Thirsty Thursdays

In my latest life adventure, 

the definition of "Thirsty Thursdays" 

have taken on a whole new meaning. 

These Fridays-in-disguise begin for me at 8am 

in a classroom located directly underneath the Carousel 

at the Lincoln Park Zoo (no joke!) 

Each and every Thursday morning a member of our Summer Staff team is asked to give a 30 minute presentation on something they are either passionate about, or a topic they feel the group could benefit from. 

  

It's like a breath of fresh air meets a tall

drink of ice cold water when needed most. 

      

I gave mine on camp songs and taught how it's not only great fun for the little ones, but that singing has been scientifically proven to boost your mood and also enhances immunity by increasing antibodies that fight sickness.  WINNER-WINNER CHICKEN DINNER!

Other PD's (professional development) sessions have included: how to fly an airplane (as one of my brilliant co-workers is also a commercial pilot), how to raise honeybees (as another is a beekeeper by trade), and this morning's breathtaking session on the art of Spoken Word. 

  

I'll never be able to do justice to Jeff's performance, but he opened up his speech with a summary of Maslow's hierarchy of needs:

After a basic understanding of the key foundations necessary to truly reach one's full potential, he performed a piece he wrote specifically for our team.  

Maybe you had to be there. Or maybe, you just need to open your heart and take a moment to read his prose for yourself :) 

Bon Appetit!

one thing I ask is that you would keep your minds, your hearts, and your ears just open 

for the word thats about to be spoken

see we were born to succeed. But before we go into that…

Let me ask you a question, have you ever felt pain?

physically, emotionally, spiritually, in your life

causing you strife, hearing the bark? but also feeling the bite.

Let me ask you a question, have you ever felt rejected?

by a boy, by a girl, by a team, by a friend, by a parent, by a church?

it relates to the first question cuz I know that it hurts.

Let me ask you a question, have you ever experienced a loved one pass away?

a situation expected, a situation unexpected, wishing for a kiss, a hug,

handshake, a simple touch?

cherishing the moments that seemed so small, but meant so much?

Let me ask you a question, have you ever felt drained?

tired of life, tired of the same old same old,

too much on the plate? don't even got time to just chill?

we are in a world that is full of choices

our minds conflicted with disputing voices

repeating lies that only disguise the blessings that are right in front of our eyes.

should I do this or should I do that?

hit or miss, theory vs. fact

will this risk stay intact?

will I fail? should I bail?

Usually we tend to not go for the road that is narrow,

but go for the road that is wide, but why?

why is our peers’ perspective of our lives is something that we cant deny?

see the choices we make today have consequences for the future

see consequences whether good or bad they come at a cost

I once heard that if you mix love with lust? you become lost

But we were born to succeed, believe!

it's sad, lately I see people living life engulfed with fear

facts of life seem blurry

we create habits to be in a hurry to worry,

We were born to succeed, believe!

Ladies and gentlemen, just open your eyes, step out from behind your disguise,

reach for the prize and try it on for size,

see in this world ppl look, but they dont recognize,

so eventually they live their lives in a lie, doing only what they need to get by.

See through this spoken word, I wanna encourage the lost, I wanna encourage

the weak, don't do what's wrong please listen in the things that i speak, cuz i

know what its like going through this life with temptation all around, so take my

advice and dont give up fight the fight stand your ground

I also once heard...

watch what you think because your thoughts become your words

watch what you say because what you say becomes your actions

watch what you do because your actions become your character

and watch your character because your character becomes your destiny

now see the only reason every single one of you is in this room is because you

were birthed successfully.

I don’t care how bad our economy is

that means that we were born to succeed. believe!

every single breath you take is a form of prosperity, a form triumph

Now this right here is a command

reminisce about the blessings of the past,

be satisfied about life in the present,

but dream big about the future

because we were born to succeed.

Now that we know this. ..

Let me ask you one, final question, are you willing to live to succeed?

If you say yes.

This risk will increase the potential for success, our true identity will become

amplified rather than suppressed.

Amen.