Vanishing Black Americana
Last week we were scheduled to be in Martha’s Vineyard, but of course, Covid-19 wouldn't let us be great and get on a plane. Itching for...
Seasoned brand marketing architect. Lover of all things travel, food, art & culture. Raising a global citizen to have immersive experiences that allow her to live her best life – unapologetically!
A few years ago on a work trip to Krakow, Poland, I visited the Wieliczka Salt Mine. Everything from the floors, ceilings and walls were all salt. Toward the end of the tour, the guide encouraged our small group to lick the wall. Yes - you read that right. He said we could LICK THE WALL! He then explained that licking the wall brought on good luck and that the salt compounds made it safe to do so.
I stood there for a minute mentally stuck between my adventurous side of "YOLO" and my conservative, buttoned-up side of " Black girl....why in the hell would you lick a wall? We don't do that!"
As you have guessed by now, I pushed through the fear and the YOLO side of me won out. So I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, said a prayer and licked the damn wall. I knew if I didn't do it then, I would never have the chance to do it again and I would regret it.
That was in late 2015 and since then I use "Lick The Wall" as a metaphor for life, meaning to DO IT ANYWAY. Stop letting fear stop me from living a truly awesome life full of meaningful relationships and awesome experiences.
So with that, I encourage you to step out of your comfort zone and do the damn thing. Because if you wait for the fear to go away, the opportunity will go away too!