Kiss My Feet by Laura Mvula

Clear, crisp day. Clear, crisp evening. What a great time to feature one of my favorite artists again, Laura Mvula.

I've been on this young adult literature kick in the past month. Just this weekend, I ended up reading 'The Crossover' by Kwame Alexander. It's a book done with a mix of poetry and hip hop. There's the story arc and all, but it's lyrical. I cried at the end. I finished the book on a Saturday morning and I cried. Here's what I think this genre does for me: It gives me the depth of humanity in 150 pages versus 700;) And yes, I get it. Those 700 pages can be life changing, but sometimes, I don't have the time. Next up, I'm moving onto 'All the Light We Cannot See.' I figure since we are headed to Europe, I can step back a few decades into a different mindset. 

You know the feeling when you read books, like effin' gorgeous books that have lines that take your soul to this new place you never knew you could go? Or the books that give you ways of thinking that you never thought of or the ones that just affirm that what you are thinking is universal. I remembering reading this article that spoke of reading being akin to a spiritual experience, "Even if you don't agree that reading fiction makes us  treat others better, it is a way of treating ourselves better. Reading has been shown to put our brains into a pleasurable trance-like state, similar to meditation..." (Ceridwen Dovey, New Yorker, 2015).

A tool that can help us meditate that I already love to do? Love it. I also learned there are bibliotherapists out there ... therapists who prescribe books. What kind of beautiful alchemy is that?! According to this New Yorker article, the Ancient Greeks, "inscribed above the entrance to a library in Thebes that this was a 'healing place for the soul.'"

Me: I'm feeling so tired of politics in this country. It's making me feel anxious.

Imagined Bibliotherapist: I have a book for you...read 'Cutting for Stone,' by Abraham Varghese. You'll see how a family navigates their life in Ethiopia as the country goes through prolific change.

Me: Thanks, Doc!

I get the meditative aspect of reading. There is this practice known as Lectio Divina which is the contemplative practice of reading holy books. In my mind, so many of the books I have read throughout life have been holy books because they have guided my thinking and made me see a world bigger than myself. I will literally be on the couch sometimes in the morning and I shake my head as I underline a passage from a book in wonder of how a writer could evoke such beautifully profound imagery. 

Wondering how this connects to a song? I was listening Laura Mvula last night and I heard this song, 'Kiss My Feet.'

I feel lost and found at the same damn time
Made my bed but I can't get rest
I got losing on my mind
I got losing my mind

Dreamt I played with fire
Played with a noose around my neck
But you flew by to save me
I try to find the reasons why you found me
I found you

And I've been waiting for you
And I've been lost without you
And I've been praying for someone like you


Am I personifying a book? YES. There have been moments when I have grieved and felt loss. Where I felt deep love. Where I felt passion for this world around me. At times, I was lost and praying for some kind of answer. I found it in 'A Fine Balance.' I found it in 'Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.' I found it in 'To Kill a Mockingbird.' I continue to find it in so many books that teach me to search inside of myself for answers while imagining so many different worlds.

"If you get the inside right, the outside will fall into place." Eckhart Tolle

Laura Mvula: Kiss My Feet