The truth is…

51724d6c18e770ca0d6224b4ac3c4682Last week, a friend of mine put this post in her Gmail status. Shortly after reading it, I came across this post amongst the blogs that I read. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that both posts speak true to how I’m feeling and have been feeling for a long time now. I am not happy. Waking up in the morning feels like a chore. Finding interest in people and things have become a burden. Foods that I use to love have lost their flavor. And tears? HA! I’ve cried more times this year alone than I have in my entire life, twice over.

But WHO wants to talk about that stuff? Who can you say those things to without feeling like you’re complaining or seeking sympathy? No one, really. But I’m choosing to tell you all today for vulnerability’s sake. I don’t wake up every morning with birds singing sweet songs in my ears. I’m not excited about much of anything anymore. I feel like a complete stranger to myself. That’s not the kinds of things people want to hear. But it’s my truth for the moment.

After reading those posts, I felt like I should be honest with you all. I know that my writing has changed because I don’t feel 100% like myself. That isn’t fair to you as a faithful reader. I appreciate you so much. So here goes.

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Friends or customers?

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When I first started blogging, it was more of a public journaling experience. I didn’t care who read it. I didn’t care who commented. As my blog grew, more and more people would tell me something specific about a post that really inspired them. Then and only then did I realize that someone actually reads this thing. One of my biggest fans of my blog is Miss Heather Lindskold of Between the Covers. I can ALWAYS count on Heather to like, comment or share one of my posts. I have never met Heather in my life but I promise, the support I receive from her, a complete stranger, (well not really because we’ve beeeen buddies on Twitter :D ), means the world to me. And I know it comes from a genuine place.

In the beginning, I used to take it personally when my close friends didn’t read my blog. Not in a badgering “Why haven’t you read this post” way but in a “What I did this weekend is up on my blog. It’s been up -___-” kinda way. But, I got over that really quickly. A while back, I attended a going away gathering for a friend and one of the ladies said something that completely transformed my perspective on receiving support from friends. She said “your friends are not your customers”. OOP. And it makes so much sense. So when a friend of mine asked a question on Facebook yesterday, I had the perfect (well, I thought so) response for her.

My friend asked:

“Why is it that you can receive more support from strangers than of those who you’ve known for years?”

My elaborated response:

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Respect the queen

PicMonkey Collage (2) (1)It was right before bed when I first heard Janelle Monae’s song, Q.U.E.E.N. I thought to myself, “what is this noise that I am I listening to right now?” By the second and third listen the next day, I finally realized how perfect it actually was. Oh yes, Miss Monae brought it with the funky beats and hip-hop slash gospel tones. But more than that, her lyrics spoke to the very thoughts I’ve been mulling over for quite some time. It was at that moment that I decided to reclaim my Queendom. I decided to reclaim the respect that I feel I’ve lost along my way.

“Even if it makes others uncomfortable, I will love who I am.”

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Your own motivation

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You ever feel like you’re in a rut? Simply going through the motions?

Your job is draining you so much that you no longer care about the money?

You constantly daydream about a vacation?

You feel like you’ll never accomplish all of the goals you’ve set out?

You feel like you need a clone in order to complete everyday tasks?

You feel like the weekend is never long enough?

You want to do more but there’s never enough time?

You feel like there’s gotta be more to LIFE than THIS?

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10 necessary grown up realizations

My friend Keila is like the therapist I never thought I needed but glad I have. Today she randomly sent me a text message asking why she had to find out about my latest venture through the internet. No real answer there except that I was sorry. But knowing that I have her support regardless really lit up my somber day.

We moved on to gchat to fully catch up. I tell you, not even fifteen minutes into the conversation, I was literally reaching for my Kleenex. Keila has an introspective way of communicating that always stirs me up. She’s just that friend that encourages you to wholly embrace whatever it is that you’re feeling. Which, at times, can be very awkward.

