We are tremendously blessed to have made it into this new year. Considering the year we have had with so many unfortunate situations, such as job loss, sickness, death, disappointments, to name a few. We must count it all joy that we are still here alive and well, with hope in our hearts for a much better year. It is so easy to focus on the negative which will only limit our ability to see or hope for anything better. We must realize that whatever thoughts we allow to populate our minds will eventually unfold within our active lives. Though we do not control the future, we were each given our own rights to make our own choices. Therefore, the thoughts we manufacture in our minds can materialize. To have the best possible life we want here on earth, we must first bring our requests before the Lord, to make sure they are aligned with His plans, and seek His blessings before we dive head first into our vision.

Having the opportunity to go before the Lord with our plans, is a blessing. When we consider starting a business and needing an investor, we must first create a business plan, clearly outlining the different steps to make the business successful. We must write an appealing plan which will attract the eyes of the investor. The investor will want to see how he’s going to benefit before considering investing his time, money and efforts. We must consider these same methodology when we approach God for His blessings for our plans. God does not care about money, He cares about us as His children and wants what is best for us. If your plan does not align with His plans for your life, He will not bless your ideas. This in itself is a blessing. If God does not approve your plan, know that it’s for your best. Take the time to reflect, go back to the drawing board and work on revising. Is your plan aligned with God’s plan for your life? Will your plan be a blessing to others, will it distract you from your calling? It may feel like a major disappointment or setback when God steps back from blessing your plan, but be rest assured that it’s a blessing and that He has greater in store for you. Go to God first and let Him order your steps and lead you in the direction you must go.

​Be bless ❤️

While strolling along the pier on a Friday evening, I was stopped in my tracks trying to decide if what I thought I saw was real. Out in the lake some feet north of the pier I saw a jet ski bopping up and down, side to side. What I also thought I saw was something on the side moving. I stood for a moment focusing in as I wasn’t quite sure if I saw someone or a non-human object moving. As I walked further out to the lighthouse where there were other people I inquired if what I saw was an actual individual. The response was yes. I imagined that the individual in the water had been in the water for quite sometime. I stated that it looks like he needed help, no one seemed too bothered.

I turned around and started to depart from the lighthouse. I came upon another individual and pointed his attention to the man overboard and inquired if someone called for help. He seemed not too interested and went back to what he was doing, fishing. I did the same to another person out fishing, who provided some insight that he overheard someone earlier stating that the jet ski wasn’t functioning properly. I said, he seems to be in trouble and who to call. The individual suggested the coast guard. I stood there watching the man overboard deciding that I would call but alarmed at the same time that no one seemed to care that someone seemed to be in distress but no one seemed bothered by it.

As I stood there I spotted a sailboat headed towards the man overboard and watched as the boat headed over and pulled the man from the lake. No one on the pier thought or cared enough to contact the coast guard to check on this man. For all I know he may have been overboard struggling for a while to pull himself back on the jet ski, with no luck and no one attempting to lend a helping hand. Thankfully God sent an angel on a sailboat to rescue this man.

We have become so consumed by ourselves that we forgot what it means to be our brothers keeper, to love, to be generous, to think of others, to be empathetic. Where’s our heart, is it hearing the cries of those in need? Have we lost the true meaning of what it means to be human. There are so many individuals who are “overboard” in their lives and just needs an helping hand. Are you available to lend that helping hand? Are staying in the here and now, paying attention to what’s going on around you? Yes, we are all distracted by the going’s on in this world.

Let us be present and in the moment so that we can lend a helping hand when we need to.

Embrace the newness of today, soak it up and don’t allow a single negativity to bring dark clouds to gloom your day. We often miss out on the pleasantries each new day brings because we allow the tiny negative moments to control and take over our mind, mood and day. We forget the limited moments in each day and in our lifetime. We squander the sweet moments on trivial and petty distractions. A moment wasted is a moment we can never retrieve.

Enjoy each moment, even for a tiny second. It’s worth it! It will lift your mood, and when your mood is lifted, it can positively affect those around us. Oh how precious time is, but it slips away just as fast as it settles on you. Live in each moment and allow yourself to feel the goodness that lies in each day.

​Be at peace and be well.

