I want you to have your dreams. I want to show you that there are tangible ways to obtain them. When this site evolved a few years ago, the tagline was information is access. It still is. Here is another piece of the puzzle so you can rest your head in your own space. You can be proud of yourself and your children can be proud of you. You can do this!
When you’ve been researching housing initiatives for a while, you learn to spot the difference between programs that simply sound good and those that actually shift the landscape. BirdSEED is one of the rare ones that does the latter.
This isn’t just another down‑payment assistance program. It’s a grant rooted in reparative justice—a direct acknowledgment that generations of discriminatory housing policies created real harm, and that real repair requires more than words. The call for restoration was made and a proram like BirdSEED answered. BirdSEED steps into that gap with tangible support for families who have been historically shut out of homeownership.
Why BirdSEED Matters
If you’ve ever tried to buy a home, or walked alongside someone who has, you know the down payment is often the biggest barrier. BirdSEED offers grants (not loans) to help close that gap. No repayment. No hidden strings. It is support designed to help families finally step into the stability and wealth‑building that homeownership can provide.
For many, this isn’t just financial help. It’s the difference between renting forever and building generational security. It’s the difference between being pushed out of a neighborhood and having the power to stay rooted.
What Makes This Program Stand Out
It’s grounded in justice, not charity.
It acknowledges historical harm and responds with real resources.
It’s accessible, with a clear mission and straightforward application process.
It’s designed to repair, not just assist.
I am a believer that a big part of the American dream is stability, and home ownership is a big part of that picture. There are stories of women becoming widows and finding out they no longer own their homes due to property taxes or title loss or through divorce. Some people simply want a better way to raise their families and to give them a small something. This is it. I have been around for a long time, and I can tell you that programs like this don’t come around often. And when they do, they deserve to be shared widely. Act now and keep your ears to the ground and your eyes open. Your justice is yours to pursue. If you don’t pay attention, I believe that some of these opportunities will be off the table. You don’t want that. You want to give your family the most invaluable thing going—stability.
How You Can Take Action
If you or someone you know has been dreaming of homeownership but struggling to cross that financial threshold, take a moment to explore BirdSEED. Share it with your networks. Post it in your group chats. Mention it at work. These are the kinds of resources that change lives when they reach the right people.
Justice grows when we pass the seeds along. I am a huge supporter of non-profits that actually do things and are committed to making a real impact.
Additionally, Investopedia summarized some benefits for new homeowners and here are some things found on the federal level that should be of interest to you. Remember, to win is to be smart, knowledgeable, and keeping it simple. Good luck. I have mentioned before that our state has quite a few programs and anything that you do not qualify today–keep trying ladies.
Last year was interesting. It was also intense to say the least—but will go down in history so far as one of my favorites.
Here is what I mean. I’d like to think I know a lot, but last year I often felt clueless. For example? knowledge and a general “knowing” comes to me naturally, but it can be more like a fuzzy math than a concrete science. As spontaneous as I try to be, I still plan to jump with my parachute on. This past year I took risks that typically grown adults with responsibilities don’t take. The doing of this thing has proven to be more powerful, challenging, and rewarding than setting an intention and dreaming about it. The gift of space and time is invaluable. I’ve gained a healthy respect for the risk takers of our world.
“Untitled” by La Luz, 2025. Acrylic on Wood
I struggled for a bit, that’s just the truth. But when I began to surrender this false sense of control and ego, did I notice my mind begin to settle and knowledge began to come to me. I even began to recall forgotten memories that I had buried deep within me. Admittedly this is a new development.
Surrendering is not anything I’ve mastered to date, but is the most profound experience I have had so far. From the beginning of 2024 to now, I feel as if I have been reborn. I feel like I’m at the beginning of a great many things. Life seems to begin now.
I chuckle to myself because I am reminded of the phrase, “the more you know, the more you don’t know” and I am humbled. Ironically, I thought I had reached the truest form of myself and I’ve come to understand that I’m simply in better position to obtain that ideal.
So much has changed. Even my artwork. The air of discipline and the desire to go beyond remaining a dilettante forever has been solidified within me. My spiritual gifts now take center stage instead of looming in the back. I hope to teach some people how to help themselves in that regard. Knowledge of self brings about an infectious serenity that extends outward to those lucky enough to bask in that life. Last year I discovered that I like all the things I was told not too, and have become quite good at a few of them. Honestly, I love this energy. It feels liberating and truly where I belong. But again, this is only the beginning of “something.” Life looks different when you are eager to learn.
