Image Credit: Ty Williams
Always Remember to…
Empowerment
Don’t Add to the Woes, Strengthen the Wonders
Image Credit: Christy Ivey
This isn’t a ginormous challenge or task but a thought-provoking prompt to think about something you can do to make your part of the world better. All too often, we witness daily occurrences of people adding to the woes of the world, instead of strengthening and celebrating the wonders it beholds. Still, there are many of us who are activating or have activated our gifts and talents to contribute, distribute and duplicate, instead of falling into the trap of complacency, complicity, and selfishness. We can heal the world, but we need to clean the societal lacerations and apply ointment to begin healing the wounds. You don’t need a lot, but simply use what you got.
👉🏼 Short, Sweet, Savory, and Serious
Image Credit: StillWorksImagery
Life is precious and when it’s over, it’s over. It is what it is. We don’t want to stand or sit here and think about the time we wasted on silliness and foolishness. Our clock continues to tick. We can’t erase past or present mistakes. We can only learn from the takeaways of those lessons and add value to the life we have yet to live.
The Riddle with a Reminder
Image Credit: anaterate
Here’s a riddle reminder for ya.
Question: Give me a drink, and I will die. Feed me, and I’ll get bigger. What am I?
Answer: A fire.
When you get that burning desire within, the kind of drive and passion that makes you explode with enthusiasm, energy, and excitement, do not allow fear to squelch your courage. You got to get up and try, then say to fear, “Boo!”
“Catch on fire with enthusiasm and people will come for miles to watch you burn.” -Anonymous
Many people have attributed this quote to John Wesley, but some theologians and others have researched and found that while this particular quote may have been something John Wesley could have said, he didn’t. John Wesley died in 1791. It appears that this quote showed up around 2001. Still, I like this quote.
But as this riddle alludes to, even though it refers to combustion, I think positive, energetic people have a contagious aura and a burning fire within that emits the flames of a courageous spirit. To stay courageous, you’re going to have to douse fear, not feed it.
Your Game Plan for a Narcissist’s Endgame
Image Credit: Jills
They already have a plan, aggressive, selfish, and vow to get whatever they want by any means necessary, no matter who or what gets in the way. Such mindsets and behavior make strange and dangerous bedfellows. They don’t seem to have a conscious about who they hurt or bulldoze over.
We know and have seen the type and it’s hard to beat them at their own game because they have perfected their state and practice of narcissism and bullyism for a long time. They have become smooth criminals that seem unstoppable. To escape the piercing talons of their clutches takes strategic planning on your turf, on your court, not theirs.
When you stop behaving as they expect you to, when you stop giving them what they want when they want it, when you take your power back by losing your fear and gaining courage, when you set boundaries, and when you take your power back from them, they may not like it and ‘try’ to punish you for it, but you may just see those selfish, manipulating, self-serving cowards retreat somewhere else. Flip the script on them. Trust me narcissistic bullies will always find someone to intimidate and strip of their identity. Eventually, however, they will come face to face with someone who is more sinister and worse than they are. When this happens, and it will, they will back down or get beat down.
Let Go and Come Out Better
Image Credit: Joel Muniz
“No person is your friend who demands your silence or denies your right to grow.” – Alice Walker
Many of us have had to let some folks go in our life who were hindering our growth potential. If they didn’t go, we had to make the bold decision to leave their grip of torture in order to move forward, to travel down the interstate of our journey, and to come out better when we reached our destination than we began. Our lives depended on our great escape.
To feel guilty is not an option for leaving toxicity behind because we can fall into a trap that we could never escape. Courage, not cowering, is an empowering character trait. The agony, cruelty, mental abuse, and oppression are not worth putting up with, but learning to let these attackers and their attacks go is a priceless lesson.
Oh, and another thing, if you’re planning your escape, don’t let the perpetrator know or talk about it. Trust me, they will find out somehow, thwart your intentions, and make your life miserable for trying. Just work your plan and get the heck out of there, especially when you feel threatened. At least you can rise up, even if it is slow because you are alive, you survived, and now it’s time to thrive. Don’t allow someone who is truly unworthy, to steal your joy and make you feel inferior, useless, and lifeless, whether they are a friend, family, or foe. Nope, not today, and tomorrow ain’t lookin’ too good either. Stay calm and focused. God bless.