I challenge you to make every single day of your life, your best day ever. You may ask, how? With everything that we are currently experiencing, and your situation may even be dire, it may be hard to fathom that thought. But, it’s not impossible, as we can chose to focus on the bad or on the good. The thing about choosing to focus on the bad, is that it will only lower you more into the bottomless pit of despair. Choosing instead, to focus on the good will bring you enlightenment, it will elevate you above that bottomless pit.

I implore you to rise up and be your own light, as darkness is continuously lurking around the corner ready to suck you in and immerse you into a never ending gloom and despair. As you go to bed tonight and as you arise in the morning, do so with your kind of light and radiate your precious aura in the atmosphere, make each day you exist, the best day yet!

​#loveandlight

MOM, so brave and strong
succumbed many life challenges
still going strong through Life.
Life, a book we all have to put words into.
You didn’t let life write you, you took control.

Graduation, intimidating like a strong burly man in the gym.
Life brought you to have Children while enrolled in your studies
The book of life was realistic so school was put on the back burner.

Being from another country,
you were adventurous and brave
enough to move to a new country
And start a new path of life.

Inspiring and affectionate you
Always ensured your Children had
everything they ever needed plus more.

​~Authored by Adrianna Guantes~

We are in an unprecedented time, having experiences we never would have imagined. It’s a time in which we may feel an urge to maybe step back for a moment to really grasp that this is our new reality. Though shocking for many of us, this has been the reality for those who have spoken up about being discriminated in the workplace and otherwise. It’s a time that forces us out of our shells and cages, our places of comfort and ignorance. Our place of blindness because we have somehow managed to “escape” the experiences of so many black and brown people. We have managed to find a way in and because of that we forgot there was a problem. The reality is that we can never completely escape or hide from reality, it eventually reveals itself and in an ugly form.

The reality of racism is that it’s not going anywhere. This is one system that will be around forever. In order for a group to remain on top, another group has to be on the bottom. It’s not the only answer as we know that balance can be achieved in any situation. Walking side by side and hand in hand can lead to equity for all. Working together we can achieve so much. We all want something and I believe we all want love and acceptance, but to have that we must be willing to give it to all regardless of race, color, creed. We will never experience true love and acceptance in this world if we continue to fight against each other. We were created out of the ultimate love from God, the greatest there is. If we can take a moment and meditate on a love like God’s, a love that’s filled with forgiveness, provision, humbleness, meekness, kindness, selflessness, comfort, joy, happiness, giving. I could go on and on, because His love is endless and cannot be fully explained in words. Though we will never come close to giving love like God has given, we can still try.

Our lives has been turned upside down, with the ugliness that has been steaming for a very long time. An ugliness that has been lodged within the souls of too many, an ugliness that has been given room and motivation to blow the top the steamer. Can we get to a place where the ugliness is not so piercing and where it’s not given any components to cause it to multiply anymore. Let us find a way to overcome this ugliness through breathing a constant force of love and kindness. Let us bury this ugliness, let’s send it back to where it came from, and whenever it tries to reveal it’s ugly head we add a massive amount of pressure to keep it where it belongs.

All we have in this life is hope. We came here sans any material possession, and we will depart likewise. Therefore, let us make our visit here, one that is good and pleasant. Let us not empower those who are looking for ways to cause a divide, let us put a stop to those who use their words to take down and discriminate others. When someone shares or utters prejudicial or stereotypical behaviors about others around you, start shutting them down. Don’t allow your space to be contaminated with hate. Stomp out racism today. It’s no longer okay to sit back and allow hate to destroy our spaces. The wind of change begins with you. Let us make this wind flow constantly and consistently.

#windofchange #eradicatehatefrommyspace

To say we are living in challenging times, would be an understatement.  The events that has been unfolding before our eyes, can be construed as something out of this world.  Many of us sit in amazement as the current climate continues to unravel forces of incomparable experiences before our eyes.  We may look and state, "never in my life, have I experienced what is currently going on, or, I would never expect to experience this in my lifetime".  
What is the cause of the current shift in our part of earthly experience? Can any of this be reversed? Have we past the point of a return to civility? Many will say that racism has been in existence, just hidden behind a state in which technology never existed to this degree.  This is true.  In order for this level of racial maleficent to explode in our space at this level, it had to be building up from its existence from within its core.  The polarization of racism gained more traction and became a major festered wound, due to its empowerment from those with power to bring it to the forefront, with no regard to who it may impact either positively or negatively.

