The TRUTH about the holiday season is that there are more people than most of you realize that need assistance. I know myself as a paraplegic that attempting to go out for groceries or Christmas shopping can be so overwhelming, a lot of the time I just don't do it.
I spent many years having to defend my "QVC QUEEN" title by friends and family members. I have like many of you been on a tight budget.Folks just didn't get it. I am sure they thought I was being extravagant. TRUTH of the matter is, I was being practical. I would try to make light of it, but it hurt. It was much easier to pick up the phone, call an 800 (free!) number and place an order. Sometimes I would even luck out and they would wrap up the gift for me with a tag giving the recipient my loving regards. Not to mention they would mail the package to the person directly...saving me the much dreaded trip to the post office or local parcel delivery companies long lines...most of the time without proper seating for waiting customers, such as myself, who couldn't stand that long in line.
Not all of us have someone who is willing and/or available to go along with us to get those errands done. If most people are like me, I'll ask once, if I get the least bit of eye rolling, excuses that I know aren't legit or the "I'm really busy but MAYBE next Wednesday I can work you in"... I will not ask again. PERIOD. I'm done with it. I'll figure out myself.
The same goes for holiday decorations. If I had a dime for everytime I asked someone to come by and help me (which is hard enough for me to do in the first place) to have them 1. Not show up 2. Call with a pretty lame excuse 3. Or basically tell me they have their own houses to tackle...yep I've been told that. It can put a pretty big damper on the Christmas decorating spirit, especially when those same people are the ones that say that famous line "if you need anything, just call". They don't realize how many times they have left me frustrated because I CAN'T DO IT and in tears. Decorating just isn't worth that kind of depression.
Let's talk a little about handicap parking and those waiting lines to check out. I know that most of you have noticed that not everyone who is parking in those little blue lines seems to be in the least bit disabled. I've seen it many times. Someone borrows grandma's car so that they can get that great spot up front and get to their shopping. What they don't seem to consider is that we the physically disabled hold tightly to our independence, you take that spot, it puts a halt to our independence. Even if you do have a placard and you are able to walk, how about just for this time of year (okay most of the year if I'm honest) take that spot just a few more cars down and allow the people that really could use that spot to utililize it. It would be a bigger blessing than you can imagine. As for check out lines, how many of you have stopped long enough to look at the people behind or in front of you, if they are in one of the scooters chances are MOST OF THE TIME they could use some help unloading that cart and loading it back up. If you can...it would be a super big blessing to walk outside with them and help them get things in their vehicles. We have just as much trouble getting those "helpers" at the big stores to show up when they are needed! You will make a shopping experience much more light hearted for people such as myself and along the way prove my theory that there ARE good people out there in the world.
Maybe this year you could call an elderly or disabled person and ask if they need any help shopping, I know from first hand experience many stores don't have wheelchairs or electric carts and many of us just aren't physically able to push a shopping cart, so we don't go. Also watch for a person who is disabled who might be looking up on a shelf, chances are an item is out of their reach. Also in the freezer section those doors can be a hassle to keep open while we try to retrieve an item. It won't hurt to ask if they need help! You know that saying don't you? A blessing given comes back ten fold. Believe it!
I hope you will really see what I've written here and apply it to your lives...everyday lives. It could change a person's life such as myself, not to mention yours! Thanks for stopping by and spending some time with me. Remember always that you are important and you are loved! Have a great week my friends!
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
GBE Weeek 28-Topic BUCKET LIST
I wrote a bucket list once for this original group. It seems like such a long ago faded memory. So many things in life have changed since that innocent list was written. I look at the world differently..but that's not to say my list will have changed completely.
My list isn't necessarily in order of importance. They are in order of how they popped in my head! Here we go....
1. People would learn to understand others, place themselves in their shoes. The old saying "you never truly know what's going on in a person's life until you've walked a mile in their shoes." Put it into practice.
2. Forgiving would come easy for all.
3. Each person could see past all of the crud that sometimes people put in front of themselves, around themselves...sometimes knowingly...others times subconsciously to keep from hurting or having to deal with hurt. And we could just love. Plain and simple.
