Wednesday, June 17, 2015

A Little Humor

It is a known fact between my mother and I that we will inevitably have some type of catastrophe or mishap when we travel any distance over an hour. Over the years, she and I have had many ups and downs, but we have had some of the most hilarious and strange trips together as well. So, I want to just share a quick story with you.
I lost my father in 1995 and we were contacted by the family’s lawyers regarding a deposition. We had to travel to the law office which was located in Ft. Lauderdale. I was so excited to be going back to Florida, even though it was still painful thinking about my father.
It was the summer and as expected, the weather was hot. We listened to music as we rode singing and rapping to the lyrics of Mad Lion, TLC, KRS-One, and Boyz-2-Men. We stopped and ate at fast food spots, got drinks and gas at convenience stores, and rested at rest areas. Everything was going as planned and we were, as my mother said “making good time”. When we reached Florida, we were both hungry for a sit down meal so we pulled into Ryan’s Steakhouse.
We hopped out Mustang and began our walk across the scorching hot parking lot. As we walked, I began to notice people looking at us strangely. I wondered what the issue was. I looked down and noticed my shoe was untied so, I stopped to secure the strings. I ran to catch up to my Mother and she said “It’s cool out here. I feel a breeze.” I did not. I happened to catch a man looking at my mom’s rear end and I followed his eyes to her bottom as well . Mommy’s entire a#$ was out. Her shorts had somehow torn down the seam and her pink Hanes briefs were in full view. I began to laugh hysterically. Mommy still did not know what was going on—that is until she reached back and felt her behind!!!
“Oh my goodness! My whole butt is out!!” She screamed in horror, while I convulsed in laughter. After I got myself together we walked to the car. We went to a local store where Mommy bought a new outfit and threw the old one in the trash. We have laughed about this many times down through the years and this is just one of many travel stories we have.  I never will forget that outfit or the view in the Ryan’s parking lot.

Peace & Blessings,

AndrĂ©a The Tru Lioness 

Thursday, June 11, 2015

Writers Block

     Peace and blessings fam! I am suffering right now with something I thought would never happen---writers block. As I sit here and stare at the screen, I realize that my creativity is being blocked by life and I cannot allow this to continue. Writing, drawing, painting, singing, dancing, every "artsy" aspect of life has been my life for as long as I can remember, I created my first mural on paper my mother was given from her job at the local school. I drew with various colored chalks an underwater scene--my very own world under the sea, complete with sea horses, sea turtles, sharks, and all. I wrote my first poem at age 5 or 6. It was all about my red wagon and the books I loved to read. And Mommy always told me that I danced in her belly the entire time! Dance is so freeing!! But now the words seem to be caught up at the end of my pen and the inspiration has flown away like a bird heading South for the winter. I do not feel like inspiring others, I have no witty stories or anecdotes, I have no words of wisdom, and it is killing my spirit. 
      But, what I am realizing is that when one's heart is in pain and Sun doesn't seem to shine as brightly, your creativity can be held up. I realize that I am only human and only one individual. I have a terrible habit of putting more on my plate than I could ever eat, but at least I have identified this as an issue. Once upon a time, I would never, ever, ever admit that I was overdoing anything, overwhelmed, or over-extended. I would work 16 hour shifts, run errands for mom, go and read books at my son's school, and still hang with my sisters after hours. But today is a new day. I know I cannot do all things. But, I still struggle with saying no and I digress.
       So, at this point in time, I am feeling absolutely uninspired and I know why but now I must determine what course of action I need to take. I have always been a reader and lately I have been reading a book written by Queen Afua named "Sacred Woman". That book has certainly given me a new perspective on my situation. Remember, knowledge without application is not helping anything. So, I am learning about how a woman's womb is directly connected to her creativity as well as her heart. I am also learning how important my heart is to my creative process so, I am getting back to basics. Meditation, healthy eating, exercise, affrimations, dance all have been helpful in the past. 
        We have to find our peace within our situations and life and we cannot allow circumstances to stall our progress into greatness. I am saying "we" because I have to remind myself of the same thing daily. Negativity gives birth to self doubt, decreases our confidence, and incapacitates our creative stream. Negativity can be a cancer but we have the solution. Keep moving!! I see greatness in the future. Can you see it?




Peace,
Andre'a The Tru Lioness

Tuesday, June 2, 2015

Discouragement and Enlightenment

Peace and blessings fam!

I hope my words find you in a state of peace. Finding peace in this world as it stands is a difficult task. As for me, I have been having difficulties managing and balancing all of my responsibilities. I am a perfectionist by nature and when things do  not go as I plan them, I become discouraged. It causes me to feel disconnected and depressed. This time of change is different though. This time , the trials have caused me to "see" my life and those involved more clearly and not all of it is pleasant. 
I am seeing people's true intentions towards me and I am having to end relationships with some because they have been misusing and abusing our connection. It is painful but necessary. I am also seeing my own flaws and that is also not easy. It is quite painful. People have a hard time acknowledging the character flaws we all have but the older that I become, the more I realize that self-realization is necessary for growth and progress. I look in the mirror and see who I am but more importantly, who I am to become. We have to learn to accept ourselves for who we are and work on being a better "ME". I read somewhere that life is not about growing up but growing in, growing into who we were created to be. Self-actualization is an enlightening experience. I am much stronger that I ever thought. And so are you. We are capable of so much more than we can imagine. Circumstances do not dictate your greatness. Keep moving forward! I am.......



One Love, 
Andre'a The Tru Lioness