My advice for anyone this year is to surrender. Surrender your plans. Surrender your ideas and travel down the rabbit hole and see where it leads. Take a bet on yourself, there is no way you can lose.
Over the past few days I took a break on social media in order to spend some quality time with my family watching movies. I am very into inspirational movies that have a lot of high drama and then wrap up with a happy ending. I must admit, I am a sucker for love and a hopeless romantic.
I watched a really crazy one called The Kept Woman, that I felt I needed to be rescued from. There was so much symbolism in there that was clearly inferencing conservatives vs liberals in a tongue in cheek, Norman Bates meets Laverne and Shirley type of way. The not so subtle politics of it all got me thinking.
An Interesting Politiview
I used to secretly call myself a liberal traditionalist. It’s a name I coined which means, I believe in tradition for me and liberal values for you, if you chose them. But, as a law professor I worked with once said, “you just want to do what you want and have someone else pay for it.” I’d never thought of it that way, but I plead the fifth to that statement. I’ve given this statement a bit of thought over the years and have come to the conclusion that it’s basically a common sense moderate. 
When I turned 18 and was finally able to vote I was an environmental girl. It made sense that I was planning to cast for the Green Party yet I clearly remember being told by a classmate at the University of Michigan that “we” were all voting blue. So I voted for President Clinton, and I didn’t give it much thought because I was not fully invested in politics. Like lot of young people I was concerned about rushing, partying, going to classes and dating. Also, I thought he did a great job. I don’t regret voting for him. My money looked great at the time he was in office. I mean, what was not to love?. I’ve since learned that life is more nuanced than that and I know many people had a fair amount of complaints during that time.
During those years, I was very much into my church. Although I occasionally went to mass by myself, I considered my church home to be the non denominational church, Word of Faith. I was very into my church sorority/fraternity on campus and they thought differently about politics. I simply assumed that my pastor was a Democrat. I learned later that he was not. He was the person that advised me to stay in school and then pursue my acting dreams and I’d be blessed. I wish I listened. I went my own way, only to come back to what he said, and finally get back on track.
In college I was close with his daughter as well. We lived in the same dorm and she was a good friend and even mentor. They were a family strong on family values and adamantly against abortion. At the time, it was not a big deal for me. Again, I was against it, but I also didn’t feel that connected to the issue. I didn’t know anyone that had one. I didn’t plan to get one and I figured that it would all take care of itself. This is the mindset of a lot of wait and see individuals.
I also regretfully condemned people on other issues. Those typical Christian arguments about not being fully submitted to God or who drank alcohol. Ironically, as I began to enter the Feminist arena later in life I took the simple stance of women being equal. Equal pay, equal opportunity, etc. That was until I learned about the movement during the 19th century and the role of African American club women. LThese highly privileged women did not resonate with me at the time, but they would later in my life. They share my values and beliefs and their ideas of advancement work in tandem with men. Yet, I still remained dissociated from my politics, like a lot of people, because I figured it would all work out by the hands of “they/them.”
At some point, that changed. When I grew deeper into my faith as a Catholic, I did not become political but I did have a fire lit for life and service. I also began to think logically about how a non profit could help, or my challenges and losses could benefit others, and myself. Additionally the trials of Women in the Bible inspired me and their stories are not always spoken in the way I’d like to see them. They are juicy, controversial and powerful—they are the blueprint.
I hate to pit one value against another politically because ideally we should all be independent. We should embrace the ideals of charting a new course while giving a portion to those that need it and who are finding their way.
I have spent the last year continuing to create my own new plan. I had to take a step back to take a step forward. I kept asking, “Lord what is your will for me?” Even if it is slower going, I believe when we are given a vision it is to be carried out.
This vision changed how I see things politically. As an entrepreneur, how am I best served? I know that as a person, I will help others. But how can I be in a position to do that? What are my beliefs around food and medicine? Who is aligned with what I actually believe? For many of us, the area is gray. But who is that?
I am not the first to say it, nor would I be the last, but we are more alike than we are different. Which is why we focus on issues that are more personal and make them grand scale. Government should focus on major issues that are often out of our control. They shouldn’t be like a helicopter parent telling us how to live our lives. However, there are times when it has to be. This is unfortunate because we continue to slide back into rhetoric that pulls us back and causes us to behave in a way that is detrimental to our societal civility. I want to be where the rhetoric is for all. Where I feel uplifted and not like a fool. I want to feel like I am moving forward and not stuck and where my difference is ok.