4. Children would never know hunger.
5. No person, big or small would ever know abuse of any sort.
6. That each day could begin and end for each person with laughter and giving thanks for what we have.
7. No more homelessness
8. Jobs for all
9. Greed would disappear and gratitude would grow
10. That there really was such a thing as happily ever after. Forever and always no matter what.
11. Politicians would truly work "for the people" and not for who lines their pockets.
12. That trip to New Zealand still sounds nice.
There is my bucket list. I could have gone on and on and on! But you guys have other Bucket List to take in don't you?!? Have a good week. Remember you are important and you are loved!
My list isn't necessarily in order of importance. They are in order of how they popped in my head! Here we go....
1. People would learn to understand others, place themselves in their shoes. The old saying "you never truly know what's going on in a person's life until you've walked a mile in their shoes." Put it into practice.
2. Forgiving would come easy for all.
3. Each person could see past all of the crud that sometimes people put in front of themselves, around themselves...sometimes knowingly...others times subconsciously to keep from hurting or having to deal with hurt. And we could just love. Plain and simple.
4. Children would never know hunger.
5. No person, big or small would ever know abuse of any sort.
6. That each day could begin and end for each person with laughter and giving thanks for what we have.
7. No more homelessness
8. Jobs for all
9. Greed would disappear and gratitude would grow
10. That there really was such a thing as happily ever after. Forever and always no matter what.
11. Politicians would truly work "for the people" and not for who lines their pockets.
12. That trip to New Zealand still sounds nice.
There is my bucket list. I could have gone on and on and on! But you guys have other Bucket List to take in don't you?!? Have a good week. Remember you are important and you are loved!
Friday, November 25, 2011
GBE...LAUGHTER
I went to read Word Nerd's post and realized that she and I were on the same page this week. I was going to change my post, but then I decided she wouldn't mind and I would share a couple of stories from the past on uncontrollable laughter. The kind I love the most...good timing or not!
I was in high school, it was the Christmas holidays. You remember that time when you had a few weeks off from school right?. The "story" we told our parents was that we were going to the movies, then to the midnight movie...effectively extending our curfew by a couple of hours! SWEET FREEDOM FOR MANY HOURS! What kind of mischief could we get into?!?
As we drove along one of the teen passengers had the idea to go way out in the country. He knew of a spot off of the interstate that had a little road that led down the levee. A secret place where WE could see people coming, but they couldn't see us! BRILLANT! Unfortunately he didn't quite get the spot right, we turned off and went down the levee...without any road! The car ended up getting stuck and it would take most of us to lift it up just that little notch to get it unstuck and back on straighter ground. Mark, who is a life long friend of mine had night blindness..but that never stopped him. He got out and was lifting and pushing with the rest of us. After a while, he got a bit overheated so he took off he brand new suede and camel hair coat he had gotten for Christmas a few days before and placed it on the top of the car. After much heaving we managed to loosen the car and get it free. We climbed back in and took off. After a few moments, Mark started to shiver and realized his new coat was on top of the car. Just at that moment the coat went flying off...into the other lane and was run over by an 18 wheeler. Nope..I didn't say a thing. We dusted it off, put it back on him and sent him home...blind and unaware of the 18 tire marks down the back of his expensive new coat! I think he got grounded for about a month! We still laugh about that incident some 30 years later!
A few years back, one of my dearest friends lost her mother. At the funeral her and her 5 siblings insisted I sit up front with all of them during the funeral. Her mom lived in a tiny town where most of the folks knew everybody. My friends brother (who is extremely mischievious) decided that this little gossipy town needed something to talk about. Unbeknownst to me, he told a few key "gossipers" that I was the illegitimate child of their mom and they had just found out! I couldn't figure out why everyone kept staring at me and whispering. When he whispered the reason...I went into..not giggle, not laugh but SNORT mode of laughter! In fact all of us, but the eldest daughter who is very straight laced got the giggles. We never told her what had happened! I'm sure my friends mother was laughing along with us! She would have appreciated that kind of thing!
Laughter. I am glad it is one of our release mechanisms. I can't count the times when I've been in a situation and somehow something funny happens and the gloom and doom that was overhead disapates...even if for a brief while. Remember to laugh now and again. It's good for your soul, good for those around you...it's just a good thing in life. Have a great week my friends. Remember you are important and you are loved!
I was in high school, it was the Christmas holidays. You remember that time when you had a few weeks off from school right?. The "story" we told our parents was that we were going to the movies, then to the midnight movie...effectively extending our curfew by a couple of hours! SWEET FREEDOM FOR MANY HOURS! What kind of mischief could we get into?!?
