An Infinitely Blessed Life

Yes, that is what my life is; and today I married that notion, I committed to believing because my life, even through the struggles, is a living example of the universes way of listening and responding.
I got a tattoo that I feel like I was guided right to by my angels and the energies in my life. I have been wanting more tattoos for awhile now and have had a hard timing figuring out what I wanted and where I wanted it placed, so I have put a lot of thought into what I wanted to commit to for the rest of my life; I take that idea very seriously, so I meditated last night about it, and then I began perusing the internet for the images that I could use to create what I needed.
I printed pages out, cut out the pictures that spoke to me, and then began thinking about the story I wanted to tell with the ink work I am about to have painted symbolically on my skin. For me, the purpose of a tattoo is to tell a story with it, to symbolize something that moved me so powerfully in my life that I want it permanently painted on me.

I was humbled again last night by the pure love and gratitude of a child; I woke up today knowing exactly which design to go with and where I wanted it to be put as a constant reminder of how blessed my life is infinitely. :)

 And here is the final artwork;

 

Blessings Disguised as Trials and Tribulations

Who would have thought that one week ago when I became so ill with this respiratory crap, I would look upon it as a blessing? A what? Yes, I said that, A BLESSING.
Let me explain; I was experiencing a burn-out in ways that I wasn't even directly aware of right away, work burn out, life burn out, all of it; I was drowning in emotions that I felt like I had no control over and knew not where the hell they were even emanating from. I did a good job of smiling in public, making small talk with friends, and carrying on as usual to the everyday world; inside however was a whole other universe whirling; one of stress, fatigue, loneliness and overall questioning. I was questioning everything! Why am I here? Why is everything so damn hard, while others just seem to skate through life unscathed? I had family and friends going through horrible things to which I could do nothing but sit by and helplessly watch and silently pray, but then the light at the end of the tunnel showed itself to me and I understood more.

I was forced off of work, forced to be still, and forced to allow my body to physically just stop and rest; I truly had no choice because in the moments that I thought I was stronger than some damn sickness my body said "screw you, we got you on this one, sit down!" and sit down I did. 

I dove head first into my second weeks of classes and found myself flipping page after page consumed in such a good way by the information in front of me. I've never been big on history, (which I know is not cool, because a lot of it is really some good information), but I was understanding so much more about human behaviors and the processes by which we operate that I couldn't help but just keep going; and going...It brought to light so many factors in my own life in regards to my job, the people I work with and for, and to the world around me and my place in it. I'm not "normal" (what the hell is normal anyway, and who defines what is normal?) and I am SO okay with that. I don't deal with life on a surface level, I feel it inside. It's funny as I think about the people along the way who have had no real understanding and have labeled me as "too emotional", "too intense"; Oh yes, trust me, I am both emotional and intense, but who are you to say it's TOO much? Has the thought ever occurred to those people that perhaps they are "too" disconnected from themselves, from their spirit, from the universe as a whole? Probably not, or else they wouldn't be casting such shallow judgments on others.

I'm recovering well and am back to work today, and I am actually looking forward to stepping back into my role as an advocate for the women in our house, because I have a very renewed sense of myself and my purpose. I know why I'm here, I know who I am and I know that what I am doing is very real, not only to me, but to those I encounter. I am just one small drop in a vast ocean of possibility, yes, but I have the ability and the responsibility to create ripples that will turn into mighty waves.

In Time

In time we learn how to weather the struggles life throws our way.
In time we understand that This too shall pass;
But for awhile, it's all new, all consuming and so very painful.
As I stand witness to my daughter's first heartbreak with a boy, I can feel my own heart gripped like a vice. It's a flashback of my own past, and my own questionable choices with men and relationships over time. Is this my fault as well? Are her choices now a reflection of what she saw the woman in her life do as she grew up? Or is this just how life goes?

