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1/ When people tell me they're feeling lost, unsure of the next steps in their life, I paradoxically suggest that they shouldn't rush to find their way.
Use your "time of ashes" for metamorphosis. A man must go âdownâ in order to find the right path for going âup'.
A thread
Use your "time of ashes" for metamorphosis. A man must go âdownâ in order to find the right path for going âup'.
A thread
2/ "I consider Sidney Poitier a first-class mentor. Heâs the coolest cat for any generationâsmart, classy, successful. He represents strength through intelligence. The thought of what heâs achieved, compared to the way he started out, keeps me afloat during difficult situationsâŠ
3/ ⊠especially when I begin to question myself. We all, no matter who we areâno matter where or from what circumstances we comeâfind ourselves in need of inspiration guidance.
I have tried to build my own âpersonal board of directorsâ made up of people I knowâŠ
I have tried to build my own âpersonal board of directorsâ made up of people I knowâŠ
4/ âŠand others, like Mr. Poitier, that I read about. Sidney Poitier was the very first Black man to win an Academy Award, back in 1964. Almost fifty years later, in 2009, President Barack Obama pinned the Presidential Medal of Freedomâour countryâs highest civilian honorâon him.
5/ Sounds like somebody born under a lucky star, right?
But Sidney is no stranger to fear and doubt.
By the time he was sixteen, he was often homeless in New York, sleeping on roofs and doing freelance gigs as a dishwasher whenever he could grab one.
But Sidney is no stranger to fear and doubt.
By the time he was sixteen, he was often homeless in New York, sleeping on roofs and doing freelance gigs as a dishwasher whenever he could grab one.
6/ Winter came, and he found himself facing it without a hat, scarf, boots, or even a coat.
So he joined the army, just to get out of the cold and have three squares a day.
Army discipline only ended up igniting his rage and leading to him throwing a chair at an officer.
So he joined the army, just to get out of the cold and have three squares a day.
Army discipline only ended up igniting his rage and leading to him throwing a chair at an officer.
7/ He admits it was a foolish decision, a stupid way to try to get out of the army.
Thatâs when they locked him up while they determined whether he was a nutcase or just a bad guy.
If the verdict had been âbad guy,â he could have been court-martialed and sent up for 25 years.
Thatâs when they locked him up while they determined whether he was a nutcase or just a bad guy.
If the verdict had been âbad guy,â he could have been court-martialed and sent up for 25 years.
8/ Sidney calls this period of time in his life the lowest one of all.
But he also calls this same time his âindispensable years.â
According to him, âthe young man must go âdownâ in order to find the right path for going âup.â
Call it the âtime of ashes.â
But he also calls this same time his âindispensable years.â
According to him, âthe young man must go âdownâ in order to find the right path for going âup.â
Call it the âtime of ashes.â
9/ In some South African tribes the young boys must cover their faces with ashes before their initiation into manhood.
In certain Nordic cultures the young boys sat down in the ashes by the fire in the center of the lodge house until they were ready to take on their adult role.
In certain Nordic cultures the young boys sat down in the ashes by the fire in the center of the lodge house until they were ready to take on their adult role.
10/ Sidney Poitierâs time of ashes taught him to fight for his life.
It gave him an opportunity to balance the good and evil impulses whirling through his mind.
He put all of these energies where they fit--into the natural order of things, where theyâd work to his advantage.
It gave him an opportunity to balance the good and evil impulses whirling through his mind.
He put all of these energies where they fit--into the natural order of things, where theyâd work to his advantage.
11/ So when a situation demanded aggressive energy, he had it on tap, but when it required calmness, compassion, or reflection, he had a supply of that, too.
Iâm hoping that your time inside will turn out to be the same kind of âtime of ashesâ for you as you move towardâŠ
Iâm hoping that your time inside will turn out to be the same kind of âtime of ashesâ for you as you move towardâŠ
12/ ⊠a greater balance of light and shadow.
By telling you about Sidney Poitier, Iâm trying to tell you that âshit happensâ to everybody.
Weâve all gone through some hardships in life.
We all have a story to tell.
Sometimes nobody could have made it happen differently.
By telling you about Sidney Poitier, Iâm trying to tell you that âshit happensâ to everybody.
Weâve all gone through some hardships in life.
We all have a story to tell.
Sometimes nobody could have made it happen differently.
13/ Sometimes we play a big role in what happens without even being aware. Sometimes we know weâve made a bad decision, but we follow through with it anyway. Sidney did all that, but once heâd learned to temper his impulses, he discovered gold among the ashes. Maybe you can, too.
14/ It may not make sense to you now, but Iâm asking you to surrender to your own time of ashes.
Most people donât associate manhood and power with the maturity it takes to surrender.
But sometimes surrendering can be the most powerful, courageous action you can take.
Most people donât associate manhood and power with the maturity it takes to surrender.
But sometimes surrendering can be the most powerful, courageous action you can take.
15/ Because when it comes to making big changes,
we surrender the old, the trite, and the tired
to create space for what can be new.â
- @HillHarper, Letter to an Incarcerated Brother
For guidance through your time of ashes: http://doc.substack.com/
we surrender the old, the trite, and the tired
to create space for what can be new.â
- @HillHarper, Letter to an Incarcerated Brother
For guidance through your time of ashes: http://doc.substack.com/
