It was on a twitching impulse that I walked into my former boss’ office in 2006 to announce that I would be leaving the company in a month and move to NY. I quit that day, March 1st. It did not occur to me that the universe had lessons it wanted me to learn, growth spurts it wanted me to burst through before it would allow my dream to come to fruition – and that process would take another 7 years to arrive. Walking Away was born from that initial attempt, it was the soundtrack I created to accompany me and give me strength and courage. I kept this as a private collection to share only with people I came in contact with who were experiencing a transition in their lives, and so it’s been passed down privately until now. When I listen to it today, starting with Yolanda Adams’ Open Up My Heart, I understand how it encompassed both the feeling of being completely lost and afraid yet filled with the certainty that I needed to move on from where I was standing to grow. I was searching for direction, for a finger to be pointed, for arrows on the walkways to be painted, for an emotional compass to guide me intuitively to that destination. It is now that I understand that all along the path pointed right back at me, I needed to arrive into my-self, to come home, to inhabit my skin and shed some scars and dead weight before the light would shine bright enough for me to see ahead of me. It all still resonates clearly and deeply and carries the same meaning: treat yourself with love, treat others accordingly, acknowledge and be responsible to that knowledge because when you know better, you do better. These songs in turn carry the melody of that inner rummaging, that internal scavenger hunt, the moment of pausing the noise and listening closely and intently on what we feel the purpose of our life is. As it often happens, it takes a hurricane of emotion to ravage you, to strip you down to nothing, to bring you back to basics, for you to start anew. Once you start feeling your spirit being filled and regaining strength you break away from what holds you down and you begin to find your footing to stand tall and your voice to say what you mean and mean what you say. If you are holding any of these questions within you, then I hope that the soul of this collection can move you, inspire you, touch you and more importantly make you feel deeply within and listen to your inner voice speak.
01 – Yolanda Adams – Open Up My Heart
02 – Christina Aguilera – Cruz
03 – Brandy – Finally
04 – Dido – Life for Rent
05 – Joss Stone – Right to be Wrong
06 – Eric Benet – Hurricane
07 – Erykah Badu – Didn’t Cha Know
08 – Madonna – Gone
09 – Coldplay – Lost (Acoustic)
10 – Mariah Carey – Fly Like A Bird
11 – Heather Headley – Change
12 – India.Arie – Wings of Forgiveness
13 – Incubus – Drive
14 – Mary Mary – Shackles
15 – Kina – Me
16 – Whitney Houston – Unashamed
17 – Craig David – Walking Away
18 – Mandisa – Say Goodbye
