Monday, April 19, 2010

Inspiration for the Week

Spring is here! The weather is getting warmer, the flowers are blooming, and the sun is shining brighter than ever! 2010 is the Year of Action!
Below are a few tips on starting your new season off right, based loosely from an article in Essence Magazine. I read this a few months back, and found it extremely helpful, so I had to share it! Read on and please add on to the list!

1.) You are the most important person in your life. Act that way. Treat yourself with respect.
2.) Lose any guilt.
3.) Invest in yourself. Including your physical health, emotional and mental health. Try to exercise on a regular basis, cut back on unhealthy behaviors. When you look good, you feel good! Pamper yourself! Feel good from the inside out!
4.) Let go of the toxic, negative people in your life. Now!!!
5.) Embrace your worthiness. What has been done to you does not define who you are, and neither does what you have done. God is doing a new thing! He has made all things new; your past is exactly that, history.
6.) Forgive yourself first. Forgiving does not mean forgetting, it really is okay to let things GO. Holding on to any pain does not help, it only hinders.
7.) Keep your heart open. Acknowledge the good people in your life, show them that you appreciate them. To have a friend you must first be one. Stay thankful and grateful at all times. It does not have to be as good as it is.
8.) Find out what you want out of life, and GO GET IT! Figuring out what you want is the hardest part. There is absolutely nothing you can not do!
Life is complicated! But our attitudes does not have to be.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Golddigging vs. Standards




It's 2010 ladies and gentlemen, and the word golddigger is thrown around so loosely any woman wanting a pot to piss in and a window to throw it out of is handcuffed, taken to the plank, and called a "golddigger!", right before she's tossed off to her death. Ok, maybe it does not go THAT far, but goldddigger is a term that I find incredibly misunderstood and inaccurate for a number of reasons.
First of all, I am 100% convinced that the word golddigger was invented by a man. Why wouldn't it be? Do you think a woman would create a word so offensive when she desires a man to be....oh how do I word it...oh yeah, a man. It seems when a woman desires a man who actually acts like one; a provider, father, and leader, and of course somewhat financial stable, she is demeaned, looked down upon, and cursed as if she's asking for too much.


Growing up with a dad in my home, I am nothing short of a daddy's girl. I am the epitome of a spoiled brat, and that is something I am working on. I am a work in progress! Being born in the Woodland Projects in Cleveland,Ohio to a two family house, to the infamous East Cleveland, to the Leave it to Beaver gated community of the good ole` burbs, all glory to God I have never experienced lack. Through all the struggles my parents endured, I never knew about the likes of one. My needs were always met, regardless of what the world attempted to break us down. My father is the epitome of what you would call a MAN. A man's man. He's a big brother, that crazy uncle, the coolest male friend, and the strict father all balled up into one. So I know what it is like to be taken good cared of. I am used to greatness. I am accustomed to having more than enough; I know that blessings literally stalk me. I enjoy the finer things out of life, why else would God give me expensive taste?


But the difference between a golddigger and a woman of my caliber is that I have my own. Thanks to God, I have my own car, own house, educated by the best schools money can buy, and the mind and relationship with Christ to endure it all, and continue towards success. 50 Cent said it best, "It don't matter if I leave her, she got her own Visa." A golddigger is 100% dependent on what her "sponsor" (oh, thanks Teiarra Mari) gives her. She does not have her own, so in order to maintain a lifestyle, said golddigger is always salivating on all fours (both literally and physically) for her next sponsor, or as I like to call them, pimps.

Read this excerpt from a recent interview with Diamond, I mean, LisaRaye McCoy from Black Men's Magazine on her alleged gold digging tendencies.


