This theme applies to attitudes, too. Today we introduce you to a feature to be found here as an exclusive page onto itself. It's called Skinny Carib: S-E-X-Y Pages.
Each month, every letter in that very seductive word above will stand for something---a hot something we suggest you cook up to improve your attitude and enrich your feelings of gratitude that you are a part of this community of Skinny's...
"Baby in the Tub" -- (use our affiliate link here to purchase this or similar images.)S -- even if you are not religious and especially if it offends and challenges your sensibilities-- IS for SPIRITUALITY.
Have you ever met a person who doesn't seem phased by what people think? Who almost always has loving words, gracious behaviour and exquisite taste? And somehow, no matter how much anyone tries to imitate this person, the imitators still can't capture that extra something.
This is the essence of a spiritually-grounded person. This is what Paul Newman described when he talked about his wife Joanne Woodward--throughout their entire marriage, through every one of her shapes and sizes. Paul isn't the only man of his type. Neither is Joanne the only woman of hers.
In fact, if I listed the entire suite of people I now know or know of who fit into this group, this blog entry would be too long for you to read in one or two sittings, or even in the next 12 or so blogs we have planned before the big, splashy 2012 event.
SPIRITUALITY is attractive because it suggests that the person who possesses it is "more than this" -- "more than that". Blonde, Braided, Groomed or Gritty--the person who is connected to something other than pant-size, wrinkle depth or model-esque stature, draws to Him/Herself the thing that everyone seems to be striving for with all the hair salon visits, diet-trends & "look who's on my arm" excursions.
It is the thing which caused one elder person to say: "That's true, but she loved his guts!" She was responding to the criticisms of a grandson who talked about the physical appearance of his great grandfather. He described this Great-Grande-Homme as "NOT much of a looker." He wondered what she (referring to his great grandmother who was a traditional beauty) saw in this man.
I too sat at this very dinner table, as I too perused the photo albums. As the family conversation continued, I also learned that the man in question was also a poor immigrant on top of his already not so special features. He was described as a "lucky guy"--not just because of the woman he'd attracted and ultimately married, but also because of his network of friends. He was described as a loved guy, a really loved guy. Generations had passed and people still had a faraway look of fondness in their eyes when they spoke about him.
I remember thinking what she saw in him, was what he had IN him. He wasn't some guy with a religious badge on his arm, a pocket full of money or a body full of looks. If you were at the dinner table of note, you'd know how much I am describing the truth. He was, however, interesting--tried things, did things. He was however warm-hearted--welcoming, funny (not meanly pointing to others to laugh at). He was, however, interested in how HIS presence in any room improved the room.
OR-
"A man's gift makes room for him" as told to me by one elder in a Caribbean church, on a particularly non-religious afternoon of mine. She said this to me, not as part of any religious conversion she'd hoped to achieve in me, but because I had confessed to her that I didn't think I had what it took to be one of "those girls". I was in that perplexing stage known as "becoming a teenager" and feeling those strange feelings of a heterosexual girl when she was in the company of teenage boys. BUT I had aalso discovered that I hated curlers, pantyhose, skinny high heels, nail polish and lipstick. I liked it on others, but couldn't tolerate the fussy-work it took for me to apply it to myself. I liked instead science, reading, writing, song lyrics with deep stories, dancing, magazines, and just knew that the coolest job would be to become an anthropologist--so I could travel the world and go on "digs" and find really old, dusty stuff and talk about my finds on TV on my favourite show, the Big Blue Marble--which was all about world culture.
I loved, too the lyrics of my show's theme song:
The earth's a big blue marble when you see it from out there; the sun and moon declare, there's beauty everywhere... We sing pretty much alike; we all dance pretty much alike...
Not an image for purchase ;-). Just me enjoying being a belly-dancer. One of my personal passions that has connected me to the remarkable music of the Middle East, which includes Morocco & Egypt--both countries found on the Continent of Africa!! And has led me to discover a long history of Lebanese culture in the Caribbean. Get to know your history & folklore. It is so very interesting!!A wo/man's gift makes room for her.
What is the thing people will miss most about you when you aren't in the room? At your best? It's not your looks--Halle Berry replaced Eartha Kitt, Josephine Baker, Beverly Johnson, Jayne Kennedy (do you even remember her?), and now Zoe Saldana is a threat to us all :-)!
The thing that made Paul Newman adore Joanne Woodward? In his words: "it's a complicated thing...this thing between a man and a woman." It wasn't unusual to find them together perusing a bookstore, representing a charity, "hamming it up" for their home camera or the paparazzi. They connected over a deeper spiritual something.
How SEXY and attractive you are to the person who would "love your guts!" is a complicated thing. How complicated (meaning interesting) are you? What's your passion? Do you have a thing you do no matter if you are the best at it? Do you crochet, cook, hike, read, love pieces of art you don't even understand and that aren't "good drawings" of people? Have you tried something new recently? Gone to a museum by yourself (and without anybody in your ear telling you what to think or venting their odorous opinions) just liked what you liked and disliked what you disliked?
When was the last time you developed your spirituality because you wanted to go deeper and do the work for your own meaningful appreciation of your purpose in life? Or are you still getting your pant-size right, grooming your hair and buying the latest outfit (or shoes) so you could look good for the Carib Folks you just might find in church or a mosque or on a yoga retreat--with every intention of making that person bigger than your own self-worth and your so-called God once you've brought him or her home?
Just how SEXY are you? ....All that, and we just dealt with the "S" today. Imagine what questions you'll ask when we tackle "EX" and "Y"?
You might need to take notes ;-)! Not from me, but about you. Fill in what you are, what you love, what you are going to try to enjoy about your unique self on this Big Blue Marble.
The first step is a cleanse. Clean up your crowded thoughts about all the things "they" say are wrong with you. Maybe you just aren't one of "those girls" or "those guys". Maybe you'll "grow up"--no matter how old you are ;-)--like me, to be a person whose been painted, photogaphed, sculpted, filmed--and whose image has been displayed in art shows and museums. OR--better still; since who wants to live in the lonely, paranoid space of what strangers think?--will you be a person in a very old photo album, who people can't stop reminiscing about--because they "LOVED YOUR GUTS!" and hardly remember the size of your actual gut.
My Haitan "mother" as a girl. Living in NYC most of my adult life, I connected with a Haitian family who became my family in every sense of the word. This beloved woman was the family matriarch. She left the earth--beautiful, in every sense of the word.That's SPIRITUALITY! THAT'S SEXY!!
In Global Community (Coming soon to a photo album near you),
m.
the Skinny Carib
"Hammock at Sunset" by Phil Weymouth (buy this or similar through our affiliate link here.