I met India.Arie.

Um, I totally just met India.Arie tonight.

....

Yeah. I know. :-D :-)  :)

I shook her hand, introduced myself, looked her in the eyes and said "Thank you. For everything." My only wish was to be as sincere as possible. She signed my program cover. I said, "I'm so grateful. Thank you."

I think she got it. :)

What I didn't tell her was that one day soon we'll be singing together on stage. I also didn't mention that I don't know where I'd be, or how I'd've made it through some of the challenges of these last 10 years without her and her expression through her music. What she doesn't know is that she's the ONLY person, place or thing of which I truly consider myself a "fan." And she may never hear all about the many ways in which she has inspired my own music, spirituality, art, ministry, womanhood, relationship with God and life.

But I hope she does. Tonight I could only dream of actually getting to meet her face-to-face and share a moment. Now, I'm on the other side of that. Who knows what the future holds?

Thank you, India. For everything.  And thank you, God, for India.

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Here's a blog entry I wrote back in January of 2007. I went on a rant about India. Check it out.

This blog's topic is

(2) I love India.Arie.

I know when we're little we're taught to be conservative with the use of the words 'love' and 'hate.'  But I thought about it this morning as I climbed out of bed after listening to a couple of tunes from her newest album (on my Ipod - thanks, Santa!:) that I'm not being dramatic when I say that I love this woman.
Btw, I just discovered that she was born 10/3/75, which gives her a 3 & 1/2 headstart on my life. This is good, 'cause it means I have some time to catch up to her greatness (MAYbe).
I just admire her so much. Her voice, her soul, her expression. She puts into words and music some very real, very deep realities and realizations.
If you are not aware of India.Arie, GET THERE!
This was a short one. I'm starting to get restless to get dressed and started on my day.
I may have a bit more in me, but I'll end this with a quote from one of India's songs that has inspired me to get out of bed today:
It's from the last verse of her song "I Am Not My Hair" where she's singing about Melissa Ethridge (that's my best guess, anyway):
"...she promised God if she was to survive, she would enjoy every day of her life."