"The perception that they have of me-I could give a damn about. I dug for gold in highschool. I'm a platinum girl now. I'm an international person now. I don't even like taking out the trash. I don't dig for anything. I don't have a garden either. Every relationship that you embark on is some kind of business relationship. You have to protect yourself... So you better look for someone that's going somewhere who's trying to take you with them."
I actually agree with what she is saying...not so much the trash part but the point that she made is well taken and validated. Should we NOT be looking for a man who gots it going on, just as equally as we got it going on? Why is that frowned upon? Why are we quick to be judged by the ugly term golddigger because we want some type of stability in our relationships? Since when was it ok to be homeless, or living paycheck to paycheck?
Money is NOT everything. It will not buy you love, happiness, or whatever else you think you need to be a whole person. But money is needed to survive. You need money for just the basics out of life, why are women criticized for having standards? You can work at UPS, you don't have to own it. I am sure that about 70% of women in general would be content with a man who does not make six figures, I sure am. I am also content with a man who may be making less than I am. It is more so about a man's motivation to be somewhere, to go somewhere. I am ok with you working entry level at your marketing firm, but a driven man with set goals, self-made, and determined to have a better life is so sexy and attractive. Men it is not about your bank acoount, but about your ambition. Do you have any? Are you satisfied living in your mothers basement? If so, than you are certainly not the man for me, does that make me a golddigger?
Does it make a woman a golddigger if she wants her man to be equally, or at least somewhat equally yoked to her? Does it make a woman a golddigger if she desires a man with potential, than a guy who is A-OK with a $10.00 hour job? The term golddigging is nothing less than a man's excuse for irresponsibility. An excuse for selfishness, an excuse for tit for tat. Why can't a woman have standards? Especially a woman who knows her worth, a woman of virtue, a Proverbs 31 woman. Why should she settle for a Big Mac when she can have Hyde Park's Steakhouse? If having standards, and wanting a man to be financially stable enough to when and if you are in a bind, and may need temporary financial assistant is capable of helping, instead of us both looking at each other dumb, then yes, I am digging, digging, digging, for gold. Love pays not nan bill. Not many women get married to a man who does not have a job, or who is at least not looking for one, hence the word motivation. A man is naturally born a provider and a protector. Why at the slightest gasp some men flee these responsibilites, grasping at the term golddigging as an excuse for chilvary.
Your worth requires it, he'll admire it and he'll see you are priceless. As long as you have your own, dig, girls, dig!
Thoughts?




Saturday, April 10, 2010

*UPDATED* #NowPlaying



Summer Anthem!




Sounds like the old Usher from his Confession days!

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

I Admit...


Sometimes we all need a good ole' admit it day. I know as Black women we attempt to uphold the SBW Syndrome, also known as Stron Black Woman Syndrome; being strong all the time, and all the time being strong. Giving of ourselves relentlessly, unforgivingly forgetting our needs and our wants. Lately I have learned so much about myself, Thankyou Lord for gentle conviction and loving kindess being patient with me.

I look at a piece of paper as a canvas. Unlike a diary, on a piece of paper I write down what I admit to. Admit to myself, as a woman, as a daughter of the King, as a mother, as an everything. It acts like a mirror without the reflection. Instead of looking back at your eyes, you look back at what you look like internally.

What do you admit to? What do you know you need to change in your life, but are so afraid of change that fear has crippled your growth? I'll go first, and hopefully you too will do this at home.

I ADMIT...
*I admit that I don't trust God nearly as much as I should.
*I admit that I am too hard on myself. I beat myself up for the mistakes I make. I find it hard to forgive myself.
*I admit sometimes I feel like I'm not good enough.
*I admit to doubting myself, sometimes sabatoging myself.
*I admit to allowing my past hinder my future. I look back more often than I'd like too, even though God himself told me on numerous occasions that my past can not even be compared to my future.
*I admit to procrastinating.

What about you? My list is way longer, but I'll leave the rest between God and I. Write what you admit to in the comments, I'm eager to hear. We can all be of inspiration to one another. Don't be afraid to do some internal cleansing. Don't let your emotions and feelings get to a dangerous point. Let it out, and work at it.