As we drove along one of the teen passengers had the idea to go way out in the country. He knew of a spot off of the interstate that had a little road that led down the levee. A secret place where WE could see people coming, but they couldn't see us! BRILLANT! Unfortunately he didn't quite get the spot right, we turned off and went down the levee...without any road! The car ended up getting stuck and it would take most of us to lift it up just that little notch to get it unstuck and back on straighter ground. Mark, who is a life long friend of mine had night blindness..but that never stopped him. He got out and was lifting and pushing with the rest of us. After a while, he got a bit overheated so he took off he brand new suede and camel hair coat he had gotten for Christmas a few days before and placed it on the top of the car. After much heaving we managed to loosen the car and get it free. We climbed back in and took off. After a few moments, Mark started to shiver and realized his new coat was on top of the car. Just at that moment the coat went flying off...into the other lane and was run over by an 18 wheeler. Nope..I didn't say a thing. We dusted it off, put it back on him and sent him home...blind and unaware of the 18 tire marks down the back of his expensive new coat! I think he got grounded for about a month! We still laugh about that incident some 30 years later!
A few years back, one of my dearest friends lost her mother. At the funeral her and her 5 siblings insisted I sit up front with all of them during the funeral. Her mom lived in a tiny town where most of the folks knew everybody. My friends brother (who is extremely mischievious) decided that this little gossipy town needed something to talk about. Unbeknownst to me, he told a few key "gossipers" that I was the illegitimate child of their mom and they had just found out! I couldn't figure out why everyone kept staring at me and whispering. When he whispered the reason...I went into..not giggle, not laugh but SNORT mode of laughter! In fact all of us, but the eldest daughter who is very straight laced got the giggles. We never told her what had happened! I'm sure my friends mother was laughing along with us! She would have appreciated that kind of thing!
Laughter. I am glad it is one of our release mechanisms. I can't count the times when I've been in a situation and somehow something funny happens and the gloom and doom that was overhead disapates...even if for a brief while. Remember to laugh now and again. It's good for your soul, good for those around you...it's just a good thing in life. Have a great week my friends. Remember you are important and you are loved!
Thursday, November 17, 2011
GBE Week 26- SURPRISES
The year was 197...GAG...COUGH...memory lapse..NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS I refuse to date myself! Anyway, mid 70's...OKAY EARLY 70's are you all happy? It was Christmas time. My brother had arrived a few years earlier and he was now too big to share a room with any of us, my parents decided to turn our "play room" into a bedroom for ME! For some reason my parents thought because I was disabled, they would have a better chance giving the room to me (it had a front door to it) than to my older sister. Boy...what they still don't know about their decision to put little blue eyed, paraplegic ME in that room (evil grin).
Okay, back to my story..it was Christmas time and I was in a full swing "hippie" mode. Long hair parted down the middle, blue jeans, you know the look! I had requested to decorate my new room in purple, I'm talking carpet, walls, bedspread, curtains...that got shot down. So then I requested a grape vine be painted on my wall...well my mom thought I had lost my mind over that request (and decades later, what adorns the walls of Americans and other countries? GRAPEVINES! I should have patented that idea!). So for Christmas I put on my list I wanted electric hair curlers, jeans, tie dye shirts, and beads to hang on my door. As the holiday drew nearer, the tree went up and under the tree was a BIG square box that weighed a ton with a name tag that said Taina, MY NAME on it! I should have been excited, but I figured it was some sort of hope chest, or something boring...not at all what I had requested from good ole St. Nick.
On Christmas Eve we have a family tradition where we are allowed to choose one box to open. This Christmas however, I was given what gift I was to open! What the hay?!?! It was a cute little necklace from Avon...yay family..it was not hippie style at all, not a peace or love sign, no yin yang...just a cutsey little necklace that I'd file away in the jewelery box for later use! I was hoping this wasn't an indication of what Christmas morning was to bring. What could be in that heavy huge box? Nothing from my Christmas list I was quite sure.
