?” I asked.

She said, “Because your hair is so long that patients could grab it and it could potentially endanger you. So it is a hazard.”

I declined to cut my hair. I would not cut my hair for my job.

For me, my hair was my identity and I didn’t see anything wrong with having an Afro and working in a psychiatric hospital.

Authenticity, Identity, MindfulnessKhristee RichAugust 31, 2020racism in America, racism in The USComment

How Much Do You Know About Vanilla?

I watched Sunday Morning this past weekend and learned about vanilla. With lockdown, more people are baking. Vanilla sales have gone up 500%.

The island of Madagascar is the largest producer of vanilla, producing 80% of the world’s vanilla crop. But vanilla is not native to Madagascar; it is native to Mexico. Vanilla is one of the most labor intensive crops in the world. Only in Mexico where the crop is native is there a bee that pollinates the crop. In Madagascar, every vanilla most be pollinated by hand. It is a very lengthy process to produce vanilla and because of that, it is worth more by weight than gold. Madagascar is one of the poorest countries in the world, so they can find people willing to do this laborous work. On average people in Madagascar are paid $50/month, but those who work on vanilla fields make $100/month.

Still with vanilla being so valuable there is a lot of theft and farmers must stay awake all night, so that their crop is not stolen. Still much of their crop is stolen and is sold on the black market for well over the selling price and many people, mostly children, are in prison for stealing vanilla.

That is why vanilla is so expensive, if you purchase pure vanilla.

Health and Wellness, MindfulnessKhristee RichAugust 4, 2020vanilla, Madagascar, artificial vanilla, artificial flavorsComment

Have You Ever Felt Judgment From A Spiritual Teacher?

Many years ago, when I lived in Connecticut and had a debilitating chronic illness, I attended a gentle yoga class. I enrolled in the class for relaxation and socializing. The teacher said that the class was intended to be slow and gentle unlike many yoga classes which were competitive, high-energy, and athletic. I had chronic fatigue and no stamina, so slow and gentle was definitely my speed plus this class was spiritual, so she seemed to be the right teacher for me at the time to try to muddle through my chronic illness. But even though she seemed spiritual, I was surprised to see that she was judgmental. On one instance, during her yoga class, I’ll never forget it, she asked us to do a pose which I wasn’t able to do. She asked us to thread our fingers through our toes and I just couldn’t do it. She looked at me, shook her head, and started laughing. It would’ve been different if I was laughing and making fun of myself, but I couldn’t do it. I was frustrated. It was preposterous to me and she just looked at me and laughed.

What Were You Taught To Believe?

They taught me to be afraid of you.

“Stand 6 feet apart.”

They taught me to be afraid of myself.

“Wear a mask. You may be contagious.”

They taught me not to trust the strength of my immune system.

“Only medication and vaccines can remedy this.”

They taught me to stay inside. “Don’t go out, unless it is necessary.”

And they closed our beaches.
When natural vitamin D from the sun boosts the immune system.

They taught me to watch the news constantly: for updates and further information.

When fear weakens the immune system and spreads more fear to others.

They taught me that you cannot overcome chronic illness,

but I overcame mine.

They taught me to spy on my friends and neighbors.

No one needs privacy anymore.

They taught me to report anyone acting out of duty.

They taught us that tracking us is acceptable.

They taught me that is not a time for freedom.

They taught me not to think for myself.

They taught me to bully anyone who disagrees.

They taught me to shame, blame, and criticize anyone who thinks for themselves.

Overwhelm. What To Do?

It seems that everyone who I have been connecting with lately is feeling overwhelm. Are you feeling overwhelm? It seems to be something we are not experiencing individually, but collectively right now. It’s no surprise with everything that has been going on the last few months: the Coranavirus pandemic (the fear of becoming sick, the fear of our loved ones becoming sick, the isolation and not having the help systems we have relied on, job loss/financial loss, losing loved ones to the virus), all of the corruption and racism that has been appearing in the news, all of the scandals etc. What can we do to feel better and release this overwhelm?

Yesterday, in my private Facebook Group, Empowered Joyful Empaths, I discussed this topic and let everyone know that they are not alone if they are feeling overwhelm. I also provided some coping skills to help at this time.

Try these coping skills. Pick the ones that are best for you. You do not need to practice all of them.

Meditate
Spend time alone in nature
Consciously slow down
Take something off your to do list
De-clutter
Breathe deeply
Delegate
Prioritize. Does everything need to be done today?
Rest/Nap
Have fun

Advice From My Grandfather

When I was growing up, I loved spending time with my grandfather. In the summer and for holidays, I traveled down to Washington, D.C. to spend time with him. We used to sit on his front porch and chat and people watch. He waved and said hello to every black person who walked by.

I accompanied him to the grocery store and the same thing, any time he passed a black man or woman he nodded, waved, and said hello.

I asked him, “Who was that?”

He replied, “I don’t know.”

“You don’t know that person?”

“No,” he replied.

I noticed the pattern; every single time, he saw a black person, he said hello.

So one day, I asked him why he said hello to every black person.

He stopped and looked at me like I had three heads and said, “It’s what you do, Khristee.”

I took that statement to heart.

I grew up in a white community where my family was one of a couple of black families in town at the time. Besides my family, I didn’t come across many African Americans, so when I went to college and was exposed to more blacks, I made a point to say hello to everyone who I saw.

People No Longer

People can no longer count their own steps so they have watches to do that for them.

People no longer have the patience to be healed by healers so they purchase their own healing machines.

People can no longer keep track of their objects so they have apps to find their phones.

People can no longer be responsible for their time so their phone tracks their productivity.

People no longer have patience to research when they can ask Siri.

People can no longer be bothered to cook so they microwave the nutrition out of their food.

Or eat food out of cans,

Plastic,

Or cardboard.

No more do people share wisdom, but articles from Google.

No more do people call, but send texts and emojis.

No more do people wake up to birds chirping or a rooster crowing or the sunlight streaming in, but to an alarm sounding.

People use their voices to turn on music instead of their fingers.

People rely on voice commands to guide their way instead of their inner compass or a well illustrated map.

Authenticity, Creativity, MindfulnessKhristee RichJuly 8, 2020creativity, poetry, mindfulnessComment

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