Got Mail?

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Do you get excited when you receive mail? I'm not talking about e-mail. I am talking about the stuff that comes in envelopes and cardboard boxes.

I like to get cards, books, supplements, electronic gadgets, and other things in the mail a little too much.

When I lived in the States, I made Amazon a lot of money because I liked to receive packages on my doorstep. Sure, I ordered things that I “needed,” but that was a cover-up for the joy of coming home and seeing a box labeled with my name.

Now that I live on a Caribbean island, the mail is such a rare treat that it feels like my birthday or a holiday whenever a package arrives. Many of the homes in Antigua and Barbuda do not have mailboxes or formal addresses. You have to use either a broker who knows your home, a PO Box, or your employer’s address to get mail.

Why all this mail discussion?

Don’t I have more important things to write about, including the Chauvin verdict and the police shootings of Wright, Bryant, or Toledo? Yes, I could add to the growing online commentary about each of these horrific incidents, but you know my stance on the social and economic inequalities that prevent access to the “unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" in the US.

The court got it right this time in the Chauvin case, but let's not sleep; we must continue to do work that positively impacts the lives of people from underserved communities.

Now, back to mail.

Two weeks ago, my father mailed a package to my family. It did not arrive as soon as we hoped due to a prioritized COVID vaccine shipment. That vaccine shipment was the excuse this time. But, whenever anyone sends us anything, it takes a while for it to get here.

Inside the box my dad sent were copies of my books, clothes for my daughter, and a couple of surprise treats.

Did you know that on April 23, 1899, a Black man named Sam Hose was lynched, mutilated, and burned alive while thousands gathered to watch as spectators? I didn't know this horrific fact. Thanks to the Equal Justice Initiative calendar that came by surprise in the package from my parents, I am learning about racial injustices that happened every day.

Thanks to social media, I am living in a time with increased awareness of the racial injustices that continue to happen every day.

The calendar is now on my office wall.

On Instagram and Facebook this week, I posted a picture of the books mailed to me that include my latest Ebook, Island Capoeira: The Capoeira In-tune Guide to Encourage Growth in Isolation. Although it’s the electronic companion to my expanding virtual capoeira and meditation instructional series, I printed one for my personal use. It has a sweet journal section at the back of the book, and every week I use the suggested training routines.

From L to R - 1. Critical Race and Education for Black Males: When Pretty Boys Become Men 2. Capoeira, Black Males, and Social Justice: A Gym Class Transformed 3. Dear Brother: 82 Powerful Poems to Guide Your Journey to Healthy Black Masculinity 4. Island Capoeira: The Capoeira In-tune Guide to Growth in Isolation - #ebook 5. The Why Manifesto: A Guide to Discovering Your Why and the Manifesto of Why I Write - #ebook

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Am I giving away my secrets to growing in Capoeira and life?

Yes, inside the Ebook, Island Capoeira: The Capoeira In-tune Guide to Encourage Growth in Isolation, you can receive the exact workout routines that I started in 2019 to prepare for graduation to professor in Capoeira. It also shares revised blog posts that I wrote in 2019 and 2020 in response to the #blacklivesmatter movement and training in alignment with social distance protocols.

You have three options to get your eyes on, Island Capoeira: The Capoeira In-tune Guide to Encourage Growth in Isolation. Explore the basics of Capoeira movements with the guide via this link. For intermediate and advanced capoeiristas, download your copy with access to the complete instructional library inside the Capoeira In-tune Training Vault. If you're interested in the text-only version, visit this link.

This weekend, I want you to send someone something in the mail. It doesn’t need to be expensive. A card for your sweetie or a book to your mentee are a couple of suggestions.

In this day, where everything is online, it still feels good to receive an unexpected piece of mail at home from a family member, mentor, or friend. It’s the simple things in life that bring our complex lives joy.

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