I Don’t Understand, Perhaps I Never Will
Image Credit: Piotr Siedlecki
I Don’t Understand it, Perhaps I Never Will
I don’t understand why people don’t think about the serious consequences of their decisions and actions before they do them, perhaps I never will.
I don’t understand why people think corruption is ok, not caring about those they hurt or oppress in the process, perhaps I never will.
I don’t understand why bad things happen to good people, while it seems like bad people skirt by with a free get-out-of-jail card, perhaps I never will.
There is a lot I don’t understand, a lot that makes no sense, perhaps it’s not for me to know why, but it makes me think about the circumstances so I can choose to walk right.
I consider the attributes of that which I don’t understand, the heinous, the diabolical, the narcissistic, and the corrupt, and I refuse to adopt and follow suit in their footsteps. I simply can’t be rooted in such despair and destruction.
But there is much for me to learn, much for me to understand from God’s created world, and perhaps its the capacity to embrace the fabric of God’s handiwork unfolding right outside my door.
There is much love, compassion, and empathy that I can use to bring light to our world and snuff out the darkness as much as I can. Now that, I can do and that I can understand.
© Kym Gordon Moore
Image Credit: Circe Denyer
Each, Reach, Teach 👩🏻🏫
We are like a drop in a giant bucket. At times it seems like the plug has been pulled in that bucket, letting continued learning and continued teaching splash out and flow down the drain. Now is not the time to fail our children or ourselves. There is always room to learn something new and rewarding every single day, even if it is simply learning a new word.
Each one > Reach one > Teach one. Just one.
Image Credit: Gerd Altmann
Oh, what a glorious day!
Image Credit: Anaya Katlego
After putting on a pot of coffee to percolate this morning, I walked to one of the windows facing the backyard and knelt down on the floor. This is my personal quiet time to pause before the hustle and bustle of the day begins. I breathe in slowly with my eyes closed. I am grateful for this time that I am free to just sit, and be.
When I open my eyes, I slowly scan the yard. Some of the trees have lost all of their leaves, and some of the oaks have yet to lose all of theirs even though the colors of autumn still remain in tack. Squirrels leap through the limbs of trees, and the early birds feast on freshly picked worms from the grass.
Although I slept well last night, I still feel exhausted. Perhaps it’s because I learned about several people who passed away in the last seven days. I’m still trying to digest all of this but I know that even though death is a part of life’s evolution, my heart still aches for all of us who suffer from the pains of grief, trying to take it one day at a time, one step at a time.
Yet at this moment, as I kneel here, watching the mallard ducks waddling out of the water headed towards my backyard, one of our Redtail hawks glides through the air like a kite on a breezy day, and the blue heron slowly and methodically strides along the water’s edge, trying to nab a fish. And, I think, life is still good, despite the disappointments. Suddenly, the coffee maker beeps, knocking me out of my temporary trance, and letting me know the coffee is ready.
But I don’t get up just yet. I am content with the peace that fills my gratitude meter in this present moment. Surprisingly, I no longer feel exhausted but energized. As I look up, the gray clouds are rolling away, revealing a marine blue sky and fluffy white clouds. That’s what hope looks like, and I like it like that. Even as my knees crack, I am still able to get up and praise my way through this new day.
Yes, I am hopeful. And while hope is not something we have, it is something we practice, every day! Have a FANtabulous day filled with gratitude and hope everyone!
Image Credit: Alice Pasqual
Wax On, Wane Off, Light Up
Watching the full moon a few nights ago drew me into its hypnotic presence, defining a more profound message I’d not really thought about before. Even if we don’t pay attention to the moon that much, we are somehow magnetically drawn to it. I looked at that moon, as I usually do every month, provided there is no rain or cloudiness that blocks its visibility, and was simply smitten by it.
The waxing moon is a phase that comes after the new moon. The waning moon is the final curtain call, coming before the dark moon day. So, as I stood looking out at that full moon, I thought about the fullness of our aura, the bright light that we allow to shine so others may see it and thus allow their glow to shine brilliantly on others. Our “waxing on” allows our spirits to develop into the fullness of showing the pulsation of our compassion, courageousness, and conversation to build up and not tear down. Waning off helps us recharge our batteries and prepare for the next phase and opportunity to let our light shine again and again.
Now, while we can’t compare ourselves to that awe-inspiring orb that sparkles at night and is 238,855 miles or 384,400 km away from Earth, can you imagine how bright our light can illuminate on those who could use a little light in their life right now? Our light can certainly give others hope.
From Behind the Pen 