I can see so clearly how this can be fixed, I can drop my pearls of experience and share my own lessons learned, but no matter how well intended and full of life's Wisdom I am, I can't fix this for her, I can only stand by with open arms and a listening ear to catch her when either she finally has enough of the pain, or he pushes her out completely and leaves her alone.
It feels like a real double edged sword because if he does it, that leaves her even more vulnerable and hurt because she cannot understand WHY she wasn't good enough to be his girl; if she cuts the chord and walks away she begins to find her worth and understand her value, and even though it will still hurt, at least she did it for all the right reasons and can hold her head high. None of us like to feel rejected or unworthy of love. What we don't yet know at 21 is that rejections sometimes come as blessing in disguise. Time teaches us that temptations come often times to see if we will take what we have learned and use the information for our greater good or if we will ignore what we know to follow what's appealing in that moment.

In time we learn that not everyone will stay, and that's OK.
In time we accept that each person and experience that we encounter is part of our own unique experience here and will lend life lessons and opportunities to grow into ourselves; but, in the vastness between there and here, it's all we can do just to keep breathing and believe that we will be alright.

In time...just simply in time.

When Forgiveness is Enough

I taught my children as my father taught me; people will not always be good to you, Be good anyway. People will not always speak kindly to you, speak kindly anyway, and the lines I will never forget; It's easy to love those who love you, but it takes courage to love those who don't.

I think that I misinterpretted this message somewhere along the way in my life, because I have been there for/helped people that I probably should not have because of the history with them all in the name of being a kind and good hearted person, I mean heck, if Jesus can speak to people as they are killing him and bless them with love and forgiveness, I should surely be able to deal with the fact that people have wronged me, and still be a good person to them, right?  I've never been sure where to draw the line between who I should help and who I should just pray for and move on from; so when someone calls me in need, I'm there, because I genuinely care about people overall.

Sometimes we learn lessons the hard way, and I am absolutely no exception to that; I am too often set in my ways of how I feel I should conduct my life, and my good intent sends me down paths that end up being less than good for me. As I sat here today thinking about things, and how some people are just straight up ego filled assholes, I realized that my mistake all this time was in not really knowing when its okay to just not be there for someone and still be a true loving and spiritual being. I do good because it's important for me to put goodness out there into the world, I care because that's what we should do as human beings for each other, but the reality is that there really just are some people that we can give ourselves permission to close the door on and send love and light through the universe for them.
I need to be better about that, for the sake of my Self and my own heart. It hurts when you step out for someone else, even when they have hurt you in the past and they just use that opportunity to twist the knife they had already planted in your back.  I learned today.

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When the Bough Breaks

When the Bough Breaks:

 

Life changes without our permission and most times without any notice;
It just transforms into something else in the blink of an eye.

They say everything happens for a reason, but honestly, I am still

pondering some of the moves and working to just trust that they are and have, happened for reasons that just have not become clear to me yet.
How does something that feels so completely right in a moment, turn into something that you feel you need to escape in the next? How do friendships that have been built on trust and honesty dissolve into nothingness because of that same trust and honesty?

Why do children die? Why do horrible things happen to good people? Why do heartless people get to keep existing and inflicting pain on the world?

Do you have the answers, because I sure don’t.
What I do know is that no matter what happens and how badly we want to stop moving, breathing, and managing; we cannot stop, we have to keep moving, even if it’s just one small step, one short breath or one simple heartbeat. The universe continues to flow around us, birds still sing even on the mornings that we wake up with broken hearts and puffy eyes from all the crying we did the night before. The boss still expects you to be on time for work, and dinner still needs to be cooked. Life goes on; whether you’re participating or not.

As we journey through Life, we lose lovers, friends, and pets and so much more; so much more like pride and arrogance, selfishness and greed; or at least that is the hope. Time is supposed to bring with it wisdom and humility. Maybe we lose things and people we are attached to so that we can learn that nothing is permanent here, nothing and no one is forever, but merely experiences that we navigate through to learn the things we need to learn?

What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger, right?  What if it just makes us colder? What if it makes us hateful for what someone else has that we don’t? What separates that person, from a person who just accepts each life altering moment and pushes forward?  My thought?  FAITH.

Faith is not strengthened in moments that we already know what’s coming, Faith is conceived in those moments when the staircase is dark and we can only see the step we are on. We move slowly up the stairs, not knowing what awaits us on the next one, but we step anyway.

