Escape into Life: … on the Way to Total Fulfillment

By Dr. H. lincoln Douglas

this is a book of stories and poetry
about my life
my beliefs
and about my actions
I also have a recorded version of this book
and in that version
in the middle of the recording
the talking and the drumming fades to
one minute of silence
the idea was to slowly stop and reflect
so if you disagree
or even if you agree with me
take a little time
stop and reflect on life
and whatever little change you can make
make it
because the world is changing
i certainly hope my stories and poetry
in some small way will remind you of your possibilities
will assist you in revealing the meaning of your life
and help you find a way of escape
not a running away from
but a form of securing a key for total fulfillment
one of my many metaphors for life is
a game of cards
you have no choice of the cards you’re dealt
but by god
you better learn to play
play your best game
and enjoy yourself while yuh playing

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Mar 15, 2022
• ISBN: 9781669805762

Book preview

Copyright © 2022 by dr. h. lincoln douglas.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Rev. date: 03/14/2022

Xlibris

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Contents

1. preface 1

2. preface 2

3. preface 3

4. preface 4

1 86952.png creations

5. if that isn’t love …

6. a man …

7. how do you want to play …

8. dance away …

9. truth is working in your favor …

10. it’s all good …

11. crossing the line …

12. freedom …

13. check it out …

14. the l-type personality …

15. the maze …

2 86957.png curses

16.can last a long time…

17. a choice delayed …

18. a curse to the male man …

19. curse to the female man …

20. male dialogue …

21. curse to d evil …

22. i’m moving on …

3 86963.png consequences

24. the laughter must go on …

25. crying colors …

26. life in the after light …

27. a black male in a changing reality …

28. confessions of a pyromaniac …

29. hard to take hard to keep …

30. colonizing my life world …

31. learning from pain

32. holding on for life …

33. thank god for life …

34. sweet fall …

35. deep dark feelings …

36. hell has come to town …

4 86969.png crosses

37.carrying your own cross …

38. love and forgiveness …

39. escape into life …

40. talk to your tree …

41. incarnation …

5 86977.png few are

42. the poor wishing …

43. how to fly …

44.do your best work …

45. woman …

46. time brings change …

47. time …

48. shaker …

49. drum beat …

50. win some lose some …

51. living outside the frame …

52. looking safe …

53. we know how to live

54. what is it …

55. faith won …

56. faith too

57. hope …

58. i love you …

59. treasure …

60. much blessings come …

61. the power of moondust …

62. ode to oswin …

63. visiting the gods

64. good vibes …

65. the response: … much love …

66. simukai—shona for stand …

67. communicating about difficult things …

68 music…

6 86982.png calling

69. fight poverty …

70. life has humbled us…

71. lessons that i have learned …

72. Bio

73. endnotes/appendices

preface 1

i do not pretend to know all of your realities

me%20relax.jpg

or those unexplained paradoxes that might plague your sojourn between your absolutes

i don’t even know what might be absolutes for you

i am not aware of those ecstasies that overcome you from periodic encounters with eternity

my hope is that as you paddle through the next few lines of life

some light will be thrown if there’s darkness

some honey will be tasted if there’s bitterness

some rhythm will be found to displace the inconsistent beat

a rhyme will add some definition to frayed endings

and

an added encouragement might come to those who have near perfected the art and science of existing between life’s absolutes