The very thing that makes this country great is its diversity. No one should be minimized or should minimize themselves. If you carry the light of the world in your heart, you don’t want to see anyone abused and downtrodden. It’s like a marriage.
A Marriage of Opposites
In my marriage I used to say, let’s try to give each other the benefit of the doubt. Let’s see the good in each other instead of clinging fast to the negative narrative. The truth is being told to you, right here and right now. Can you see it? Yes. But sometimes it’s hard to feel it. We want to feel the difference and that’s harder.
Friends, I have to be honest. My ideas often did not get through. In a marriage of complete opposites and beliefs in every way, agreeing is struggle on all levels. However, through that lens and challenge came an understanding that for some people it is harder to have them see a new way. Their heart is hardened from hurt and disappointment. They may never recover or believe what they see. They want change but they want the comfort of knowing that the one in front of them is still the boogeyman—then they can be right.
This is also our political arena. So, for me faith is very important. You can do and say all that you want, but faith and hope are required for change and that is a spiritual design. That takes time.
I too suffer from my own limited beliefs. I can’t let myself off the hook entirely. You may be like this, “I believe in change and goodness, just not from you neighbor! You are a hopeless case.” Well, that is a little true. And we are all someone’s hopeless case. But the biggest rewards come to those who endure big challenges. Similarly, to take on the Feminist ideology of the personal is political, it all still holds true. Our lives effect our choices depending on the day. I’m also still green leaning. I believe compassionate people care about this earth. Caring about space and nature brings us into the magnificence of creation and a natural connection to each other.
In conclusion, I have changed only in the regard of me being aligned in an intentional and logical way when it comes to how I view politics.
Here are some things to consider:
Do you care about what happens to your immediate life or on a grand scale? Who makes those decisions?
If you are a new parent, changed religions, or identify with the LGBTQ community or have family that is incarcerated how does that affect your decisions?
If you are largely stable and you want as much of a melting pot with shared values within a pluralist society how does that affect your decisions?
These thoughts help to align us with our true selves and allow us to authentically negotiate what is right and true in our lives.
You may lose a lot following your convictions. I didn’t do anything radical but talk about my spiritual walk and it caused my world to crash down. However, that is ok. What is good still stands and old things continue to pass away. This too shall pass.
I’ve really lost that fun gene. I’m either no fun or too much fun. Either way, I think it’s time for more of the latter. The truth is I am in a stage of re-discovery. I’m Slowly learning what I like and don’t like. I have my staple activities like movies, art and yoga but I can see travel in my future.
Lately I’ve been looking at various yoga retreats and artist residencies in an attempt to mix work with pleasure. These are so cost effective it’s hard not to pass up.
In this season of my life I can say it’s beautiful but it’s also bittersweet. I lost a lot in my pursuit of happiness and regaining of myself. But, it had to be done. Now that all that’s left behind me is a bunch of foreign land it’s time to rebuild. It’s time to think about what kind of life I want to build this go round. I want to build something beautiful.
I want creativity, colors, and the wonders of nature and enterprise. Something that is an accurate reflection of who I truly am. For this, I am willing to take time. But, I can see some fun along the way.
Believe it or not, there is nothing in my life that hasn’t been foreshadowed. It just always looks different when it arrives. I had a dream last night that left me with a very warm feeling. The best is yet to come. (No rush though) I never have just stopped and smelled the roses of life and this past year I have done that. When you slow down, take a back seat, or a lesser job like I did —you can see what you want. You can also see what you don’t want. Knowing what you want and don’t want is new territory for me. It’s scary, but I won’t compromise it. It’s been the best gift to myself.
I’ve recently switched my news watching to comedy shows. I like to laugh. Laughing and being lighthearted is something that has fallen by the wayside and I am on a serious mission to recover it.
If you are having fun, I would love some tips. What are some cool things you’d recommend?
All of my endeavors have been in the realm of publishing. Within the realm of media you have the ability to touch upon many topics. I began my first newspaper while living in Ft. Riley, KS. I was in the fifth grade, and we all sat at a four-top table with me at the head giving out the writing assignments. I remember calling one of my friends on the phone over the weekend to see if they would bring their pages in on Monday so we could staple the newspaper together. She told me that she may not be able to because she only had pens at home. Maybe we only could use pencil. I’m not sure, but that’s a memory that still speaks to me.