We talked about life choices, love, purpose and other not so fun adult stuff. It reminded me of an article I read earlier about adulthood. It’s never easy realizing that you’re an adult. That there are certain choices you’re solely responsible for. That some journeys can only be traveled alone. That sometimes you have to struggle to get the things that you want. The article lists 24 painful things you must do as an adult. Here are my two cents.

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Inspired: confidence

Even the most arrogantly confident of people have a little bit of self-doubt in them. It’s what pushes them to be better, to become “perfect”. It seems like we’re always on a journey to figure out our purpose in life. We’re trying to find out who we are and where we belong. And sometimes when you don’t have all the answers, the feelings of uncertainty can be nerve-wrecking.

One of my favorite designers, Diane von Fürstenberg, sheds some insightful thoughts about confidence.

The most important relationship you have in life is the relationship you have with yourself. No matter what happens, you always have yourself. Every pain, every joy, every satisfaction – you always have yourself…

In order to like yourself, first you have to be tough with yourself. You have to be demanding on yourself, you have to be true to yourself, you have to know what’s good about you, what’s not good about you. And you have to always say the truth.

Once you have that relationship, then it’s true friendship.

The best and most fulfilling relationship you can ever have is the one you build with yourself. Be your own best friend. Build yourself up. Watch your confidence grow.

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A lifestyle of service

Five years ago, our first African-American was elected the 44th president of the United States. Today, as we celebrate President Barack Obama’s second term, we also remember the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and his dream.

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Yesterday, I attended the annual observance of the King holiday at my alma mater, Kennesaw State University. This year’s guest speaker was the philosophical Dr. Cornel West. I will admit, I am not familiar with any of his works but his thirty minute message was so rich with substance that I was inspired. Dr. West reminded us that Dr. King’s movement was about his fight for freedom, equality and justice for all. We were reminded that Dr. King believed the only way to achieve any of these things was through nonviolence movements. His message of peace and love lives on, but we still have a long way to go.

Even if you didn’t volunteer today, I hope that before you close your eyes for bed, you will ask yourself a serious question Dr. West posed of the crowd last night. “What will be your prolific trek from the womb to the tomb?” What will people remember you by after you die? We know that MLK Jr Day is about “A Day On, Not a Day Off”, but what about making service a lifestyle? As President, Barack Obama can only do so much to immediately affect our world. WE have to possess the desire to revolutionize our communities. And we can.

Pick something, anything. What do you care about? What cause makes you so angry that it incites you to act? Your contribution is not too big or too small. Use whatever talent you have to do good. And even when your works do not receive acknowledgement, press on. Dr. King reminds us that “every step towards the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering and struggle”. Knowing this, our goal should be to be a part of a greater calling. Martin lived a life of service and died fighting for his cause. We must be willing to do the same. Suffer for something; be remembered for something.

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(12.12.12) Be great today

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Almost every morning, one of my good friends starts the day by telling everyone to “be great”. Seems kind of vague. Like, what do you mean be great? Should I impress my boss today? Do something extravagant today? What exactly does it mean to be great?

First off, no one is born great. Achieving greatness is based off of a decision to be great. It doesn’t happen over night. But like all of your desires, wants and dreams, it is something that you have to work towards everyday. When you wake up in the morning, you have to motivate yourself. Tell yourself: today, I will do one small thing, but it will be a great thing. Believe in yourself. Speak positively and confidently.

After you decide, you need to make a plan and then act on it. Execution is imperative. Being great means you can’t be lazy. I repeat (to myself), you cannot be lazy!

What do you create when you’re great? Being great doesn’t mean you have to create something “new”. Honestly, what is new anyway? Everything nowadays is recycled. The key is to take an idea, use your gifts and passionately make it your own.

And while you’re at it, how about looking great. This is something I had to realize myself recently. When you look great, you feel great. And oftentimes, people will take you more seriously.

It would be remiss of me not to mention to surround yourself with the greatest of people. Not in a creepy groupie kind of way, either. The people in your life. Your friends. You think they are great, right? I hope so.

Here’s an exercise:

Write down all of the reasons why you are great. No, this doesn’t make you arrogant. Sometimes, you have to encourage yourself.