Christmas morning arrived and in usual Taina fashion I was up and at em by 5am. Yes folks, I was that dreaded child that gets SO excited over gifts that I can't sleep, they drive me NUTS! I shake my gifts (and sometimes yours) and listen, smell them, look at the box size and weight of the gift...doing calculations of what they could be...and on a FEW occasions, I may have even tried to loosen the tape to get a peek! I could barely move this big box, but when I did, it sounded as if dozens of little "somethings" were rolling around it it. Maybe the "hope chest" was filled with dishes and I had broken them all shaking the box. Crud, how was I going to explain that one? After opening many gifts, I was FINALLY allowed to tear open that big heavy box. As I gazed into the box, I saw many rectangle objects wrapped up in newspaper. As I started to undo the things...BRICKS. I had gotten a box of bricks? What? Was this the new 70's version of coal? Hold on here, I wasn't perfect, but I sure wasn't bringing up the rear of Santa's naughty list either! I got a little further and started to find MARBLES. Okay this is getting weird family, and y'all thought I was off with the purple room request?. Digging further down, I noticed that there were smaller square packages wrapped up in newspaper. As I unwrapped the first smaller object I found....BEADS!!! Tons of beads to hang up on my door! I have not a doubt the entire neighborhood heard my gleeful scream!
I'm pretty sure it was Christmas night that I started bugging my parents to help me get them up! And man oh man-when I say I was the envy of all my neighborhood friends, that's an understatement! Awesomely cool parents who although wouldn't enlist in the "purple room" theory, they still delighted their daughter by letting her embrace her "hippie" mode. Yes, God sure did bless me when He decided to pop me into my families lives. He knew EXACTLY what He was doing. But then, He always does! Below is a poem I keep at my desk. It reminds me that I am who I am for a purpose and that Taina, is a very special person created to smile, love and live her life the best way she can.
Okay, back to my story..it was Christmas time and I was in a full swing "hippie" mode. Long hair parted down the middle, blue jeans, you know the look! I had requested to decorate my new room in purple, I'm talking carpet, walls, bedspread, curtains...that got shot down. So then I requested a grape vine be painted on my wall...well my mom thought I had lost my mind over that request (and decades later, what adorns the walls of Americans and other countries? GRAPEVINES! I should have patented that idea!). So for Christmas I put on my list I wanted electric hair curlers, jeans, tie dye shirts, and beads to hang on my door. As the holiday drew nearer, the tree went up and under the tree was a BIG square box that weighed a ton with a name tag that said Taina, MY NAME on it! I should have been excited, but I figured it was some sort of hope chest, or something boring...not at all what I had requested from good ole St. Nick.
On Christmas Eve we have a family tradition where we are allowed to choose one box to open. This Christmas however, I was given what gift I was to open! What the hay?!?! It was a cute little necklace from Avon...yay family..it was not hippie style at all, not a peace or love sign, no yin yang...just a cutsey little necklace that I'd file away in the jewelery box for later use! I was hoping this wasn't an indication of what Christmas morning was to bring. What could be in that heavy huge box? Nothing from my Christmas list I was quite sure.
Christmas morning arrived and in usual Taina fashion I was up and at em by 5am. Yes folks, I was that dreaded child that gets SO excited over gifts that I can't sleep, they drive me NUTS! I shake my gifts (and sometimes yours) and listen, smell them, look at the box size and weight of the gift...doing calculations of what they could be...and on a FEW occasions, I may have even tried to loosen the tape to get a peek! I could barely move this big box, but when I did, it sounded as if dozens of little "somethings" were rolling around it it. Maybe the "hope chest" was filled with dishes and I had broken them all shaking the box. Crud, how was I going to explain that one? After opening many gifts, I was FINALLY allowed to tear open that big heavy box. As I gazed into the box, I saw many rectangle objects wrapped up in newspaper. As I started to undo the things...BRICKS. I had gotten a box of bricks? What? Was this the new 70's version of coal? Hold on here, I wasn't perfect, but I sure wasn't bringing up the rear of Santa's naughty list either! I got a little further and started to find MARBLES. Okay this is getting weird family, and y'all thought I was off with the purple room request?. Digging further down, I noticed that there were smaller square packages wrapped up in newspaper. As I unwrapped the first smaller object I found....BEADS!!! Tons of beads to hang up on my door! I have not a doubt the entire neighborhood heard my gleeful scream!