It was all so simple then. When you wanted to get something started, you just did it. In fourth grade, I used to love the Babysitter’s Club series and decided I wanted to start my own. So, I made the flyer. My mom made copies, and I put them in my small neighborhood on the military base. I babysat two times. I was actually a bit nervous so it didn’t last long, but I liked getting paid. I liked knowing that I could start something and just go do it.
Today we have so much red tape. We are discouraged before we start. I think because we are thinking in the “middling” space. See, big dreams need lots of people. Small dreams can become big dreams, but they need fewer people to start.
In the middle you often get tripped up and therein lies the problem. You also have people with bigger voices coming to take the food from the small fish, but as a highly intuitive empath, I am here to let you know—that time has come to a halt.
No longer will you, your ideas, and your freedom of expression will become engulfed by people that will use your vulnerabilities against you, especially for profit. There is a shift in the atmosphere.
James 3:3, in the English Standard Bible, talks about the “bit in the horse’s mouth used to steer him.” To me, I read that as the power of spirit being able to use an individual to do a good work. This same spirit calling a people who believe on faith, in humanity, and the goodness of their fellow man and woman to speak a truth that will continue to balance the scales. This is a powerful thing. It is also a truth that speaks to how David was able to overtake Goliath. See, freedom of speech is a slippery slope but it also has its confines, or it should. Unmitigated freedom of speech, that operates outside of the civility for which it was intended—is incendiary and dangerous. Yet, with the “bit” in our mouths and the roots of truth as our foundation—then the truth becomes the power. True is Power because like a math equation it largely follows a pattern. If you go forward and contextualize truth as unemotional facts, they become easier to work with and then bring forth new emotions.
Free speech should to some degree should stop at actions. If harmful actions follow words, then we have work to do when it comes to educating the public how to discern and respond to information.
With or without permission, the choice and the ability to rewrite your story and to exist in a world where you feel validated and seen comes from the bottom up. Not the top down. Freedom was bestowed on you at birth but the noise of the world will force you to fumble.
At the end of the day it should be family first. Safety first and honoring the divine call that resides over the lives of us all. My work with The House of Maryam is a passion. It is an inter religious endeavor that centers peace, resource management, and sacred living practices that will actually save lots of families and individuals. Peaceful religious freedom and expression is not only a must, it is needed. The Maryam is seen in many ways throughout many traditions but the mother figure as a whole is constant. Yet even that constant is nuanced. This isn’t about being kissy-face and pinching cheeks this is a matriarchal call. To be a matriarch is not about money, she is the stability of the family. She is the lighthouse and standard bearer of the generation. When the matriarch passes she becomes the ancestor we call upon.
Matriarchs and patriarchs are the leaders of our world and they grow into position. We need a nation of individuals that ok with cultivating wisdom and becoming those people who are able to give wise counsel. Therefore we need our minds, our choices and our voices to be free. Let the voice of reason and truth be the unifier. Let common sense and empowerment be the unifier—not solely your pain. Trouble doesn’t last always but your progeny and your legacy will.
You may not be strong enough to do this today. But you will grow into it. You will respect every aspect of your life because your imprint will be on it. To me, that’s how you rewrite the story. You rewrite it together, throwing out the old wine and braking down the old vessel and making room for the new.
I dream of a New America. Where someone is not constantly telling me what to do. Where even if I am wrong, I can die knowing that I have the tools to think for myself. I have the wisdom to know that I can better myself or someone can lead me to that notion. But I will no longer sit in the passenger seat of my own life.
Peace be with you.
Don’t forget to subscribe and share. Thanks for reading. Very much appreciated. Please share your thoughts. It’s better not to write in a vacuum. You matter to me.
What positive events have taken place in your life over the past year?
This was my lowkey Italian themed holiday. Believe it or not, everything was not shown in the picture—and it was under $100. That should make anyone who feels they need to break the bank this holiday season smile deep down on the inside. I created the event in this way to demonstrate that the Thanksgiving holiday is about love and communion—not long suffering. I’m thankful that I did it.
I love Thanksgiving and this one was no different. I opted to do something small at home, and it was probably the most laid back dinner with my kiddos, I’ve ever had. I used to have my judgey glasses on when people would opt to spend a holiday apart from their family, but now I get it. Not to cheapen it, but it’s a meal. Albeit a grand and commemorative one, it’s still a meal overall.
