Did You Understand the Assignment?

my best buddy Peanut

Dear Readers,

Do not close your heart to LOVE. I do not know your experiences because I have not lived your life. I do not know who disappointed, neglect, abused, used, cheated, and committed acts of violence against you, that is not LOVE. I know that it is difficult to heal from the trauma of physical and emotional abuse. I know that what people do not see on the outside is broken on the inside. I know that it is not easy to bounce back from the cycle of dysfunctional relationships. But do not give up on LOVE.

I agree that you should protect yourself from people who have no good intentions towards you. I agree that you should guard you heart, mind, body, and soul from people who will drain you of kindness, compassion, and authentic LOVE. But, if you build a wall around your heart high and tight, shutting yourself away from engaging in social setting that will help you to heal, laugh, smile and to hope; you are robbing yourself of the chance encounter of meeting the one person who will give you authentic LOVE.

When you shelter your heart and mind locking yourself away soaking in the pain of the past, this will result in becoming a bitter, angry, resentful, sad, lonely, and depressed person. I agree that it scary this complicated world of TRUST and LOVE. It is saddening to observe the high number of people who live alone because they choose to give Love only to have their life devastated by an individual whose purpose was to steal, kill, abuse, and destroy đź’”because they did not understand the assignment of LOVE.

I was young when I gave my heart away. And after years of dysfunctional relationships and living a life of trauma and emotional brokenness; thankfully, I found the path to healing, forgiveness of myself and other it has been a difficult but necessary journey. I am that person who have built the wall locking myself away from the evil hands and cruel heart of the wolves in sheep clothing. It is a lonely existence, but I feel safe. I long for the joys of companionship, the touch, kindness and warm of another loving human. Life is different when it is just one. I hope that one day that I will meet the one who understand the true assignment of LOVE ❤.

Thank you for stopping by Dragthepen.

The Rotting Soul

Dear Readers, 

Your past pain is an enemy, and when people say that they are suffering from a broken heart, I say, it is their spirit, soul and will that’s been broken and betrayed. My story is that  I spent years soaking in the pain of my past. I waited in anger for the people who hurt me to come back to me and acknowledge the physically, emotionally and mentally pain they caused me, I wanted my pain to be validated, so I proudly displayed my banner publicly announcing that I was a VICTIM, who have been mistreated, abused, neglected and I was wounded. I used my pain as an  excuse for my anger, hatred and bitterness. I lived my life  putting up walls, hurting others, and lashing out towards anyone who would not acknowledge my pain. My heart was cold, closed and hardened. I was blinded by misinformation, mixed messages, and confused emotions. While I was quickly disintegrating into my self imposed HELL. during this period of my life it never occurred to me to stop and reflect on the fact that I did not have the experience to detect and discern when people have bad intentions. 

 

I was not taught self-worth and self-respect meant, so my level of thinking was that of a naive child that is very trusting because children  don’t know evil, malice, and wrong doing until it is introduced to them. Another factor that led to me basking in my position as a VICTIM, I surrounded myself with people who supported my moaning and groaning of how I’ve been wronged. I lived in this pit of darkness from 1996-2006 just to give you an idea of how long I wallowed in my grief.  

How I began the long, long road to healing was people stopped listening to me rant. One by one person was dropping out of my life, and this increased my anger because the people who I thought understood my pain were busy on their path to healing. I didn’t want to heal, to me healing meant forgiving the people who hurt me. In my mind forgiveness means that they were off the hook, and they won’t be punished for the crimes committed against me. Over time  I slowly began to realize that the only person that I was hindering and harming was me. I was stuck mentally and emotionally, I wasn’t living. I arrived at the point that I wanted the self imposed drama to end. I had worked diligently to immerse myself deep into my misery, and little did I know I would have to put forth tireless effort to learn  how to process my pain in a positive manner. I utilize many support services secular and spiritual, I am not ashamed to say I spent 8 years in therapy learning to love and value myself. This eight year process included one year of art therapy, anger management, and one year of group and individual therapy.  

