#HappyHolidays

I am committed to taking a holiday this season. I will be taking a break and concentrating on the being part of me as opposed to the doing part that is always emphasized and can be on automatic some days. I encourage you to do the same like Madonna’s 1983 Holiday song goes, “Holiday, celebrate, If we took a holiday, took some time to celebrate, just one day out of life, it would be, it would be so nice.” They don’t really make classic songs like this one anymore. The song reminds me to celebrate and take a holiday!

Every year gets better! I am so ready, and welcome this down time. I have much to celebrate right now anyway, we all do. We have completed another year. I committed to posting a new blog every Tuesday and now 52 Tuesdays, later I am celebrating a year of blogging today! This year my first publication arrived, “The Empowered Woman: Purpose, Passion & Possibilities and it is still available on amazon.com. What are you most proud of about this past year?

I am always most proud of my transformational moments and how much better I am today because of them. I am committed to growing and learning as a person. After this holiday, I can look forward to new adventures! You with me?

My one request this holiday season is to CELEBRATE. Celebrate all of you. It should not only be about celebrating accomplishments and positive feedback. Celebrate yourself by treating yourself with kindness and compassion. I celebrate you in this moment and I thank you for taking time to follow this blog. It means the world to me to be able to serve you.

In the spirit of Holiday and celebrating, this will be my last blog of the year. I will see you in the New Year with a new theme of awareness and authenticity. I look forward to new inspiration and learnings that I will share with you. Thank you and #HappyHolidays!

Ready, set, goal

It is the goal setting time of year. Are you hitting that reset button and getting ready for the New Year? Are you coping or strategizing? Are you moving closer to your life’s vision? What are the smaller steps you need to formulate to get there? Here are some steps that can assist you with reaching your goals and even setting them.

1. Start with the end in mind. What is your vision? Visualize yourself where you want/ how you want to be.
2. Work with what you have. It is interesting how we overlook ourselves and our skills. Start from the inside out instead of the outside in when developing and setting your goals. Use your experience and knowledge you already have.
3. Keep a positive attitude. Perseverance and patience is what we need to call upon when working toward goals. Although it can be frustrating, keep your eye on your target. Things may not go as smoothly as we plan and preparing allows you to be flexible.
4. Take smaller steps to your larger vision. To stay accountable, make sure you reevaluate your priorities from time and time and ask yourself is this getting me closer to my ultimate goal?

What you focus on grows. Stay focused on what you want. Once you have set your goals. Put them up on your vision board, on the fringe, and other places where you can see them all the time. The theme of my year keeps me focused (Look for that blog post if you have not read it yet; my themed year). You are also in control of your schedule. Make sure to make choices that make time for the goals you set. I try not to do everything at once. I like working up to a goal by taking one step at a time with those smaller goals being reached first.

#blacklivesmatter

The US is just beginning to finally get a glimpse of  how racism impacts black people.  The nation is beginning to be aware of the epidemic of violence that is unleashed upon black people from persons designed to protect and serve.  The death rates and lives lost of black people are beyond words.  The world is just beginning to get a glimpse of why communities of color have trouble trusting the police. 

People have been killed because of the culture of policing in this country since its inception.  What is the saying?, “the more things change, the more they stay the same.”  I have not heard any mention of a “post racial America” since the pattern of policing has continued to be featured everywhere. 

I am so proud and thankful for my fellow New Yorkers, those who have wore black in solidarity; who continue to have this real and serious conversation about racism, about police violence; participated in the die ins across the city; the protests that have held up traffic at major bridges, tunnels and highways.  Yes, I said die-ins, this is where protesters lay down on the floor like they are dead.  This is serious people, people have been killed. 

Instead of seeing lynched black people hung for the world to see, we are seeing them in videos getting beaten and killed.  We are watching black people laying shot dead in the middle of the street.  We are watching innocent black men and women get dehumanized and criminalized by the words of influential people.  

the National Hands Up Campaign, has a petition you can sign, copy and paste the link:

https://www.change.org/p/president-barack-obama-we-demand-national-change-to-protect-citizens-and-communities-from-police-violence-and-misconduct

As the Federal government continues to investigate police departments across the country, I believe the following two items need to be added to the recommendation portion of the conversation:

·         Demilitarize all police departments in the US

Military weaponry and tear gas do not have any place within communities.   

·         Initiate dismantling racism work within police departments

Racism is embedded in all of the systems in this country and we must start somewhere to reverse this. 

The soul of police work needs to shift back from violence & only defending one’s self even when no threat is present to being PEACE officers.  What happened to upholding the law?  What happened to protect & serve?  In the words of Martin Luther King Jr., “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

RIP Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Rekia Boyd, Luis Rodriguez, Amadou Diallo, Oscar Grant, Sean Bell, Ezell Ford, Dane Scott, Wendell Allen, Derrick Williams, John Crawford III, and the countless others who have been killed by police violence.  Read their stories, tell their stories, take a moment of silence and get involved.  All lives matter, black lives matter too. 

My themed year

This is the time of year to reflect and see what has been working. At least, I think this way. We have arrived at the last five weeks of 2014. This is the time to sit with, “what do you want?” However you choose to explore questions like these, this is the time. I like to start the New Year with focused intentions and clear thoughts. Ask yourself, “What do I want more of in my life?”

Clearing up your thoughts, allow you to decide on what you would like to zero in on in the year to come. I have a few more blogs to go to make a year anniversary. For me, I set a few new goals for the year and then others come naturally. My goal last year was to blog once a week and now I am almost at 52 weeks. What will be your top priorities for the year to come? How do you see yourself in 2015?

Sit with these questions so you can ring in the New Year with clear and focused intentions. For the last two years, I have let themes drive my year. In 2013, my themed year was faith and forgiveness. In 2014, I have been focused on courage and compassion. I have let a new theme arrive for 2015 and will reveal it, shortly. These themes have helped me stay focused and have encouraged truth and self discovery. I welcome you to invite your own themes into your life.

As you reflect and sit with the most pressing questions that can clear up your path for 2015, record what comes up. Whatever speaks the loudest and is consistent is what you need to pursue. My theme for 2015 will be awareness and authenticity. I am looking forward to raising my awareness and digging deeper into my true authentic self. This will keep me balanced, if you follow this blog you know that I have defined balance as staying on your path.

How do you prepare for 2015? What do you need to do to get ready and make room for the new? Naturally, making physical space helps make room. Clear out your closet and give away what you don’t use. The book Simplify your life by Elaine St James is a great book for slowing down and enjoying what you have in your life and how to clear up space for what is really important to you.

Another great way to end the year is to make a joy and meaning list. What brings you joy? What brings out meaning in your life? Make a commitment to carry out the lists throughout the New Year. Well, again there are just weeks left in 2014, ready for 2015? I know I am getting ready.