The most powerful lesson you can ever learn to live your best life

The mindset of dissatisfaction and distraction, the reality of never having or being enough effects every facet of our lives.

One day I saw my husband a little upset. I asked him what was wrong and he said “Every time I try to focus I feel like I am being pulled in every direction”. I said that is because you are looking at your problems all at one time. I'm ok, the church is ok, the house is ok. You don't have to do anything that you do not want to do right now. Right now at this moment, everything is ok. Don't allow everything to overwhelm you. Only focus on the things that you have absolute control over right now in this present moment and let go of everything else.

He immediately relaxed and was calm. What was interesting was that the next day he got some great ideas to handle all of the stress that he was facing and he is very happy right now.

We all have these moments of doubt, fear and the feeling of being pulled in the opposite direction. Many times we only see our dissatisfaction and distractions so much so we can't see a way through the fog. By letting go of dissatisfaction and focusing only on the present moment you free up mental space to see a way through any situation. Does this mean you have to be happy all the time? No, but letting go of your dissatisfaction and your attachment to the outcome will open up doors you can't even imagine.

The best way to let go of dissatisfaction and worry is the remind yourself where your source of supply comes from. For me, my source of supply comes from God. Everything that I have, all my needs and all my gifts come from God and I know that He wants me to succeed. I remind myself of this every single day when I wake up and right before I go to bed.

Reminding yourself that something greater than yourself is working things out for you will free you from anxiety, doubt, and fear because you are not just depending on yourself you are depending on something greater than yourself. You must first learn to let go. Even God can't fill a cup that is already full.

-Start by letting go just a little each day and work your way up to letting go the whole day. Even letting go just a little makes more room for greater things to come.

-Remind yourself that the source greater than yourself is working thing out for you and trust that He will do what He said He will do.

-Now that you have let go, get active and be passionate about your goals. Making small changes in your life can make a huge difference in your life. The time for talking and wishing things was better is over. What small steps can you take right now to make things better for yourself and others? Think about it for a moment then take those actions right now.

The greatest lesson you can learn is to have the serenity to accept the things you can not change, have the courage to change the things you know you can and gain wisdom to know the difference.

Let things go so you can grow.

If you need help in finding ways to let go please contact me on FB and I will be more than happy to help.

God Bless

Artisticsoulwithin.com

Being True To Yourself Is Absolute Bravery

Being true to yourself is an act of rebellion especially when others want you to be something else

– Barbra Clay

Last year I wrote an article titled Being Yourself Is Absolute Bravery and today I thought back to that article because it still applies today. When I was thinking about this time of uncertainty and what we really need now to get through these uncertain times the first thing that popped into my mind is that we really need to be true to ourselves. No matter what is going on in this world being true to ourselves will be our saving grace in the end because our time on this earth is short. If you don't say it now it may never get said. If you don't do what you love now it may never get done. Being true to yourself is an absolute necessity and it takes a lot of courage.

I just saw a video where a woman of color walked into a store with her 3 beautiful children dressed in traditional African clothing. The mom upset and very angry walked in and asked the clerk behind the counter “who asked my children are they going trick or treating for Halloween?” (It was August when this happened 2 months before Halloween). The clerk tried to deny that it was her but the 3 kids said it was her who said it. After the mother said some blunt but O so true words she explained that she tried her hardest to teach her 3 kids to be respectful to EVERYONE and not cause trouble. She tried to teach them to be great citizens and to honor their African heritage and for someone to disrespect them for doing just that is the ultimate slap in the face.

She said that when she try to be nice to people they don't hear a word she say but when she go to a place and curse everyone out everyone hears every word she says. I noticed that the video got over 24 million views. She said she wish it didn't have to be that way and so do I but seeing that she got 24 million views and I can remember almost every word she said is she right? I know the clerk will not say anything about anyone's clothing from this day forward and anyone watching that video will also think twice about disrespecting anyone's culture no matter who they are.

In her being true to herself and teaching her kids to be true to themselves she had to speak up unflinching with boldness. I remembered when Jesus Christ tried to get his point across he also spoke boldly, turned a table over and EVERYONE who read the bible remembers him doing that. Sometimes being true to ourselves mean that we must speak up for ourselves and speak up for those who can not speak for themselves. That mother could have done and said a lot of things. She could have just ignored it and told the kids not to worry about it but that day the kids went home feeling even more proud of who they are, proud of the clothes they were wearing and the heritage they represented.

As a woman of color myself, I can totally relate. You know how many times I was put down for my skin color and my natural hair? Even to this day trying to be true to myself in a world that truly doesn't respect everyone's culture is a tough battle but being true to yourself and honoring who you are is a battle worth fighting for. Being true to yourself is absolute bravery. Just as I said last year “ I had to fight for every inch of myself. From my own personal beliefs to my natural hair. I had to fight to be unique. People would tell me every day be yourself then look down on me and get angry when I do something they don't like”.

Being true to yourself means being true to ALL of yourself even in the bold words you speak. The only one you need to please is God so make sure you have the right heart no matter what you say or do. Keep in mind people are going to say whatever they want to say anyway. No matter if you dress in a suit or baggy pants people will still talk about you the same so why not be unapologetically yourself? I learned this the hard way. You really don't have anything to loose in honoring and being true to yourself.

So let your Unique flag fly. Love all of yourself because you are an awesome human being and worthy of being loved. God loves you and so do I.

God Bless

Artisticsoulwithin.com   

The worst moment in our lives makes us who we are right now

Crumbs do not replace a full meal at the table... The last few months have been very challenging but I have found renewed fire within me. The tiger has been let out of the cage and I am no longer a slave to fear. For many years I have tried to sit still, be quiet, not rocking the boat, be comfortable and be overly mindful of my words so not to hurt anyone's feelings. I've tried to show love and kindness so that people know how to love one another and I prayed daily for peace as a good Christian would.

Now I feel no need to hold my tongue any longer about the craziness I see. Today I have been set free. I will speak my mind with no apologies. I am free to call a spade a spade. I am free to express how tired I am of the pessimistic and hatefulness in people's hearts especially from people who call themselves Christians. Yes I know there is a history in this country and the fact that hatefulness and bigotry is not going away anytime soon it is time for me to be bold and unflinching with my words because in the world that I live in no matter what I say I am damned if I say anything and damned if I stay quite.

Because of that fact, I am under no obligation to tip toe around the issues so not to offend. I tried it and it didn't work so from this day forward my words will take a bolder (but still with love) approach in everything I say and do. I will be more direct and focused on the hardcore truths. The truth is that we as a people have a lot of work to do and I am anxious to get started on the renewed work that is underway.

I have never been clearer on my life path more than I am now. Honestly, I am excited. Over my lifetime I have trained for this moment right now. I want to help people to focus on the issues that are needed to build us up and not tear us down. It is time to build communities that our children would be proud of. For the longest time, people wanted to tear us down for who we are but history shows that we as a people always rise to the challenges we face. I am not afraid of what is to come because I have already gone through so much and I am stronger because of it. Those who are loving and supportive will understand my words and I am not worried about the rest.

Despite all that is going on I still love this Country but now we see it's true colors in bright neon lights overhead that express exactly how this country feels. Now it is time for me to speak up and speak out. I will no longer stay quiet about what I know is right. I know there is still good in this world and I will speak to the heart of people until we have full equality in this world. Crumbs will not replace a full meal at the table and it never will.

The hard works starts NOW

Artisticsoulwithin.com