Dust It Off

My favorite thing about myself is that I can stick and move and it’s natural. I am resilient. I have something innate that doesn’t totally deplete my hope and faith in the fact that I will recover from tragedies and traumas. As long as I wake up each day, I have another chance to get it right. I can live my purpose. My joy is similar to what I read about when I read about the martyrs and saints. I lament and then I somehow see a silver lining. There’s always a silver lining, you just have to find it.

As a youth, I took it for granted. As an adult, I am grateful to have it. But I have also learned not everyone does. The area where I am growing is within the understanding that even if someone is not skipping down the street and smiling all the time, it doesn’t make them necessarily problematic. It makes them human.

A large shift in my life came after I had children. I felt like I lived in a way that crossed all t’s and dotted all i’s and a large amount of adversity kept stealing my joy. It took me a moment, but I finally learned that there are things I can’t control. It may not even be personal. When I lost the stability of family, that thrust me into a next level of consciousness. It’s like the book of Job,” what I feared the most came upon me.” Forget what I truly felt inside. But the irrational fear of a great many things came upon me. What I discovered is that on the other side of fear, rejection and failure, is actually liberating. It is the living breathing serenity prayer. It is the strength to live unabashedly, and the knowing that when storms come, somehow, you’ll get through them.

When I was going through emotional changes in high school my parents used to always tell me that Marvin Winans line, “Ain’t no need to worry what tomorrow is going to bring. It’ll be all over in the morning.”

So, I’m proud that even if I am buying one tomato, one package of bread, one pound of fish, one pair of shoes at a time–I’m glad I can. I just try to make the best out of every situation and be glad doing it. Protect your peace. Prepare new paths. Stay on purpose.