My journey towards healing and reclaiming my life lead me back to a painful childhood, the horrible events of adolescence that lead to poor choices as an adult. I learned that something  good was going to come from my pain. Looking back I had no idea that this healing process would profoundly change my life. I was molded into a completely new person. Through all the therapy sessions, tears, rage, unveiling and reliving the events of my past, it was worth the pages and pages of journals, and the times I dropped to my needs hunched over in pain purging myself of the anger that I allowed to ROT my soul, kill my spirit,  darken my heart, and block my blessings.  

From those years pain and healing I brought forth two novels about my journey walking towards a better life. I learned how to trust people, to have an open mind, and guard my naive heart. I developed into a mentor, motivational coach, writer and creator of the blog Dragthepen and the YouTube channel Conversations with J. R. Floyd. The more I share my story, counsel and coach others the better I become at listening with a non judgmental ear. I learned how to recognize true friendship, and what it means to be supportive, compassionate, and to show acts of kindness to others who have been broken.  It doesn’t matter the cause of your pain or past trauma, seeking help does not allow the past to lead you down a dark road of destruction of anger and loneliness. 

Thank you for stopping by Dragthepen.

Dear 2019

 

Dear Readers, 

There are millions of people who are very happy to see 2019 go. Welcoming a new year is always exciting due to the anticipation of starting fresh and leaving behind a year that might not have been the greatest. I begin 2019 with high hopes I made plans, plotted a path and set reasonable   goals. Along the way I often got side tracked. Remember when you hit me with pneumonia twice, but you made me understand that I wasn’t paying attention to my health. It seemed to me that each day I pushed forward you pushed me backwards. On the darkest days of this year I did my utmost best to remain positive. I smiled when I wanted to cry. I suppressed my screams of anger by singing, and squeezed my blue tattered stress ball when my emotions threatened to overwhelm me. Against all odds and with fierce determination I accomplished my goal of performing at Carnegie Hall after three previous attempts. I wasn’t going to allow the dreary, somber, evil forces of this universe to defeat me. 

Hey, 2019, I couldn’t understand why you seemed hell bent on putting obstacles in my way, the more I succeeded in my progress towards my goals, you appeared to be ignored at me. I thought that we were taking this journey together. I told you at the start of 2019, that I was over stumbling through life like the village idiot. I made amends for all the years that I wasted. I said to you with all the sincerity of my shattered life, that I would do better and be better because I have greater clarity. Where you testing me my faith, strength, and ability to remain grounded and focused on my goals? I walked with my head up through every storm, nor’easter, and heat wave. I worked on my days off, double shifts, even when I didn’t have the strength to put one foot in front of the other.  I willed myself forward by the power of my mental strength. 

I couldn’t believe that you ( 2019) wouldn’t allow me to catch a break. Ok, so I admit there were moments of short lived happiness. June 17, my performance at Carnegie Hall, my long awaited trip to California, and in August I finally had the time and resources to renew my passport. In  September my new website Conversations with J.R. Floyd went public. I completed my third manuscript that’s currently going through the editing process, the goals is to publish my third book in 2020. I secured my new living space and on Dec 16, I was able to move in two weeks before the original date. Oh, yeah, a few bonuses, I get to spend Christmas and New Year’s in my new apartment. Oh and did I mention that I finally have a landlord that allows me to have a pet. I adopted a cat named Hamlet. So, here I am in the middle of my queen size bed, Hamlet purring next to me, sipping hot chocolate while Nat Cole Christmas CD plays softly. 

Yes, 2019, we have had our tribulations and there were days when you made me question my sanity, but in the end all things considered I say I started this year the same way I chose to end it. I am going to continue setting realistic goals, map out a plan on how to make my goals and make my vision a reality. I resolve to pay attention to my health, sleep, rest, eat clean, drink plenty of water, and stay committed to making me and my vision a priority. With a heartfelt thank you I am grateful for all that 2019 has taught me. I welcome the next level of living my best life. Hello 2020.