Mara's Manifesto

When the magic happens 💫 . . . . . . . . . #goodsundaymorning #magic #inspiration #sunrises #morningbloom #clearmind #poetry #poetsofig #blackpoets #heartmanifesto #marasmanifesto https://www.instagram.com/p/BzDSa-VncRh/?igshid=168fjanzk3so1

‪The past is prologue— a preface to the future. ‬It must always be revisited and lessons be remembered. Some wounds cannot heal when left untreated and we all know what happens when a deep wound festers. #past #history #prologue #pastlessons #guidesforthefuture https://www.instagram.com/p/By5SiLInz0K/?igshid=u66b50qwqp02

Happy Juneteenth! ❤️🖤💚 Today marks the day the last Africans in the United States of America were freed from captivity, two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. In some ways, this day also represents the beginning of the fight for true, equitable freedom and to claim a rightful and peaceful place in a land built by ancestors like those freed on this very day some 154 years ago— a life we descendants are still fighting for. To this day! So we must always remember. We must always commemorate. We must always celebrate this important day in American history. #juneteenth #independenceday #june19 #remember #commemorate #celebrate #fight #tothisday https://www.instagram.com/p/By5HKKFHnyu/?igshid=1w5l3dgabh8q1

Ours gives us light and helps the trees grow, keeps us warm and makes our skin glow ✨♥️✨ #sun #stars #universe #celestial #gratitude #thelittlethings #thebigthings #marasmanifesto https://www.instagram.com/p/ByIS5PfnBog/?igshid=1okjlcprz9wwe

“We have paid too much for this country to NOT be able to do what we want to do with it.” [ Nikki Giovanni and James Baldwin, 1971, London ] . This exchange speaks to me in the same way I’m sure it speaks to anyone who often wrestles with conflicting feelings about this country, our place in it, our history with it, and ultimately our peace within it. . I’ve certainly shared the sentiments of both Giovanni and Baldwin, so often that my feeling one way or the other often just depends on the day— as fickle as the weather during the spring. Some days I am like Nikki where I don’t really care about what happens to this country. I don’t care who is running what. I see 45 doing his damage and I’m like good. This country deserves this. It deserves him. Tear it all up for all I care. I suspect this comes from a place of fear. On those days, I don’t want the worries that come with being emotionally invested in the well-being of a country— one that quite frankly will never return to me that same level of concern. . And then there are the days when I feel like James. When I think of how we have invested way too much, voluntarily and not, to simply not care. Sacrificed too much. That our ancestors blood, sweat, and tears have cultivated the soil that lies beneath our feet. They have built the foundations of the buildings that shelter us. They have paved the roads that guide us. I think of all those things and they make me care. I have to care. And on those days, I do. I care so deeply that the weight of concern makes me ache— my head, my body, my heart. But it also makes me hopeful. . This constant reckoning of feelings is part of what shapes the Black consciousness in America- it’s an unavoidable burden. But we’ve always endured. Nikki endured. James endured. And so must I. - - - - - - #diaspora #blackculture #blackamerica #blackculture #blackexcellence #blackconsciousness #jamesbaldwin #nikkigiovanni #blackwriters #writersofig #marasmanifesto https://www.instagram.com/p/ByApU26nfXf/?igshid=1tvgnoe9cihl2

If someone— friend, lover, business partner, mentor— is going to come in and alter my life in some way, it can only be for the very best. Otherwise, I already got it covered. . . . . . . . . . . . #mondaymusings #investment #capital #gains #emotional #intellectual #financial #friends #lovers #businesspartners #mentors #writersofig #blackwriters #marasmanifesto https://www.instagram.com/p/Bx-SmfDnvFf/?igshid=1a8jzdy2b46aq

#legacy https://www.instagram.com/p/Bx4xr_EHu1N/?igshid=1fzrh2k0wkhke

“To astonish a mean world with your acts of kindness.” That part. ♥️💯 #mayaangelou https://www.instagram.com/p/BxSIlX6nHFc/?igshid=lekwz9a6t29s

#legacy 🙌🏾 https://www.instagram.com/p/BxQKa4MndSM/?igshid=rqbvyq0mx1wf

🤣🤣🤣 https://www.instagram.com/p/BxN6JL8nORI/?igshid=1kxbtbl05ymis

A perfect night ♥️ #hemingway #americanlit https://www.instagram.com/p/BxNukh9n6CG/?igshid=y2wn6xi90awg

The gray 💯 https://www.instagram.com/p/BxNtpmhHL4M/?igshid=y0hgx24o13tw

#Intimacy ♥️ https://www.instagram.com/p/BxICbQ3HjYR/?igshid=6njjah6pda8h

Mi’lord 😆😆😆 https://www.instagram.com/p/BwUG7MoHzdm/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=15i1nr2y3gang

Spoiler alert 🚨 https://www.instagram.com/p/BwUGqA_n3-o/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=pev2m9xw4utb

It’s bad karma... and it’s super wack. Tell your ego to back off and let you be honest with yourself and others. 💯#selfmastery #livewithintention https://www.instagram.com/p/BwPVkddnuAS/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=5nuwho2klla1

When people don’t have purpose, they cling onto someone else’s. They become zealots and that, in turn, becomes their purpose. It can be difficult to get through to people like that because they often see things in black and white. They’ll come to you with point A and Z, and nothing else in between, despite the fact that life is full of nuances— that their very existence is the sum of their own menagerie of nuances. . The truth is things are almost never black and white, and in order to find all things constructive—like critical thinking, commonalities, compromise, progress— we must venture into the gray. For it is where authenticity is birthed. It’s where hope lives. . And it’s within that gray that we must strive to live as well. Somewhere that allows us to connect to each other in ways that yield meaningful and lasting results. The kind that leaves a presence of love and light, that makes us open our eyes and minds alike. The kind that fuels our hearts with the drive to be better— to ourselves, to others, to this world. That’s a legacy most of us can certainly leave behind. ♥️ . . . . . . . . . . . #legacy #purpose #authenticity #hope #thegray #lovefree #livefree #evolution #musings #motivationmonday #writings #prose #writersofig #blackwriters #blacklivesmatter #heartmanifesto #marasmanifesto https://www.instagram.com/p/Bvu1jMOHQZ1/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=7yd10ot3l90s