I'm pretty sure it was Christmas night that I started bugging my parents to help me get them up! And man oh man-when I say I was the envy of all my neighborhood friends, that's an understatement! Awesomely cool parents who although wouldn't enlist in the "purple room" theory, they still delighted their daughter by letting her embrace her "hippie" mode. Yes, God sure did bless me when He decided to pop me into my families lives. He knew EXACTLY what He was doing. But then, He always does! Below is a poem I keep at my desk. It reminds me that I am who I am for a purpose and that Taina, is a very special person created to smile, love and live her life the best way she can.
Heaven's Very Special Child
A meeting was held quite far from earth
It's time for another birth,
Said the Angels to the Lord above.
This special child will need much love.
His progress may seem very slow,
Accomplishments he may not show,
And he'll require much extra care,
From the folks he meets way down there.
He may not run, or laugh, or play
His thoughts may seem quite far away
In many ways he won't adapt
And he'll be known as handicapped.
So let's be careful where he's sent,
We want his life to be content,
Please Lord, find the parents who
Will do a special job for you.
They will not realize right away,
The leading role they're asked to play,
But with this child sent from above,
Comes stronger faith and richer love.
And soon they'll know the privilege given,
In caring for this gift from Heaven,
Their precious charge, so meek and mild,
Is Heaven's very special child.
Life isn't always fair. There are many times we have to face difficult seasons in life. Remind me when the gray skies seem to overwhelm me that I can get through those times. That good days are around the corner and to not loose sight of what makes me special. Being me. Our packages don't matter, it's what is inside that does. Allow those in your lives to be themselves, don't try to force your hand because they don't see things your way or won't abide by what you feel is the way they should be handling things. We all handle things in our own way and that should be respected. Don't ignore people, or think by distancing yourself that a lesson will be taught. All that will do is cause hurt all the way around the room and waste the thing we should hold precous above all...our time here on earth. To forgive, to accept, to have faith and to give love freely is what we are here for. Remember always you are important and you are loved. And that YOU have a purpose here. You don't have to be the best of the best..just try being you. Thanks for stopping by...have a good week my friends.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
GBE 2 Week 24---Popularity
I was going to start this paragraph and blog with a "when I was in grade school..." then I realized that I had held on to the notion of "popular" much longer than that. It's only recently that I've truly come to understand that "popularity" can be deadly to you. It doesn't allow the things most important about you to shine through. And that folks is a real shame.
Most people love to hear that we're a decent person, a good friend, a good parent, good spouse, etc. In all honesty, those kind of comments make us feel good about ourselves. They give us what we feel is validation on a job well done. But who are we competing against? Wanting that top spot in the "land of popularity" is actually just asking to be put on display...spotlight shining down... to be judged. Society has really screwed around with our heads folks. As that saying went in the last century STOP THE MADNESS!
I have some extra luggage in my spare compartments, I have wrinkles, I screw up all the time and I have to learn a lesson in life yet again and start anew. That is called being human. I'm no longer here to meet your standards society. I'm not here to be your best buddy, the person with the best advise, the cleanest housekeeper. I am not some person you thought I was or you wanted me to be. And I can't be that person for any of you. I am only me.
Popularity? Send it to hell in a hand basket with a cherry on top. I really could care less. I'm good here. Just being plain ole me. Thanks for stopping by friends. Remember you are important and you are loved. Have a good one and make it count...by just being the wonderful you that you were created to be.
Most people love to hear that we're a decent person, a good friend, a good parent, good spouse, etc. In all honesty, those kind of comments make us feel good about ourselves. They give us what we feel is validation on a job well done. But who are we competing against? Wanting that top spot in the "land of popularity" is actually just asking to be put on display...spotlight shining down... to be judged. Society has really screwed around with our heads folks. As that saying went in the last century STOP THE MADNESS!
I have some extra luggage in my spare compartments, I have wrinkles, I screw up all the time and I have to learn a lesson in life yet again and start anew. That is called being human. I'm no longer here to meet your standards society. I'm not here to be your best buddy, the person with the best advise, the cleanest housekeeper. I am not some person you thought I was or you wanted me to be. And I can't be that person for any of you. I am only me.