at the end of this book

there is an article from the new yorker

shouts and murmurs¹ section by ian frazer

it is about life

and its near impossibility as a vocation

it might be good to read it before you read the rest of the book

in a lot of ways most of us will identify with the article

it points out what cornel west calls

the downright absurdity … tragicomic … nature of life

in a lot of ways these writings are a response to that article

and suggest there is a way to make it

there is an escape into life …

and this is not a destination

it is something that we do every day

there is a sense in which we all feel trapped by life

some having felt this sense of "ambush

ment" exclaim

stop the world i want to get off

i feel the key is not to try and run from life but to face it squarely and say

i am going in

and do it with peace

preface 2

i tell you my stories

not because i have found the key to the holy grail

but they are my stories of going in

and i believe in stories

neale donald walsch in his book

friendship with god

says

the telling of stories from his life

in his book

is about much more than satisfying the curiosity of his readers about his past

it is about causing others to remember what they too

have always known

oriah in the invitation

echoes a similar idea

stories

carefully chosen and shaped by both the teller and the listener

can open gateways into our interior landscape

can reveal the meaning in our lives enfolded in the details

and unfolded in their telling and conscious contemplation …

i certainly hope my stories

in some small way will remind you of your possibilities

will assist you in revealing the meaning of your life

and help you find a way of escape

not a running away from

but a form of securing a key for total fulfillment

… telling my stories … lyttd

preface 3

lincoln …

thank you for sending me poetry …

it is beyond beautiful

it is truly a reflection of you in all of your splendor and might …

thanks …

thank you for sending me poetry …

so much tenderness and truth

joy and sorrow

dichotomy

thanks …

thank you for sending me poetry …

i read it last night when i got home from work

and it made me laugh

cry

smile peaceably and burn

thanks

thank you for sending me poetry

it invoked memories within me

references to landmarks in my life

similar journeys

thanks

thank you for sending me poetry

it pulled me to a place that is beyond description

my floodgates opened and images

epiphanies

emotional

physical

intellectual

and spiritual abound

thanks …

… gratitude …

preface 4

this is a book of stories and poetry

about my life

and my beliefs

about my actions

from the day i started writing

until this time

much has changed

even during the course of my writing

some things that i thought were permanent

have changed

some were hard to deal with

and in a sense that’s cool

you will experience this change even as you read

i have a recorded version of this book to drumming

and in that version the talking and the drumming fades to

one minute of silence

in the middle of the album

the idea was to slowly stop and reflect

so if you disagree

or even if you agree with me

take a little time

stop and reflect on life

and whatever little change you can make

make it

because the world is changing

and it is not waiting on you

so jump in and take the best

jump in and make your best

one of my many metaphors for life is

a game of cards

you have no choice of the cards you’re dealt

but by god

you better learn to play

play your best game

and enjoy yourself while you are playing

… play your best game …

chapter 1

creations

and the beginning of choices

Creation_68911671_xl-2015.jpg

as a child

summer holidays were my favorite time of the year

back then they were not called summer holidays, as yet …

this came later with the americanization of things …

one of the places i have identified as a source of this indoctrination of the nation

came through television

programs like sesame street …

all those ernies and berts and cookie monsters

teaching us to sing the alphabet …

saying zee instead of zed

cookies instead of biscuit

summer instead of august vacation or the holidays

that’s what we said in trinidad august vacation

this television viewing

it was a great way to change a nation

you see i know a time when there was no television

i know a time when television was only black and white

i know the time when television got color

i know the time when my tiny nation was glued to the one television channel

one point three million people growing up watching the same channel

at the same time

i am surprised that this strategy has not been used locally for greater advantage

for good of training the nation any how

i digress

i was saying our division of the year was based on the major breakup of the school year

that being the school vacations like christmas easter and august

as opposed to the american which was so affected by the four seasons …

reminds me so much of how

structures we have no control over

play such a major role in structuring our reality

most people just go along with these structured realities

and never break out of the frame

or believe they have power to create structures of their own

but as a boy creating structures is the furthest thing from one’s mind

or is it

nevertheless

for now we just enjoyed ourselves

call it spring summer fall winter or

christmas easter and august

my agenda was always very focused

whereas christmas and easter were just two weeks of holidays

august was the thing

as i learned later the african americans would say august was the bomb

and allowed for a boy to maximize and perfect his one goal in life

(at least it was my goal)

have as much fun as possible

the august holidays were long and eventful

i can still see the herd of boys

gathering under the cashew tree in our yard

there was snager-puss the two-gun-toting cowboy

back then playing cowboy and indians was one of our favorite games …

of course nobody wanted to be the indians

they always lost

except that time when my primary school took us to see custer’s last stand

boy what those indians didn’t have in firepower or strategy

they sure made up for in courage and numbers

never underestimate an enemy

especially one who has nothing