There Is No Such Thing as the Boogie Man

How are you getting along thus far in this wonderful New Year?  I think I am fairing…trying to stick to the goals I created for myself, consistency is key, that’s a fact! So, when I found that in the past few weeks I have not been consistent, I had to ask myself why.  Some folks believe that there are only two emotions we operate from and they are either love, or fear. Which do you find yourself operating from?

I am noticing that I live in love but often operate out of fear. Fear of failure is what stands out most of all. See, I feel like if I procrastinate long enough, I won’t have to worry about my outcomes. It’s really self-sabotage, and why, because of fear. But if I live in love, don’t I love myself enough to move beyond my fears? This is my biggest challenge and my biggest opposition is myself.

I recently read something in ‘Acts of Faith’ written by Iyanla Vanzant and she stated, “Your chief adversary comes to teach you a lesson. Your most difficult challenge strengthens your survival skills. Your greatest fear deepens your faith .Your weakest ability beckons you to grow.” These sentences rang loudly in my ear, stirred my soul to be quite frank. As a child, there was a time I was afraid of the Boogie Man, but to be honest, I never met him. What often awakened me or kept me from doing things that I was afraid of was most of all, my own consciousness and perceptiveness about certain things, especially darkness. I quickly realized that once a little light was shed, there was no longer darkness, and once I ventured out to doing something I was afraid to do, I quickly realized it was a breeze to accomplish. The only thing that stood in my way was me.

I believe I have been afraid of submitting my book and my work in general, fearing rejection, so I have missed several submission deadlines, sadly. There was an article deadline I needed to meet by the 14^th, and as you can guess, I missed it, but submitted it last night. Not certain if it will be accepted, but it’s time to truly do, to practice what I so often preach and to submit away to see my  first work in print. So here’s to putting the Boogie Man to bed, embracing my fears and not only living, but operating in love, allowing fear to further activate this gift that God has given me, to write and share with you.

Peace and blessings,
Shamina

MY PEN

I thought I would never fully understand how you ended up in my hand

Often stuck inside my brain, never knew my thoughts would transcend to blue black ink

Pages just blank and bare until I put you against my finger tips

Often so long that you left that weird looking dent

 I thought I would never fully understand how you ended up in my hand

Sometimes you would go empty on me and I felt like my thoughts would then evaporate like quicksand

Balled point, fined tipped, felt tip with a grip, who would have thought you were going to be my conduit

Transforming my mental universe into a sea of reading works

I thought I would never understand how you ended up in my hand

My pen, my friend, my never ending stickup man

Learning Lessons

I've heard some where before, 'You will keep receiving the same lesson until you have learned the lesson'. Not certain if it was in church, whether I interpreted this saying from scripture, or was told by a friend or elder, but, its beginning to make since to me now.

During the past few years I have learned many lessons, I have evolved and involved myself more with my personal development and growth, not anyone else. But I still haven't learned how to fully listen to my inner voice. I still haven't learned how to recognize, or maybe I should say, heed the red flags. So, with that being said, I had to re-learn a lesson, or should I say, I am learning another lesson concerning the same issue that showed up previously the past few years.

Lessons are needed for many reasons. Lessons build character; strengthen your faith and your self esteem, lessons, to put it simply, help you grow as a person. It’s definitely a freeing feeling when you’re open and honest with yourself and others. When you share your concerns, especially when it’s done with calmness, peace, love and joy in your heart. I think that too many of us don't tell others how we feel, and it hinders our growth. We make some attempt at masking and ignoring our feelings, just for them to re-surface anyway, so why not get it out. I, know, it sounds simple right.

We compromise to a fault, I know I have. I have compromised my beliefs at times, my heart, my happiness, and my morals. For the sake of any good relationship, compromise is a healthy mechanism of change and growth. But not when you compromise to a fault. I'll be the first to admit my issues, especially now at 34 I recognize where I need improvement, where I need to bend a little more and what my issues are when it comes to sharing my world with another. The areas I refuse to compromise in are the areas of respect and common courtesy, as I see them and how I define them in my life, which may be very different from your definition.

Today, I ask you to heed the red flags that are present in your world, listen to your inner voice and become open and honest with yourself. It’s a liberating feeling. So smile and accept your lesson today and don't have any guilt or second thoughts about a tough decision that may need to be made out of your lesson learned. Change what needs to be change and keep evolving. We must stop depending on our "feelings", stop being ruled by our condition, our state of mind and exhibit that will and determination that we are all born with.

Peace and blessings,

Shamina

Breathe LoveIt’s amazing something so peaceful and surreal can walk into your life so unexpectedly and you flow with it like a crisp Spring Breeze

It’s amazing how you have no worries or fears and everything around you and within you simply tells you to breathe

It was not like a whirl wind, there was no confusion

I was brought to shore I’m sure

It wasn’t all physical, it wasn’t sexual at all

It was so spiritual and mental my ancestors begin to sing inside of me

B-R-E-A-T-H-E L-O-V-E

Copyright © Shamina Nicole Williams, 2011