Favorite Quotes

“If growing up is painful for the Southern Black girl, being aware of her displacement is the rust on the razor that threatens the throat. It is an unnecessary insult.”

"Be the change you wish to see in the world."

“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.”

"...I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you; we are in charge of our attitudes."

“There is nothing more rare, nor more beautiful, than a woman being unapologetically herself; comfortable in her perfect imperfection. To me, that is the true essence of beauty.”

“Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.”

Thursday, January 5, 2023

Unapologetic

Thinking about this tree & taking up space 
📷 September 14, 2021

Wednesday, January 4, 2023

Better Choices = Better Days

Tonight I worked out, and it did me a world of good. I walked, jogged, lunged, and jump-roped myself into a better mood. Every day I have a set of choices, and I can choose things and people that replenish. I am worthy of enrichment and peace.


Tuesday, January 3, 2023

What Happened To You?

This is an empathy and awareness expanding listen/read.

January 01, 2023

On New Year's Day I removed my braids. 

Silly as it may read, I wanted to enter into 2023 looking like me. For over two hours, I stood in the mirror listening to Will, unraveling, detangling, and removing artifice. 

There's nothing wrong with "added hair" (aka weave/extensions) or protective styling. They were beautifully done. I liked them a lot. Honestly, I liked people's reaction to me with them.

Right now I need to lean into my relationship with self. I need to learn self-acceptance and love and unlearn people-pleasing and attention-seeking. And, removal of hair that made me feel and appear "younger," "prettier," "more feminine," etcetera was necessary.

"I am not my hair." 🎵

In the same way that I must learn to tend to my soul, heart, and healing, I must learn to tend to my hair. It is not easy, but it's mine. I am not easy, but I am mine.

Welcome back 'Fro! I know the struggle and see the growth. I may not look enthused to see you, but I am committed. 😉😅
Welcome 2023! Happy New Year! 



Monday, December 26, 2022

This Christmas

My gratitude for my closest friends is so deep. This circle encloses me in comfort.

Saturday, December 24, 2022

Afloat

A while back the psychologist asked me how I feel, and I said it was as if I was drowning. And, he asked what was stopping me....I said you because I see land in you, Darling. I get air from you. - The Winners | Fredrik Backman

Tuesday, December 6, 2022

The Seat of the Soul

Why not choose the conscious path, the path of joy? Why not journey consciously to the seat of your soul—that place where you transform energy into matter with your intentions—infuse your world with love and live there?

...

Who among us is an expert on the human experience? We have only the gift of sharing perceptions that hopefully can help those on their journey. There is no such thing as an expert on the human experience. The human experience is an experience in movement and thought and form and, in some cases, an experiment in movement and thought and form. The most that we can do is comment on the movement, the thought, and the form, but those comments are of great value if they can help people to learn to move gracefully, to think clearly, to form—like artists—the matter of their lives.

...

Anything we fear to lose—a home, a car, an attractive body, an agile mind, a deep belief—is a symbol of external power. What we fear is an increase in our vulnerability. This results from seeing power as external.

...

From this perception, the general is more valuable than the private, the executive is more valuable than the chauffeur, the doctor is more valuable than the receptionist, the parent is more valuable than the child, and the Divine is more valuable than the worshiper. We fear to transgress our parents, our bosses, and our God. All perceptions of lesser and greater personal value result from the perception of power as external.
The perception of power as external brings only pain, violence, and destruction.

...

The personality and its body are artificial aspects of the soul. When they have served their functions, at the end of the soul’s incarnation, the soul releases them. They come to an end, but the soul does not. After an incarnation, the soul returns to its immortal and timeless state. It returns once again to its natural state of compassion, clarity, and boundless love.

-Gary Zukav