Popularity? Send it to hell in a hand basket with a cherry on top. I really could care less. I'm good here. Just being plain ole me. Thanks for stopping by friends. Remember you are important and you are loved. Have a good one and make it count...by just being the wonderful you that you were created to be.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
GBE 2 Week #23----OWNERSHIP
There comes a time in life when we must take an honest inventory of ourselves rather it be health, relationships, mental, physical of spiritually...and in some cases all of the above. In order to do the "honest" part of the inventory, we have to take ownership of the good, the bad and the downright ugly that we all have residing inside of us at one time in our lives or another.
I have been going through my own inventory lately and in doing so, taking ownership of my thoughts, my reactions, as well as my actions. Taking ownership means taking responsibility, being accountable for all the "stuff" that makes up who you are currently. And hopefully, deciding to place a new and improved order for the stock you shall put on your inner shelves. We are worth spending a little more effort or mental money to get ourselves to a better place. There is always room for change and improvement in life. Always. Oftentimes we do ourselves a great diservice by thinking we are just fine the way we are, we don't need to change..it's "the other guy" that needs to do the changing". WRONG.
Keep in mind what I said earlier, ownership of all things within us, that includes the good inside. Life can be a hurricane, sometimes a Category 5 one at that. We are the trees during the storm that have to bear the weight of the wind and rain...learning to bend but not allowing the storms of life to break us is a great lesson to apply in life.. By taking ownership of the good in you, that inner strength that you might not have even known you posessed can be lifesaving!
The miracles of life...they can be huge, such as a baby being born that has all the odds stacked up against it and sure enough, that baby pulls through and just thrives. Miracles can also be as small as a cocoon hanging from a branch that opens up and out flies a beautiful butterfly, or the tiny seeds on this Earth that blossom and become the very food sources that keep us alive and well. Creating your own miracles in life can be done by taking ownership of them. The "CPR" of miracles: 1. Command 2. Promise and 3. Risk. Command to yourself that things will get better, promise yourself and keep that promise of making that turn around the curve in life to a better way to live. To let your light shine! To accomplish this we have to take risk, you must put yourself out there in order to get it done. Scary yes, worth it..you bet! (shout out to Pastor David for the CPR's of miracles!).
Thanks once again friends for dropping by and visiting for a while. Always remember, you are important and you are loved! Have a great week and remember to make it count!
I have been going through my own inventory lately and in doing so, taking ownership of my thoughts, my reactions, as well as my actions. Taking ownership means taking responsibility, being accountable for all the "stuff" that makes up who you are currently. And hopefully, deciding to place a new and improved order for the stock you shall put on your inner shelves. We are worth spending a little more effort or mental money to get ourselves to a better place. There is always room for change and improvement in life. Always. Oftentimes we do ourselves a great diservice by thinking we are just fine the way we are, we don't need to change..it's "the other guy" that needs to do the changing". WRONG.
Keep in mind what I said earlier, ownership of all things within us, that includes the good inside. Life can be a hurricane, sometimes a Category 5 one at that. We are the trees during the storm that have to bear the weight of the wind and rain...learning to bend but not allowing the storms of life to break us is a great lesson to apply in life.. By taking ownership of the good in you, that inner strength that you might not have even known you posessed can be lifesaving!
The miracles of life...they can be huge, such as a baby being born that has all the odds stacked up against it and sure enough, that baby pulls through and just thrives. Miracles can also be as small as a cocoon hanging from a branch that opens up and out flies a beautiful butterfly, or the tiny seeds on this Earth that blossom and become the very food sources that keep us alive and well. Creating your own miracles in life can be done by taking ownership of them. The "CPR" of miracles: 1. Command 2. Promise and 3. Risk. Command to yourself that things will get better, promise yourself and keep that promise of making that turn around the curve in life to a better way to live. To let your light shine! To accomplish this we have to take risk, you must put yourself out there in order to get it done. Scary yes, worth it..you bet! (shout out to Pastor David for the CPR's of miracles!).
Thanks once again friends for dropping by and visiting for a while. Always remember, you are important and you are loved! Have a great week and remember to make it count!
Thursday, October 13, 2011
GBE Week #21-CLARITY
I remember a few months ago pulling over on the side of the road in my old neighborhood racked with tears, hardly able to breathe. I prayed this prayer "God, if You can hear me, PLEASE give me some clarity. My eyes are so clouded it's as thick as the Mississippi mud and my heart doesn't know which way to turn. Please God, can you hear me? If so, send an answer." And He did. Now I am not here to tell you what you should or shouldn't believe in, my belief system is just that...MINE. But I know where I was then and I know where I'm at now and although some days can be rough, the waters have cleared considerably.
