Keep on Pushin

A report from the American Psychological Association states “significant sources of stress include money (75 percent of survey respondents), work (70 percent), the economy (67 percent), relationships (58 percent), family responsibilities (57 percent), family health problems (53 percent), personal health concerns (53 percent), job stability (49 percent), housing costs (49 percent) and personal safety (32 percent).” (APA - Stress in America)

Wow! It is important to see that the most rated source of stress is money followed by work. If I am wrong tell me, however these two I believe draw a very close relationship. One of the biggest fears is losing your job and not being able to afford to pay your bills and provide for your family. It is one of the most important fears facing this world here today. No one wants to wake up tomorrow without a job. And those who do not have a job did not expect to be jobless. And we have so many people talking about relieving stress and finding outlets. Well, how do you find an outlet jobless? How do you find an outlet not making any money?

This is the type of stress that does not go away and can be everlasting, but I believe that instead of trying to eliminate it, we need to focus on dealing with it. Learning to undersatand that there is going to be stress when you are in a situation where you are out of your norm, helps to not be as tense when and if it does happen. I call it getting to understand reality. It is highly important to know all the alternatives to what can happen in your lifespan and not be afraid to think about them and understand them. Stop believing it can never be you. You know, I read so many stories and issues happening around this world, but in my moment of alone time, I do appreciate where I am and make sure that I remember that in any of these experiences I have observed, it could have been me. It does not stress me out, it makes me open my eyes and really see what is going on and happening around me. It helps me to understand that I am no better than the next and I must appreciate where I am rather than deny myself that "it" could not happen to me. It relieves so much tension when I do have a conflicting situation and it makes me more manageable with them.

The most important job I have is my own life and your own life should be yours too. If I don't understand what is going on around me, how can I survive? Believe me when I tell you that you won't. Learn and understand the world you are in. With that you will be suprised on how well you can keep on pushin.

National Urban League and President Obama

President Obama stated, "even though we are taking these actions, they are not enough." He is right and he has set it clear on the table as to how out of control gun violence is. The majority of gun owners need to do everything possible to help protect our nation. President Obama also stated, "We should have no greater mission than to keep our youth safe." It is important that violence decline in America and it is steady on the rise affecting many families physically as well as mentally. Will it ever end? No, but it most definitely can and need to be controlled. I believe that communities have had a hard time banning together. There needs to be a way to reach out to those who do not have the time to help enforce this decrease in violence. I believe it began in the homes. It also began with trust.

Parents need to be more aware of what is going on in their childrens lives. To learn what is going on means to talk to your children and not yell at them. Provide them your experience growing up and what you learned while growing. Help them to understand that it is okay rather than they will be punished or grounded. It is important to focus on learning their thoughts rather than trying to control them. Learning their thoughts will help you to understand why. Understanding why, will help you to know what need to be fixed internally. Most people who commit crimes using guns are trying to be heard or seen to make a statement. They are trying to be noticed. Why? Because they have gotten tired of being looked at as invisible. They have a need to be known, but does it in the wrong way.

One thing that do trouble me however, is how can we fight against gun violence in our backyard, but approve to go to other countries and fight in their backyards? It seems our society needs to practice what we preach as well. It all began in our own homes. How do you plan to raise your children, how have you raised your children, or how have you been raising your children? How much of your past will you hide from them or have you hidden from them? How will you discipline them or how have you disciplined them? Every action you take invents a consequence, so use your actions wisely.

NAACP and Mitt Romney

So, Mitt Romney talks at the NAACP convention and as he is talking, I realized something; he never really talked about what he was going to do. He spoke, but said nothing. How do a man like that expect to get in office? He has to be more direct and simple with his words or people will continue to see a man who is blowing a bunch of hot air and I am quite sure many would not mind popping the balloon that air enters. America does not need gibberish floating around. It is time to give Mitt some heat and began asking him to lay out his policies and visions as well as stop calling them his policies and visions.

 Just to speak directly to Mitt: What are your policies? Name them and explain them. What are your visions? Name them and explain them.

If someone asked me what Mitt Romney plan to do when he gets in the White House, all I can say is, I don't know, but he did say he is running for president because HE know HIS policies. If someone asks me what vision does Mitt Romney have for America, all I can say is, I don't know, but he did say his campaign was about helping others who need help, but he did say he wants to get rid of "Obamacare."

Just to speak directly to Mitt: Do you get my point? Explain what you mean by helping people who need help? And what exactly are you going to do to help people who need help?

What is Your Safety Net?

So, I am reading all these articles about safety nets; from medicaid, medicare, spouses, jobs, and children. I was thinking...society uses many different things as safety nets and we sometimes get so caught up in our safety nets that we forget that it does not always have to be a safe haven for us. So, what the hell am I talking about? Well, I believe that we put too much pressure on ourselves at times when it comes to stepping out of the box. That is a fear for many and it is something I myself have struggled with a point of time in my life. It was a way of protecting myself and I am quite sure many of you use it as a protection as well. It can be a scary situation to make choices that your surrounding environment don't normally make and it causes conflicting behavior. That behavior can suppress the next person if they let it; by them not wanting to try a leap of faith.