When we arm people with tools to cultivate, we are empowering them to use such tools to make an impact, and said impact can be a hazard to life as we know it.

How do we remain calm and content when it seems that the forces around us demand otherwise? We can remain calm and content using the power that was given to us by our Creator.  We were given the ability to make our own choices.  We can choose to be vile and wicked, or we can choose to be calm, content, and give love.  The choices we make today, will certainly impact our tomorrow.  To choose to love others regardless, is a easy choice.  When we do good, it follows.

In the space of a month of visiting my local café through the drive-thru, I was amazed that on 2 separate occasions, the customer in front of me showed kindness by paying for my latte.  The small gestures hit me like a ton of bricks, due to the current events playing out in front of my eyes.  The customers did not inquire as to who I was, they did not care about my skin tone, or whether I came from another part of the world, they simply wanted to do something nice for someone.  That kind gesture imparted something to me, it reminded me that though the world is in turmoil, and though my TV screen constantly force bitterness and hatred through the constant revolving door or racism, there are people who still care, people saying "I matter", "you matter".  Due to the act of kindness I experienced, I was empowered to pay it forward.
​
Show kindness and live justly as you go on your journey. Depart from anger and bitterness.  Live a life of purpose through accountability, putting others first, being empathetic, transparent, content and calm.  Stand up for the little man, stand up for the underprivilege, speak up for those who can't speak for themselves.  Do not keep quiet on things that warrant your need to act on behalf of others.

Can we change the current path we are on?  I do not know, but what I do know is that it will be too late late to make an impact when we die.  The time is now and you have the key in your hand right now, to start something good and positive.

Life as we know it, has drastically changed overnight.  We went to bed one night, as we normally do, expecting to wake up in the same manner we have some many times before.  Except, we were awakened with a new way of life, one that has forced us out of our 'norms' and into an unknown and uncharted territory.  This new 'norm' has forced us to rethink how we do life, it has caused us to re-evaluate our level of living, and to refocus our attention on things that we have neglected over the years.  It has forced us to look within ourselves and the life we have been living; to pay attention to what is truly important, such as our love ones, and those who we would not necessarily pay attention to.  It has also propelled us to be more accountable and to appreciate those who go over and above on a daily basis to provide an environment that allows us to enjoy and live life in a more convenient way.

The changes we are currently experiencing, will change our lives forever.  But the questions I have are:

• what impact has the change had on your life?
• what changes are you making in your life as a result of the virus?
• has the virus forced you to re-evaluate how you treat others?
• will you go back to life as "norm" , once the virus is under control?

There is a reason behind everything that happens; I do not believe in coincidence.  Our time at home during this virus, should propel us to make changes in our lives.  Many of us are at home, feeling out of sorts, because we are away from the lights, noise and constant hustle and bustle that has become our way of life.  We have the time now, to take a look at how we have been living our lives, to see areas that can be improved upon, to allow ourselves to become better human beings.  Can we take the time to grow and develop, to become an individual with empathy, with genuine love and care for others.  Let us work on becoming an individual who takes the time to inquire on how someone is doing, and wait on the response, so that you can connect on a personal level.  When we take the time to connect on a personal level, we can truly affect someone's life on a positive level.  We can truly make a difference, when we take the time to care.  Let us inquire with meaning and love.

If we are taught anything from this virus, it should be that we are all in the same boat.  The virus has impacted each one of us in one way or another.  It shows us that whether we are rich, black, white, from another Country, Culture or Religion, we all face the same unknown future and that All our tomorrows can impact us in the same way.  Having a strong financial standing, does not prevent you from the effects of what the Universe may present to us. 

Let us love one another, and be our brothers keeper.  Let us show up for each other, and shine a positive light on all, even those we may dismiss for lack thereof.  We are all of and in this world together temporary, and our experience in this life comes down to life and death.  We experience it and we will eventually depart from it.  It is short, but we can make it worthwhile for everyone, if we take the time to care.

#With love and light <3
#Selah

“Never major on the minor”

One of the greatest joys in life, is the ability to be your true self without causing any harm to anyone.

live in peace, live in love, live in harmony.

An #empathetic #path

​~Prinksies