What are you going to do today in order to be your greatest self?

 

I am the greatest. I said that even before I knew I was.

- Muhammad Ali

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A positive disposition

Sometimes it feels like we enjoy being unhappy. Something comforting about wallowing in self-pity. Woe is me. How much better and more fulfilling our lives would be if we focused more on the positive things happening in and around our lives. I came up with a list of ten things we can do to have a more positive outlook on life. Take heed.

  1. Smile – you’d probably be surprised to hear that I don’t really like smiling. I prefer to smile with my eyes, not with my teeth. Every once in a while, I’ll come across something that makes me smile. Today, it was a picture of a baby girl giving her father a sloppy wet kiss. It melted my heart and I genuinely smiled (with my eyes). However you like to smile, do it. Instant mood changer.
  2. Pray for someone – sometimes when you feel down and out about your situation, you want to vent to God with your “why me” speech. Stop it. Pray on behalf of someone else’s situation. There’s a blessing in praying for others. Intercede.
  3. Find a solution – your car broke down? Take the bus. Your boyfriend mistreats you? Leave him. You’ve been feeling sluggish? Change your diet. Instead of complaining about your situation, look for solutions to remedy it.
  4. Take deep breaths – if you’re any where as dramatic as I can be sometimes, you’ll turn some situations into soap operas. Stop it. Close your eyes, breathe deeply and focus.
  5. Say something good – a friend of mine always says to me, “tell me something good”. It kinda frustrated me because I’m someone who does 50 million things at once with twice as many thoughts running through my mind. I never have time to reflect on the good things happening to me throughout the day. Yet, if he asked me what was wrong about my day, I wouldn’t hesitate to answer. Make it a conscious effort to focus on the positive and eliminate the negative things in your life.
  6. Surround yourself with positive people – it’s a no-brainer that positive people give off great energy. No one wants to be around a Negative Nancy. Feed off of the positive energy and make it your own.
  7. Do a good deed – Christmas is right around the corner. This means charitable opportunities abound to make a difference. Go caroling at an orphanage or nursing home. Volunteer at a homeless shelter or soup kitchen.
  8. Go easy on yourself – quit it with the negative self-talk. We all make mistakes. No point in dwelling on them. Figure out what you can learn from it and move on.
  9. Make a gratitude list – we take the simplest things for granted, like being able to open our eyes every morning. What can you be grateful for today? Need help? Here are 60 things.
  10. Sing off-key, on purpose – nothing brings me more joy than randomly singing obnoxiously loud. I mean, no one can out-sing me in a Beyonce tune. NO ONE. :D

Happy Monday.

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Love yourself

I was reading The Daily Love this morning and the topic was about love, of course. In the post entitled ‘Do You Know What Love Is?, they define love as “UNCONDITIONAL acceptance of what is”. They go on to say that “ if we can’t accept something as it is, it’s VERY difficult to change or transform it.” And transformation is essentially the goal. When you love yourself enough to accept your flaws, you love yourself enough to work on changing them. The love must be there.

The idea is to ACCEPT how you are with NO changes. This is the starting point of transformation.

This is the part of the post that I really like: application.

We are asked to complete a phrase mentioning one (or more) of our perceived flaws. What is the one thing that you will learn to accept about yourself today? I’ll start.

“Even though I _____________, I completely and totally love myself.”

• Even though I am an emotional wreck, I completely and totally love myself.

• Even though I drool when I’m extremely tired and make my pillow stink, I completely and totally love myself. :)

• Even though I care too much sometimes, I completely and totally love myself.

• Even though I can be very lazy, I completely and totally love myself.

• Even though I over think and over analyze everything, I completely and totally love myself.

• Even though I worry, I completely and totally love myself.

• Even though I have moments of insecurity, I completely and totally love myself.

• Even though I doubt, I completely and totally love myself.

• Even though I am irrational and bull-headed at times, I completely and totally love myself.

Whew!!!!!!

Now, it’s your turn. Be honest with yourself.