Pata Pata by Miriam Makeba

Miriam Makeba, South African singer, songwriter, actress and civil rights activist.

Known as Mama Africa and the Empress of African Song

Whenever I am feeling I need a lift, I put on this song: Pata Pata sung by Miriam Makeba. Guaranteed to make you smile and dance, even if you are sitting down. Turn up the volume! For me it serves as an injection of joy, straight into the veins...

Here she is on the Ed Sullivan show live in 1967:

And with Harry Belafonte on their 1965 collaborative Grammy Award winning album: An Evening with Belafonte/Makeba from

Poem on Texting

TEXT
by Carol Ann Duffy

I tend the mobile now like an injured bird We text, text, text
our significant words.

I re-read your first,
your second, your third,

look for your small xx,
feeling absurd.

The codes we send
arrive with a broken chord.

I try to picture your hands,
their image is blurred.

Nothing my thumbs press
will ever be heard.

Van Jones Words of Encouragement

Van Jones, TV Host, Author, Political Commentator, Changemaker

Great words of wisdom and encouragement about living your passion from one of my idols, Van Jones, of CNN and Obama Administration fame..

IF YOUR DREAM HAS NOT YET COME TRUE: I want you to consider something. Fifteen years ago, I was about to turn 40 years old. For the prior 15 years, I had been a dedicated, hard-working, rabble rousing activist in the Bay Area. I had done a few things in Oakland & San Francisco that I was proud of. But my team and I had barely scratched the surface of making any kind of a real difference locally. And I certainly had not made any national mark, to speak of.

Jana, my wife at the time, pushed me very hard in 2007 to go away on a spring writing retreat to finish a manuscript for what would be my first book. I'm so glad she did. The book became my first bestseller. And it set me on the path to the Obama White House.

My friend Natalie Foster this year found my name written inside a closet at the same retreat center (where she was working on her own book). And she sent me the photo below.

The guy who scratched his name inside that closet in 2007 had never been on national television, had never helped pass federal legislation, had never met Prince, Oprah or Jay-Z, had never been inside the White House and had never worked for a cable news organization (CNN). None of those things even seemed POSSIBLE, at the time.

And remember, I was already almost 40.

Since that spring, so much has happened--good and bad. I feel like I have lived several different lives since then. I don't know what the next 15 years have in store.

But I do know that I could easily have given up...or settled...or compromised to live a life far beneath my potential. Luckily I had someone in my corner who pushed me to chase one more dream.

And that one chase changed everything for me and my family.

So let me be that person pushing YOU tonight. There is something inside you that wants to shine in a brighter way. If you give yourself to it, in 15 years (or maybe much less time) your life can be unrecognizable to you. I promise. And the world (or at least some important part of the world) could go for it.

So go for it.

Seriously.
(Yes, I am talking to YOU.)

Paintings of the Week

A glimpse of my exhibition at the Waldo Theatre, in Waldoboro, Maine which will remain up through Labor Day. Photo credit: Eddie Holm

Charity of the Week:
National Coalition for the Homeless

About The Author

New York City based contemporary artist, Pam Smilow, began writing the creative lifestyle blog “things we love” in an effort to foster a sense of community during times of isolation and reflection. To read more about her and her art, visit her website and check out the essay written by the Hammond Museum's Frank Matheis entitled The Sophisticated Innocence of Pam Smilow.