Learning what your safety net is can help you to go out on the limb and beat it. You beat it by rising above it and focusing on something of the opposite that can help infuse something in you that will make you more outgoing and inspired. I mean, if we stay consumed to only what we know, than how can we expand our horizons? I believe risks are the key. Ask yourselves, how many times have you truly challenged yourselves? How many times have you stepped outside of your box that you live in? How many times have you really tried? Or how many times have you decided not to make a business decision and another business takes the risk and succeeds? It is time to ask yourselves: What is my safety net and what can I do to break out of it? Learn what it is and overcome it. I did.

Unconditional Love

I never thought I would get it until I learned it and understood what it really meant. I learned it without adding anyone's thoughts but my own. I found that in situations, we believe and are told that we have made a mistake because of the decisions that we made, but that is so untrue in more than a million ways. Our decisions are our gateway to us and our decisions determine our pathway. It is important to know that when we make those decisions we are choosing them because of our inner thoughts. And why is it that we are told our inner thoughts are not right sometimes? Well it is because there are so many other decisions available but we forget one thing...our own decisions that we know we want to make. And we are all guilty of making a decision based on what someone else believe we should do. And why do we do that? Because we believe their decision is the best. And in many situations it is. But when it comes to love, I have found that making your own decisions is and will only be the best. Taking tips on love is common, but the final decisions we make is average. Why is that? Because we don't always take our own advice. And in many cases we should not especially if there is someone who have not learned what love really is and find themselves in a problem where they need to ball up their fist and free themselves of such pain. But even in those cases we must find ourselves and realize that we can actually make all of these decisions ourselves. And it takes learning to unconditionally love ourselves and knowing what we want and need in life first. Knowing yourself is key. Understanding yourself is important because it creates the decisions we make. And those decisions define us. How do you want to be personally defined?

Same Sex Marriage

It has never been a fear of mine to discuss same sex marriage. In America, same sex marriage is frowned upon. There are currently six states that actually allow same sex marriage and conservative America have fought against same sex marriage for quite some time. It seems to me the fight is not over same sex marriage. The fight seems to be more about femininity vs. masculinity. When these two definitons are looked at, there is no set notion that the person has to be male or female. It is based on the behavior of the human being. And why should anyone worry about someone else behavior, role, or attribute, if it is not their own? I will tell you why.

 People believe that the reflection of another person's actions represents them. I know you are probably saying: What! But listen, how many times have you experienced someone telling you about someone else or telling you about yourself in regards to how to act or what not to do or what should be done. All the damn time. It is common communication that happens everyday and there is always someone making an opinion about the right and wrongs of how to be in society. It has escalated into a problem and the main question is not how to fix it because it will never be fixed. The main question is how do we learn to control it. By that, I mean controlling ourselves. There is so much pressure put upon each of us and I believe that we forget how much hurt is behind that pressure when the spotlight is not on you.

All of us have had an embarrassing moment in life that hurt. I am not talking about getting angry one day and happy the next. I am talking about that moment, whether you were a child or an adult, where you believed in something and someone made you feel like that belief was irrational. No one wants to feel that pain. So, why do it to others? Why not let others make their own choices and face their own consequences in life.

If a preacher or priest decides to marry a same sex couple, than let it be their choice. If you do not approve, than let that be your choice, but lets stop putting ourselves in the middle of situations that does not pertain to us. You do not have to go home with that person nor do you have to experience their lifestyle. You may see it, but that is it. You have eyelids; close them. You also have eyeballs and they are made to move, so look the other way.

Oh and by the way, don't be suprised if you are talking to your friend, cousin, uncle, nephew, niece, brother, sister, mother, or daddy who is in love with another of the same sex and wants to mary them, but you just do not know or have not taken the time to know. It happens everyday. Does the words "down low" ring any bells?

Contraception

Children are a blessing that we must not forget about. Children are the future. What keeps the world going? The reproduction of children. It creates more generations that continue to come up with new inventions and ideas. Every year someone creates a new idea and that idea fights to be appreciated by others. We accept and disregard what we want and do not want, however, we also stand proud with what we know we believe in.

We have all been in love and wanted to produce a new part of ourselves. Yet, we have the moments that we can't forget and they tend to frighthen us. When we think about those negative moments they frighten us. Truth is meant to be told and my truth is I was once afraid.

Giving up does not make me stronger, it adds weakness. Believing in what you want to believe in creates a choice and that choice is something I will live with forever. So no matter what choice you make society will have to live with it. Choosing to keep a child that was made not by love have consequences. We may carry burdens or we may accept the truth. Knowledge is very much power and having power produces strength. Strength creates phenomenism in hopes it becomes real. And why not? Because contraception creates controversy. Before we had the ability to prevent pregnancy, what did we use? What did we have?

In any event that a child is produced in any other way but through love, let's began to use our brains and allow ourselves to make our own choices. No one should judge a person unless they are able to understand their decision and why? Because we should not judge what the next person chooses to do. We should judge ourselves and only oursleves, that way we have each created our own identity and we have each established truth. Truth can hurt and it can also make you feel great. My truth is not yours. My truth is pain and happiness, however, I am not afraid to make my own decision or be judged by anyone else in a negative way for their own reasons. Are you? Paint your own picture.