Broaden Your Entertainment Portfolio

I once met a man who was 30 years old and had never been to a play. How do you reach the age of 30 and have never been to a play? It's usually due to lack of exposure as children and usually a limited purview of what is acceptable entertainment choices. I once offered to take a girl I was mentoring to the annual flower show in my area. Her response: I don't want to go. I don't like flowers...what? How do you not like flowers? Again, lack of exposure and a limited definition of what is acceptable creative outlets is what usually causes this abnormal thinking.

We, as adults and our children definitely, need more exposure to The Arts. Some of us and our children don't even know who Dizzy Gillespie was or what Porgy and Bess was and both are a part of our black history. The Arts is a way for expression and we and our children need to be constantly reminded that there is more to entertainment than Madea and Hip-Hop music. The Arts are universal. People of all packages have painted, sculpted, written books, danced, sung, and connected with their creative selves to explain their human experience. The Arts is what makes life even more precious and therefore we must embrace the fullness of it like we embrace life. Connecting with the Arts on a deeper level might mean going outside of our social circles or being the only chocolate face in the crowd. That's alright. Test the waters of integration and see if it has some healing powers. It does. Hey, you might just discover that all people are created equal and that other people are generally not concerned about the happenings of black people just as much as black people are not concerned about them. In the grand schema of life we all want love, appreciation, justice, peace, financial security, and a safe place for our kids to play. Our seeking those things may manifest themselves differently from culture to culture or even family to family but cut us all the same and it turns out we are all indeed Adam's children. We are both different and strikingly similar all at the same time.  

So, whenever you read this post, make plans to take in a museum you haven't visited in a few years.

Go to the art exhibit.

Take in a night at the Opera.

Go to a non-Tyler Perry play. Tyler Perry has his place in black entertainment. However, if that is one's only cultural/entertainment source, there's a problem.

Go to a book festival.

Enjoy a jazz brunch with a few friends.

Go to the modern dance program at the college in your area.

Go on a local twilight cruise with the hubby/wife.

Pick up a new hobby...hiking, pottery, painting, kayaking, whatever.

If a local venue is having a children's program of some sort, go, and take your children. In fact, most of the  events above (and the many that go on in your area every day) you should try and include your children. Children need exposure like they need water. Exposure helps children (and adults) imagine and broadens their thinking which is so key to sculpting future goals. It also teaches them how to act in social settings. You do not act at the opera the same way you act at a ball game. You do not dress the same going to a musical as you would to a family picnic. Social skills need to be developed for life. If there is the issue of cost, I maintain that people spend money on what they want to spend money on. Make the investment.

With that 30 year old man who never saw a play, you can imagine how limited our dates were. Movies, eating, movies, eating...all with a limited ability to carry on a conversation. This comes from limited exposure. There is a reason why so many new black entertainers only talk about sex.  That's all they know in terms of relationships. They have never been exposed to another way of developing a relationship other than eating, marginal entertainment, and fucking. That must change. If all a relationship revolves around is movies, eating, and doing the dang thing, no wonder why relationships do not last, and our STD and OOW rates are through the roof in our communities. A broader social portfolio keeps one's mind sharp and gives a person more to talk about and do. Having a fuller source of entertainment helps relationships to continue to thrive and not get boring. Also, when the girl I used to mentor starts looking for  a mate, how is she going to explain not liking flowers? When a gentleman comes to the door with some roses, she won't be able to appreciate them as a woman is supposed to. He will think something's wrong with her. Lack of exposure is so far reaching.

No the event/hobbie doesn't always have to be Black-related...or American related. Stretch. Expand yourself. It wouldn't hurt to learn about another group or country's experience as well as your own. We can learn to love others and ourselves at the same time. Learning is good for the soul. It helps keep things in perspective.

So entertain your mind and get some culture in your lfe.