We need to foster more healing and growth amongst our people.

More Love Less Hate

Peace and blessings everyone. Today, I just feel like expressing some of my thoughts more or less for therapy. A lot has been going on in the world and this is just my outlet.  In a perfect world, everybody could do live their lives to the fullest become the best version of themselves. I don't see how you feel good about yourself if you waste your time and energy hating on someone who has no done anything wrong to you.

Instead of hating, spend time focusing on yourself and bettering yourself.  Haters get no love so why be a hater?

I also want to just say that we need more love in this world.  We as human beings make things that are simple, so complex.  We need to love ourselves first and foremost. Then we need to learn to love each other.  You only get one life to live. Do you want to make the best out of it or not?  All you have to do is love yourself and focus on being better than you were before. It's that simple.  Now get to work!!!

Black people loved The Black Panther movie...But what about Planet of the Apes?

Now I just want to start out by saying that I thought The Black Panther was a GREAT film!  The cast was incredible the story line was on point for the most part and the movie overall was nicely executed. I liked how the movie triggers a sense of pride and connection with mother Africa. Everyone has been talking about the Black Panther movie and the all-black cast for months so this movies was highly anticipated.  When you watch the Black Panther movie, one can easily pick up on the imagery and subliminal messages that are baked into the movie.  This has led to many debates and viewpoints of the movie and it's characters.

I understand that black people are happy to finally see black characters portrayed in a dignified manner but what about the message of the movie? Many people felt that the Black Panther movie subliminal displayed two kinds of black men.  T'Challa, who was also the Black Panther, was more passive and hesitant in his actions and decisions and wanted Wakanda to remain hidden for the sake of avoiding conflict between Wakanda and the outside world.  Erik Killmonger, who was also part of the Wakandan bloodline, was the nemesis of the Black Panther and was more assertive, aggressive, and militant.  He was identified as an outcast of Wakanda but he wanted Wakanda to come out from hiding and use their greatly advanced technology to empower black people all throughout the world.
Because of this, many viewers of the Black Panther movie actually felt that they related and favored Killmonger over T'Challa.

Now everyone is giving so much praise and glorification to The Black Panther movie but what happened to The Planet of the Apes? I feel like this movie trilogy was slept on by everyone, especially black people.  The Planet of the Apes movies could easily be used to compare the social struggles of black people in America.

In first movie of the trilogy, Rise of The Planet of The Apes, the main character is an ape named Caesar who was born with special gifts and abilities as the result of being the offspring of a lab ape would was the subject of human-developed experiment. Caesar's mother died at his birth while trying to protect him.  As a result, Caesar was raised by humans.  As he grew older, Caesar developed an extremely high level of intelligence, cognitive skills, and awareness.  He also got to learn more about humans and their nature.

In the movie, Caesar is taken from his human family and put into a shelter after trying to protect his human father's dad.  His natural instincts and nature caused fear amongst the rest of society so he was put into captivity.. Sound familiar? While trapped in the shelter, Caesar is able to expose the other caged ages to the same chemical that was given to his mother. The chemical caused the apes to become more intelligent.  After this, Caesar leads all of the apes, monkeys, and gorillas to freedom in their own natural habitat.

Caesar was the real deal! After leading his own kind to freedom, he forms a great tribe with the apes.  His tribe grew in numbers and strength.  However, their existence are threatened by human intruders.  Being the great leader that he is, Caesar makes an agreement to help the humans for well being of the apes.  However, their existence is threatened by the humans are the humans began dying from the a disease which the apes were immune to.. Caesar gave his life to save his own kind from the demise of humans and never showed weakness while doing it.

He was also a father and husband.  A true leader who made his own kind better, greater, stronger. The way he carried himself with nobility, fierceness, and strength.  Caesar, although he was an ape and a fictional character, embodied the leader that we really need!  Caesar lived his truth in every way that he could.  I think that's also a gem that we can all take from the Planet of The Ape films.

The journey towards a healthy lifestyle..One month later

Greetings! I wanted to give an update about my journey so far and share with you the positive and negative effects that I've noticed about myself as I decided to focus more on moving towards a more healthier  overall lifestyle. I'm going to break it down by physical effects, mental effects and spiritual effects so here we go:

Physical effects - So since publishing my previous post, I've been more conscious about my diet, which has been beneficial yet challenging.  I've definitely noticed that I feel much better when I eat a healthy meal than I do if I'm eating something that isn't very healthy.  I honestly did not add much more to my diet. I just cut out things that were not good for me. By doing, my energy has increased, my sleep is getting better, and my digestive system is working more smoothly.  I have some stubborn weight that I'd like to lose which has been challenging. I think most of it is water weight though so I want to to try fasting for a week or two to see how that impacts my body.  I also want to cut back on alcohol and caffeine.  As a person who has inherited hypertension, I know I need to limit the consumption of alcohol and caffeine because it wreaks havoc on the flow of you blood through your body.  I also don't like the fact that I'm becoming more and more dependent on coffee. So I'm going to give a good effort to cut out coffee and alcohol..Maybe stick with red wine every now and then and see what happens.

