The Day Will Come

 

Hello, hello, hello, dear readers happy reflection day.

On March 10, myself and thousands of Cuny and Suny employees were told not to report to work. We were put on alert that the entire teaching system will be converted to remote learning. We were given three days to  make the adjustment. During this transition period it was discovered that a large number of students did not have a home computer or the internet.Then bars, restaurants, hair and nail salons closed. Coffee shops, cafes, and any place that people gathered that created a crowd closed. Then we were ordered to shelter at home. I am an introvert, so being confined has not created a mental hardship for me. Because of this crisis people are realizing that we are not conditioned to be isolated, and this situation has created a devastating emotional effect on people. 

To date it’s been 6 or 7 weeks since we’ve been sheltered in place. In an effort to encourage people I’ve appeared each Monday live to discuss several topics that I hoped would give people hope and courage to work through this crisis.  

Week 1: I encourage people to come together in unity,  unity means strength.

Week 2: Reflect on W. I. N..what’s important now

Week 3: How to create and experience peace during a crisis

Week 4: Self- care the importance of taking care of self and family during a crisis

Week 5: How to use this time to create or recreate a new life plan

Week 6: Getting prepared for change. Wanting to go back to normal. Time to move forward

On Monday May 4. I will make my last live appearance on Facebook. On that day I will acknowledge the struggles people are facing the anxiety, uncertainty, and the battles people are facing in their homes, due to the mental and emotional damage this crisis had caused. People are concerned about their future and no one can give them solid answers.  I tried to warn people about the harm they are causing themselves by constantly talking about corona-virus and watching the news. I personally keep a distance from any news or people who are obsessed with having conversations about going back to normal. 

Today, I am here to pray with you, and for you. Yes, prayer. I am not asking people to believe in God. I am simply going to pray. On May 15, it will make 60 days ( 3 months ) since we have been asked to shelter in place. The plan in New York City is to open some business and wait two weeks to observe if the number of corona-virus cases increases or stays the same. Depending on the results the government will proceed to open more business in two week increments. There are a large number of people who are in a rush to get back to normal. I wonder if people are living in denial.

The world has changed and it will continue to change. Many of our favorite places may not reopen. Schools will remain closed until September 2020. No summer youth programs that create jobs for many young people who need them. Some people may not be able to return to their former places of employment. Summer might be cancelled. Meaning, no public concerts, closed beaches, and limitation on the use of public parks. On a personal note, I will continue to shelter in place teaching at home, my 45 minutes daily walks. I shop for food once a week, and work two days a week in a group home as a resident counselor. I have learned to be patient through this process finding ways to be creative. Unlike others I am in no hurry to race back out into society. No, I am not going to live in fear, just going to proceed with caution. My suggestion to others If you need to go out proceed with caution. We still don’t know  the who, what, when or where? There are so many conspiracy theories, and other peoples opinions on what they think is right.  I understand that the economy needs to be rebooted. The ease of social distancing doesn’t mean that all is well.

We may never know when all will be well. 

Thank you for stopping by Dragthepen.

 

Join me on Facebook ( Rahshemah Floyd/J. R. Floyd) https://www.facebook.com/rahshemahf

 

Storms’ come to make you

Dear Readers, My name is J. R. Floyd the creator of Drathepen, the author of “The Waiting Game & a different Flavor of Love”.  My latest accomplishment is my YouTube channel Conversations with J. R. Floyd, dedicated to discussing issues that impact our relationships, men & women empowerment,  and exploring the destruction of the family. This year ( 2020) I challenged my readers to join me as I write Letters to Self. Each month I pick a topic and write a letter to self that I share on live streaming on Facebook and  You tube. Thus far, I have read Jan, Dear 2019, a farewell to the old year, February was Dear Love, March ,Dear Life, and below is the letter for April. this letter is to the people who support me,nand for all the people who are holding onto the end of their rope.

            

 

Dear, supporters, viewers, and readers, this is for you. What do you do when life constantly hits you with storms from all sides? I am currently at the start of what could develop into a mega storm, but I refused to lay down and be drowned by the waves of fear, anger and worry.  I am fighting back. I had plans for the way 2020, but it seems I am getting off to a slow and rough start. I know what you’re saying, we are only four months into the new year, give it some time and things will turn around. Yeah, OK, there might be some truth in that advice, but  time waits for no one and if I don’t get up now and revise my plans the year might turn out to be like all the other years when I waited and waited for change that did not come. Before my transformation into living life with better clarity, purpose and vision the old me would have laid down and allowed the world to stomp on me. I allowed the naysayers and the negative conversation in my head to convince me that my goals ain’t worth pushing through the obstacles that come to steal my joy.

 I won’t be satisfied living through another year sitting on the sideline whining and blaming life for what it did not bring to me. And, yes, it is mentally, emotionally, physically draining and disappointing to sit down, plot out a plan, craft a vision board, and set everything in motion only to be blocked by problem after problem. For a moment I did cease all activity. I folded my arms like a two year old and stomped my feet. So, after I recovered from my tantrum, I sat down and regrouped. Some deadlines will be pushed back. I will have to dig a little deeper and work more overtime to bring in the extra cash I need for my new video lights, the photo session for my website, for the new mobile phone that I desperately need. 