I know when you think of Thanksgiving you don’t think of Italy, but how many holidays have you run around like a chicken with its head cut off trying to make foods that half of the people in attendance won’t even like?
Exactly.
That’s what I think of when I consider all of the turkey eating and wasting. Yet, when I mention that I don’t like turkey, people often want to believe it’s because I need it cooked a different way. Actually it’s simply not my forte.
In fact nearly 35% of Americans dislike turkey. That’s a lot. Consider what you are actually doing, you’re partaking in an event where you’re forced to pretend (you don’t like turkey or your Uncle Bob) and then grin and bear it for the sake of family. This is the perpetuation of suffering. I don’t know what’s worse, little kids having to answer the question of “how’s school?” a million times, or eating bad potato salad until I bust.
What I will say about this Thanksgiving is that it may have been lowkey but there were days of leftovers and the kids liked everything on the table. This is a win for mitigating food waste in our household. Studies have shown that approximately 312 million pounds of food will be wasted this holiday. Considering the overall high cost of food and the impact of food waste on the environment, it may be time to reconsider how we celebrate with food this holiday season.
While it’s safe to say that you don’t want too many holidays to pass without seeing your elderly family members and chuckle over some dried out bird and boxed stuffing—it’s equally ok to sit one out from time to time.
The Most Positive Thing Of All
Overall, the most positive thing to come out of this year was me regaining my voice, strength and my light.
Over the years, and for a variety of reasons, I’ve lost a lot of the things that made me sparkle and shine. Anyone can lose them when you fail to be honest about how you feel and take action towards resolving things that no longer serve you. When you don’t you are only left with a mound of complaints, no solutions, and fewer opportunities to get it right.
There are seemingly a great many barriers to happiness. However, putting all things into perspective, puts all things into perspective. It makes you think about what is it you really want. What do you really want to be doing? What really makes me happy or would make me happy right now? A lot of times we give a knee jerk answer instead of putting our thoughts through the fire and monitoring our actions.
That’s what I did this year.
I didn’t just say —I want this! I like this! I had to exorcise all the junk and things I did not like from my consciousness over a period of months, unlearn some bad behaviors, and consider my true feelings.
Do you know how you truly feel about things? When it gets quiet, if you have the luxury of stillness, do you remember who you are? I believe we come in this life knowing who we are and then we forget and then it becomes a fight of a lifetime to recall all of the things that made you sparkle.
Today’s Spiritual Foundation For Leadership
This Thanksgiving I was thankful for finding the love of my life—me. It’s been so long since I’ve met up with myself it’s been like discovering a twin flame connection. This reconnection with my lost and forgotten self has created a peace and wholeness within me. It’s not only made me question a lot of decisions I’ve made in the past, but has brought about a newfound hope for the future.
No one in life can wave a magic wand and make all of our problems go away over night. But, wouldn’t it be great to know that you could begin to do that for yourself. First, accept your life. Accept where you are. Accept who you are and seek to find comfort with the circumstances of your existence. If you can find gratitude in the small things, you can count on the blessings of good things coming around the corner.
If we are beautifully and wonderfully made, then we are made to be love, give love, receive love, and to reflect it out into the world. You can only do this by telling the truth, accepting the truth, changing it if necessary, and then living it.
I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody. ~ Bill Cosby
The quickest way to your downfall is trying to please others by any means necessary. Don’t despise humble beginnings or humble moments. Those are the moments where we have the ability to rediscover ourselves and design a life of truth and significant meaning.
As many of you know this art journey has been my soul’s journey and serves as a well spring of healing. Especially when it is created among a sisterhood. Please join us for an evening of poetry and connection this September 8, 2022. The exhibition will be at the Sandy Spring Museum. There will be an open mic night and we encourage you to come through and speak your mind. Register: The Sandy Spring Museum. See you there!
An interview with Melissa “MUSE” Colon to liberate your mind
Melissa “MUSE” Colon is a certified life coach and artist who is also the creator of the popular Pep Talks Workshop. She is a newly minted mother of a month old daughter and in today’s interview she speaks with us about purpose, tribe, entrepreneurship, and the importance of community for women.
There are so many gems in this conversation–you won’t want to miss it. I definitely consider myself both a follower and friend of this very magical women.
*Before you click away from the page. Please be sure to scan the QR code or visit our link and give us some feedback on your creative life.
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