Paradise is the place where you feel most free. For those who have little experience with paradise, it can seem eternally out of reach, in some far-off and remote land detached from our daily lives. Far too often, we are sold this version of paradise by resorts and cruise ships that seduce us from our homes for travel to distant shores. But although each day has its shadows and its sun, the life we construct beneath our feet can be the paradise we each deserve.
Some would say that only in the daily striving for paradise, for a concept that is both foreign and ever-present, can we hope to achieve it. I prefer to imagine paradise as a feeling more so than a place, but this takes years of work. Allowing oneself the time to envision both the power to create a life where you feel free enough to nurture creativity and strive to grow is a paradise that can travel with you. Once discovered, this type of paradise has no boundaries.
I bring up the idea of paradise because, as we move from property management into actual development, I constantly question what is it that we seek to build? Why do we feel the need to change what already exists? And, most importantly, how do we advance the evolution of our properties into the type of development that promotes more harmony and balance for a greater number of people to enjoy a slice of paradise in this lifetime?
Shooting for the stars…sure, but, it is rare for African Americans to control land – urban or rural. Too often we must sit back and let things happen to us – development, displacement, etc – instead of stepping out ahead and creating our own narrative that drives how the world around us is going to look. We must strive for an ideal and try to achieve it.
When I think of the places where I feel most free it is where I can go for a walk and know that I can engage with neighbors without being seen as a threat, where I can enjoy solitude without danger and silence without menace, where animals and children want to play, where people take pride in beauty and where the food that is available enhances health without harm. This concept of paradise acts as the driver for the type of development work we continue to do.
*This blog post originally appeared on Yard Nine Properties site.
** Photo by Zachary Nelson
