Welcome to another episode of Lurie Breaks It Down, a podcast where we dig deeply to connect the dots on the issues that shape our world.

I'm Lurie Daniel Favors, author, activist, attorney, and the host of the Lurie Daniel Favors show on Sirius XM's Urban View, Channel 126. If you like what you're about to hear, go ahead and give us five stars and then tell everybody that you know. And if you don't like it, just, child, keep it to yourself and pray our strength. Okay? Thank you so much.

Also, don't forget to check out my YouTube page, Lurie Daniel Favor's Media, where you should subscribe, like, and share because then you'll get notified when I post videos from my show, which I do just about every single day and when I go live with my YouTube audience. Lots to get into today. And of course, before we get into any of it, we have a very important ritual that we conduct on this show every single day. And this is a ritual because frankly, you can't do to work a Black Talklandia without getting a little heavy in a spirit. Right? It's a little heavy in the soul. And we want to make sure that we are approaching these stories and these conversations with as much optimism as we possibly can because

it don't do nobody no good to be a pessimistic negative Nancy. And so we want to remind ourselves

that we have power, that we have collectivity, that we have the ability to do what needs to be done,

and we cultivate that sense of power and recognition that we not only have to do what needs

to be done, but we get to do and we can do what needs to be done. We cultivate the energy for that through a ritual we like to call a moment of gratitude. This is a segment where we focus in on something. Maybe it's a poem or a saying or some source of inspiration, a quote, a video, whatever it is, something that is going to an essay.

We've done essays as well.

Shout out to the People's Project, which is that amazing book curated by Said Jones and Maggie Smith.

But we essentially use this ritual to tap into a sense of joy, gratitude, and appreciation.

Because when we are rooted in joy, gratitude, and appreciation, we cannot also be trapped by fear, gratitude, and appreciation because when we are rooted in joy, gratitude,

and appreciation, we cannot also be trapped by fear, loneliness, and depression. And that really,

really matters in a time like now. So the ritual is pretty simple. It is so simple. In fact,

it goes a little something like this. In just a minute, you're going to hear music. That music's

going to be an invitation to you to join the rest of us, because when we hear it,

we are going to collectively begin taking the slowest, the deepest, the most lung capacity expanding,

joyful heart, invigorating, troubled mind cleansing, and weary, so uplifting the most amazingly juicy breath.

As we kick off our most important segment of every single day, it is time got to do it. No, I should say every day, we get to do it.

No, I should say every day we get to do it. We get an opportunity to tap into joy, gratitude, and appreciation. And every day, it really does matter that we do so. I want to start by saying shout out to my team. Shout out to the Urban View family, the Nubians, the YouTube folk, the podcast folk, everybody out there who is doing what they can to make this world a better

place I appreciate you I appreciate your sacrifice and ask that you continue to do so

and more because that's what it's going to take for this world to become a better place

today I'm I mentioned a moment ago you know the floodwaters in Jamaica

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