I have been shown that I AM a good person, not perfect but I try and I'm trying harder each day that I'm blessed with to learn and apply. I've learned to be more open and honest with those around me. Most of the people in my life haven't liked that new side of me...but I have to be true to myself. I have to start with liking who I am- embracing who Taina is, not what other people want Taina to be. I have seen much clarity as to where I came from, the things that happened in my past that damaged me and how it damaged the life I went on to live...damage by the bucket loads. I've decided to stop that cycle. I've taken steps to embrace what is going on in life, physically, spiritually and emotionally with me, work through those issues with as much honesty as I can with myself and really see where I need to apply more work. It isn't always easy to look at yourself with clarity and truth. However, the past is the past, it must be forgiven and the slate wiped clean on my own self as well as those who have hurt me for me to move forward. Although this part is a daily struggle, I remind myself each day I AM WORTH THE EFFORT and to not allow words to sting me as much as they use to. I am only in control of my own personal space and I'm trying to make it a nice place to want to visit.
I know (much more than I use to) what I want out of life and who I'd like beside me on that path. That part isn't easy either as not all parties at this time and place are willing participants in any type of peace treaty. But I have an abundance of faith, I've always been optimistic and I refuse to give up on any of them, but I can't fix them either, they have to find their footing themselves. I have the clarity of vision to know that I'm not always going to be strong enough to handle some things that come down life's highway, that's when I look up and ask Him to be strong enough for the both of us. I refuse to be classified as seeing through "rose colored glasses" or a "Pollyanna" type of person just because I choose happiness, peace, understanding, forgiveness and love. I am who I am. I am strong as I am weak, I can smile brightly as well as cry a river of tears, I can fall down, but I get up, I might wobble, but I keep going. I am Taina...I love with all I have and I won't apologize for wearing my heart on my sleeve. I can see clearly now that I'm on the right path and it will eventually lead to greener pastures, with flowers all around and blessings in abundance. Believe and you shall receive. Ready...set...PUSH FORWARD.
Thanks for stopping by my friends. Remember that you are important, loved and appreciated! Have a great week..make it count!
I have been shown that I AM a good person, not perfect but I try and I'm trying harder each day that I'm blessed with to learn and apply. I've learned to be more open and honest with those around me. Most of the people in my life haven't liked that new side of me...but I have to be true to myself. I have to start with liking who I am- embracing who Taina is, not what other people want Taina to be. I have seen much clarity as to where I came from, the things that happened in my past that damaged me and how it damaged the life I went on to live...damage by the bucket loads. I've decided to stop that cycle. I've taken steps to embrace what is going on in life, physically, spiritually and emotionally with me, work through those issues with as much honesty as I can with myself and really see where I need to apply more work. It isn't always easy to look at yourself with clarity and truth. However, the past is the past, it must be forgiven and the slate wiped clean on my own self as well as those who have hurt me for me to move forward. Although this part is a daily struggle, I remind myself each day I AM WORTH THE EFFORT and to not allow words to sting me as much as they use to. I am only in control of my own personal space and I'm trying to make it a nice place to want to visit.
I know (much more than I use to) what I want out of life and who I'd like beside me on that path. That part isn't easy either as not all parties at this time and place are willing participants in any type of peace treaty. But I have an abundance of faith, I've always been optimistic and I refuse to give up on any of them, but I can't fix them either, they have to find their footing themselves. I have the clarity of vision to know that I'm not always going to be strong enough to handle some things that come down life's highway, that's when I look up and ask Him to be strong enough for the both of us. I refuse to be classified as seeing through "rose colored glasses" or a "Pollyanna" type of person just because I choose happiness, peace, understanding, forgiveness and love. I am who I am. I am strong as I am weak, I can smile brightly as well as cry a river of tears, I can fall down, but I get up, I might wobble, but I keep going. I am Taina...I love with all I have and I won't apologize for wearing my heart on my sleeve. I can see clearly now that I'm on the right path and it will eventually lead to greener pastures, with flowers all around and blessings in abundance. Believe and you shall receive. Ready...set...PUSH FORWARD.
Thanks for stopping by my friends. Remember that you are important, loved and appreciated! Have a great week..make it count!
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