When we stop expecting that Life will always play fair, we begin to get somewhere; we accept, through tears and heavy hearts that friends grow apart, lovers fall out of love, and people die. We don’t accept it because it makes a damn bit of sense, we accept it because we have come far enough to understand that now and then things just don’t make sense at first glance, and they do not always feel good, but we inhale, we exhale, and we have FAITH that the Universe has a plan and that in each challenge we face there is a gift to uncover to elevate us to the next level of our journey here.

STAY FAITHFUL- We are all in this together.

~Peace

 

 

The Word "Victim"

Webster defines a victim as:
: a person who has been attacked, injured, robbed, or killed by someone else
: a person who is cheated or fooled by someone else
: someone or something that is harmed by an unpleasant event (such as an illness or accident)

The second definition is the one I am going to focus on as I write this; a person cheated or fooled by someone else....hmmmm...So, let me ask you, if the same person/people "fool or cheat" you more than once, are you still a victim, or are you just in denial and unwilling to change? I see real victims everyday, I spend my life advocating for victims, have for as long as I can remember in one capacity or another, and I don't know that I will ever stop being frustrated by people who have the clear knowledge of what is going on, but are unmoving and unwilling to change anything. These same people will blow up and complain and become bitter people, but still, are not receptive to change, and will continue to wallow in their own self made misery.
I encounter women who stay with abusers because they are afraid that they will fail financially, women who cannot be alone so being with someone who is the source of so much upheaval and chaos is better than having to face life as a single person, and having to start over. How many times have you heard someone say, "but I don't want to have to start over and get to know someone all over again." Really? So, being constantly disrespected and let down and hurt is sooo much better than having to be brave and step out on FAITH and take a chance that there just may be more out there than what is right in front of you? I truly feel bad for people who are stuck in that mentality. No one wants to get hurt, or be let down, or face the disappointment in the dating world that maybe, yet again, this one isn't the one either, no one enjoys that, I can promise you! But what about the realization that those very same people who don't want to take the risks, are fooling themselves by not being aware of the fact that each day they stay stuck in unhealthy patterns and relationships, they let themselves down, they betray their own heart; is that more acceptable? No, it isn't.

The ugly truth about all of this, is that real victims are the children of people who are caught in this web of destruction and turmoil, and there isn't anything they can do about it. These kids are the true VICTIMS in life, because they are being drug along through the chaos and the violence and the unstable environments, against their will, and with no power to change it. Absorb that for a moment...
I was in a 17 year relationship/marriage which became toxic and dysfunctional, and I was unhappy and drowning emotionally. I did all I could for years to put on a good show for the outside world until I looked at my children and saw the hurt and the fear that it was causing them, and something in me clicked and slapped me in the face very hard. I didn't want to raise a girl who believed it was okay to lose yourself in a man and sacrifice yourself to the point of not even having your own identity, and I didn't want to raise a boy who felt that bullying and yelling and controling was the correct way to be a man. I knew that the only person who was going to be able to change all of that was me. I was scared beyond anything words could convey; I was panicked at the thought of leaving the financial security that we had created as a couple; but betraying my children, who did not ask to be in this world,and were gifted to me, was not a concept that I would even entertain, no matter what it took for me to protect them. I have wonderful family, and steadfast friends, but every single one of them knows that if it came down to them or my children, they have never and would never, have a chance. Our children do not ask to come here, we make the choice to bring them here and with that, we take on a responsability to love and protect them from harm in the world. What happens to those kids when the people/person who they count on for protection puts their well being aside and leaves them vulnerable and exposed? Statistically we know that many of them grow up addicted to drugs and/or alcohol, they take on the role of abusers or victims in their adult lives with friends and family and eventually intimate relationships; they carry on the chaos and the turmoil and the cycle continues.
I am an advocate for children above and beyond anyone, because I despise injustice, and I have no respect for those who have children and don't protect them or put them first. Being a single parent is not for the weak, as any single parent will attest to; but at the end of the day it doesn't matter that it's hard and sometimes gut wrenching, what matters is whether or not you honor that title of Mom or Dad and do what's right by your children.