When in doubt I encourage you to take a moment and think about why you set goals and made plans. When in doubt I am going to continue to believe that I can and will achieve what I set out to do,which is to to continue to make my vision a reality.  I have conquered many mountains to arrive where I am today. I am enjoying the creative person I have become. I appreciate the lessons I am learning while rebuilding my life after three years of loss and devastation. Through all of the darkness I have emerged a better, charmer, happier person with a purpose and vision for my life. I am excited about working on my five year retirement and relocation plan. At this point in my life I do not have the leisure to sit around and whittle my thumbs. This is my chance, my time, my opportunity to achieve all the things that I have pushed back, rescheduled, and given up on because I thought they were unreachable and that I wasn’t worthy of living my best life. I no longer hold other people accountable for my happiness. I set expectations for myself and hold myself responsible. And, yes, with all of life’s ups and downs there can be better days. I look back on the downtime as lessons towards brighter days. I wake up each morning looking forward to life because I finally have the chance to make my life the way I want it to be. Everyday isn’t perfect and that’s okay. 

I am here to tell you that storms pass, and no matter the destruction they leave behind there is always a reason to be thankful and the chance to reflect, rebuild, and discover something new.

 

Thank you for stopping by dragthepen.

Letters to Self

Happy New Year and Welcome to Dragthepen

I am back from a much needed rest. I have had time to reset and refocus, and I am feeling stronger emotionally. I have a new plans for moving forward with  my new brand http://www.conversationswithjrfloyd.com/ and for my blog Dragthepen.

Questions, are you planning to start 2020  with making useless resolutions? Are you setting yourself up for failure, again by making  promises to live your best life? Have you sat down and spend time in deep thought about YOU and the plans for this best life. 

let me help you get started I want to introduce my new theme and challenge for the 1st 6 months of 2020. 

1st,  I challenge you to make a list of your top 6 goals, this takes real thinking about areas of your life that need to improve in order to achieve your goals. There are some things that you might have to clear out of your life in order to make room to receive the new blessings.

2nd, turn those goals into a creative vision board: if you need help in this area there are tons of video’s on you tube to get you started. Word of caution don’t go crazy with unrealistic goals. I am talking about things that you know you can accomplish by making small steps that turn into to big results.

3rd, I would like to help you rid yourself of emotional baggage and fears  by suggesting that your write letters to yourself.

Create a space in your house where you can setup your visions board and write these letters to self. this must be a place where your going to be undisturbed, remember this space is for you to send time looking at your vision back and mapping out plans to make your goals a reality. In these letters you can write about emotions or experiences that you’ve been suppressing, like past break ups, people, pain, anger, poor choices you’ve made, or for letting go of your dreams.

I am suggesting this letter writing exercise because the letters that I have written to myself  have helped me to go deeper into my healing process and open areas of my life that I have hold onto for too long. 

For more on this letter writing process you can follow me on my You Tube channel Conversations with J. R. Floyd or m live chat on facebook……in the coming New Year 2020, I will be sharing live my letters to Self and giving my viewers a new topic to write about each month.

Thank you for reading.

http://www.conversationswithjrfloyd.com

Tech Babies

Photo by Plush Design Studio on Pexels.com

Dear Readers,

Hear ye, hear ye,  parents electronic devices are not babysitters nor do these mechanical devices take the place of parental interaction. Stop training babies to think that their need for nurturing can be meet by staring at the screen of a iPhone or ipad. When these little tods cry, squirm, and lift their arms up to you they need your touch, warmth, closeness and most importantly your time and undivided attention. Sing to them, read to them, put down your technology, and get down on the floor at their level play games with them and allow yourself to enter into their beautiful world of imagination. Children are creative and they want to talk and share there ideas. When parents substitute television programs like the Disney channel, video games, and you tube as a means to entertain children, the message parents are sending is that their precious bundle of joy who is now walking, talking and demanding more time have now become a bothersome inconvenience.

Christmas 2018, I had the pleasure to spend time with my three amazing grandchildren who my son has lovely nicknamed peat, repeat and three-peat, because their last little sweet heart was certainly a surprise. I traveled over 600 miles by bus to North Carolina, to be in the presents of these amazing gifts from God. The joy of seeing their faces lite up as they greeted me took away the soreness from my body. A.J. & Sklyar the young ( 5 & 6)argued about who was going to take my suitecase to my room. The oldest Mariah (11) asked 100 questions about how long was I staying . Over the next few days, we played with cars, dolls, playdoh, and created our own pretend cooking contest using playdoh. On Christmas day my eldest granddaughter suggested that everyone wear Santa hats, and write a reindeer’s name across the front. We reminded in our PJ’s the entire day and took naps as needed.

I enjoyed the cuddle time in bed with all three; and especially the one evening that I spent with my eldest granddaughter watching princess movies, making snacks and talking. During my fives days stay the only interaction with technology was to ooh and aah over their fathers new cell phone. I think there were other electronic gadgets, but they weren’t the center of attention. For an extra added bonus I had bonding time cooking Christmas dinner with my son. My mind often wonders back to my childhood memories of family time, and how some of the life lesson I learned is due to the time, patience and attention I received from the adults in my life.  I spent time in the kitchen with my dad, who taught me how to chop fresh seasonings, he brought me a chefs hat and called me his prep chef.  My mother allowed me to help with the baking and at the age of 17,  I baked my first wedding cake. My grandmother taught me how to carefully and thoroughly clean a house.  And I watched my first western about with a few of my uncles. There are other fond memories about how the adults in my life helped to shape the person that I am today.

Advanced technology is great because new discoveries helps society move forward. however, ask yourself this, how have we as parents allowed technology to interfere in  the relationship with our children? When was the last time the entire family sat down for dinner and talked? Or planned an old fashioned game night. Do you know what books your children are reading? Are there Televisions in every room of the house? In my opinion its not  society that at fault for the way some of our children are turning out, it is what we are over exposing them to. Remember this announcement ” it 10:00 PM do you know where your children are?” I say,  ” its 10PM do know which device your children are on?”

Thank you for reading

What Say You?

J. R.