Are You a Passive Participant in your Life?

Dear Readers, 

By now you should be familiar with who I am and what I do. Recently, I posted my welcome video to Conversations with J. R. Floyd, my latest project on my YouTube channel, decided to issues that impact our intimate relationships and explore problems that destroy families. This month ( July 2020)  I am celebrating my 2nd anniversary for my  YouTube channel, and my path to healing years of emotional and spiritual brokenness. At the beginning of 2020, I asked my viewers, readers, bloggers, and supporters to join me in this year’s Theme of writing letters to self. This idea came to me while I was penning my third book, 90 Days of Reflection, Discovery and Renewal. During my journey of journaling for 90 days, I discovered that there were areas of my life that I thought that I had healed, but certain events in my life brought to my awareness that I need to revisit some old wounds that really hadn’t healed completely.   

I have written letters to myself, to people, ( My mother and father), to my supporters, to life, and to love, however, I never sat down and wrote a letter addressed to me. I spent years walking through life in a fog, meaning that my life had no direction nor did I have any good role models to support me. I walked around in darkness and pain, but  I wasn’t aware that I was suffering, I covered up my pain and distress by engaging in one bad relationship after another. I worked out like a fiend and stick to a strict vegetarian diet. I wanted everyone to see that I had my life together, but the truth was I would go home and fall to my knees in tears because wearing masks was exhausting. 

It wasn’t enough that I had worked my way through College, an accomplishment that I never celebrated because I wanted others to praise me and put me on a petals, and when this didn’t happen the seeds of anger were planted. When I didn’t get my dream job or what I thought was my dream,  the seeds of anger sprouted into buds of resentment.  It never dawned on me that I was spewing my bitterness at the wrong people. I didn’t know that I was supposed to create the life I wanted, instead, I was under the impression that life was supposed to bring me what I wanted just by me thinking it. I thought that if I was a “ good girl” and did all the right things, walk a “ good path” that all things good would come to me. So, I wasted years of my life hoping, wishing, praying, crying and wondering when am I going to catch a break? All this time I didn’t understand that I was a passive participant in my own life. It wasn’t until someone said to me, “ you don’t wait for people to give you an opportunity, you make your own” that Was in 2014. Since that time I’ve become an active participant in my own life.

The change didn’t happen overnight and I have had some setbacks, but the lessons and the progress I’ve made in the last three years is amazing. Blogging, publishing my own books, living my dream of singing in a classical chorus, traveling, creating my YouTube channel, and my latest project a new website Conversations with J. R. Floyd. I teach vision board workshops and coach people how to make their visions for their life a reality. I go to bed each night with a sense of purpose and accomplishment. Pursuing an intimate relationship is no longer a priority. I surrounded myself with people who encourage and support my life vision and growth. I cherish my new found peace and clarity, and looking forward to the new change in my career as a Case Planner working with children in foster care. My first love will always be teaching, but it is time for change. 

  

Thank you for stopping my dragthepen

        

both of my books are available on Amazon

Awareness & Clarity

Dear readers,

Recently I have been on a journey exploring who I am and what I want out of life. This period of deep reflection, discovery and renewal helped me to discover how I have allowed myself to be distracted by the standards of the world and how struggling to live up to the expectations of others lead me down a path of distraction.

On Being Mom

myboy

Dear Readers,

Last night changed today. Let me explain. Yesterday, I created a to do list for today. One of my goals for the New Year ( 2019) is to plan and stick to a daily agenda so that my tasks do not pile up and overwhelm me. I received a call from my daughter in law telling me that my son (my only child) at the age of 37 had a heart attack. I eased myself to the floor while I listened to her relay the events of the day that resulted in her calling for emergency assistance. My immediate concern is for her and my three grandchildren because my son is the rock of that family, and their three children is the center of his life. Mothers are never prepared for these type of phone calls. Making this situation more complicated they live in North Carolina, and I live thousands of miles away in New York City. My first instinct is to pack and get moving, but my daughter in law communicated that my son said for me to stay put until they have information from the doctors. She continued to assure me that he is receiving good service and that she would not leave his side. So, I must stop pacing and wrenching my hands and make good use of my time by sticking to today’s schedule. My son is my biggest fan and supporter of my journey of becoming a writer. Through all of life’s trials’ and errors my son has been the best miracle that’s ever happened to me. I make myself better so that he has a mom that he can be proud of. So, today with a lot of prayers, tears and positive thinking, I push on…….

 

A Reflection

Dear reader, recently I embarked on a 90 day journey of reflection, discovery and renewal. I would like to share with you my three-day mental break, not a vacation or staycation, my first ever mental break. Let me explain, its been a long time since I have taken a break that did not include going to see the grandchildren ( the three loves of my life) or visiting my mother who lives in South Carolina. I have had the romantic get away  and the girls road trip. But I have never taken a mental break and go where I wanted and just do nothing. This is the summary of my three day mental break and what I learned.

Its  been years since I have taken a time out and retreated from life with a purpose.  I choose a beautiful space in the country to take for refection, and renewal of my body,  mind and spirit. I needed to get away from the responsibilities of work, writing, blogging, and think about the new direction for the next stage of my life. I have come to this conclusion,  I am going to be patient and stay focused and not allow distractions to take me off my path. I deserve to surrounded myself with pointless people, meaning people who do not support my growth in all areas of my life.

Goal number 1. Complete all writing projects by Before June 1, 2019. Goal number 2. Complete my Masters (I have one class remaining) fall 2019.  Goal number 3. Clean up my finances.  I have stated this journey to reclaim my health, and to reflect  and  begin  a new path in life where I can reap better results.  I am preparing to live the life that I have visioned. The writing projects is for personal satisfaction. Completing my education is about  making a new career goal. Cleaning up my credit reports and focusing on my finances will afford me the money that I need to keep taking mental breaks, better vacations and to move out of New York City, a goal that I have been talking about for years. At this stage of my life my personal life is not important.  I need all my time and energy to achieve my goals , and I seriously need to ponder if I really want to be in a relationship. I need time to reevaluate that part of my life. In the meantime, I must get busy I do not have any more time to waste.

I hope reading this will inspired  you to think about starting  your own journey of reflection, discovery and renewal. Take a step back and think when was the last time you had a real mental break.

What Say You/