Mental effects - Mentally, I've been struggling to focus like I'd want.  As with many people, my mind tends to wander all over the place. So it's difficult for me to focus on one subject for a long period of time without being distracted.  I think this is something that we can learn with consistent practice though.  I've read that meditation and taking time to self-reflect each day really helps with increasing your focus so I think I'll incorporate meditation into my daily routines.  I also find it challenging to stay disciplined. It's so easy to cheat on your diet or sobriety when your with friends or family and your surrounded by tasty food and drinks.. I need to develop more discipline to refrain from giving in to my visual temptations and remind myself that I need to fill my body with food that will optimize my mental performance, not dumb it down.  I've been reading and studying a lot of material that helps me stay sharp mentally but I think I need to do more self analysis so that I can recognize what my passions truly are and what I love to do.  Whether or not, it seems intimidatingly difficult, no progress is ever made without facing your fears.  So I want to continue seeking ways to mentally strengthen my mind and focus as that will help me reach my full potential.

Spiritual effects - I went to church a few weeks ago for Easter and I just want to speak on it. Now whether you celebrate Easter or not, it doesn't matter. What I realized after leaving that church service was that I was spiritual deprived. I was spiritually starving and I didn't even know it.  We all need something to believe in. To put our faith in..We all need a way to realign spiritually. It's vital for your life.  There's so many people walking around that have become numb to their surroundings and it's sad that it's happening in such a way that we can't even realize it.  When you spend hours listening and/or watching media that's filled with negative information, your spirit becomes numb to it.  You become engulfed in that negativity and it extends into your life.  So then you become that person that always sees the glass as half empty. Your attitude suffers and therefore, you spread and attract negativity all around you.  When you nurture your soul and give it some fine tuning, you feel uplifted and feel renewed.  It allows you to see hope in the midst of darkness. It allows you to think positive which then manifests into positive outcomes in your reality.  I don't want to get too deep but think point I'm making is that your spirit needs to be fed just like your body does.  And just like feeding your body with bad food will harm you, feeding your spirit with bad food will harm you as well.  So I'm working on my spirit each and everyday.  The good thing is that there's always an opportunity to spiritually grow. There's no age limit or time frame..Each day that we are granted life, we are granted a chance to grow spiritually.  

Overall, I'm feeling good about my decision and will continue working on myself as I encourage you to continue working on yourself. Your are not alone.  We all have insecurities, fears, struggles, and weaknesses.  What's good to know is that we also have the choice to face those insecurities, fears and struggles and turn them into strengths.  I hope this brings peace and blessings to your world.  Until we meet again, take care of yourself. 

Healthy Living. The beginning journey towards a healthier lifestyle.

This year I want to start taking steps towards a more healthy lifestyle. If you're anything like myself, you've probably found yourself stuck in at a point where you feel like your overall health has declined due to a culmination of eating habits, lack of exercise, stress, busy work schedule, etc. I know how it is and believe me, making major change is never easy. However, the overall trait that's lacking, which keeps one from reaching their goal of a healthy life is discipline. Speaking for myself, I know I lack discipline with it comes to many things such as work, diet, drinking, smoking, sleep studying, and money.  I'm a mess, I know that. The good thing is that I recognize the areas in my life that need work and I'm willing to take the necessary steps to improve them.

I think an important aspect to living a more healthy life is self-love and self-respect.  In order to live healthier you have to love and respect yourself enough to say no to things that might give immediate joy or satisfaction but hurts you in the long run.  Invest in yourself and look at yourself as an entity that has no limits.  The more you work on yourself the more capable you will become at reaching new levels, going to new places, and overcoming bigger challenges.  Be living a more healthy lifestyle you will feel better and live better. Hopefully some of the new healthy habits that you create leads into more positive changes in your life.  I hope it does mine. So with that, I'm going to start my journey towards a new and more healthy lifestyle.  I look forward to sharing my progress (or failure) with you all.

"A Fresh Start. Welcome 2014"

I just want to wish everyone a Happy New Year!  I'm just enjoying my last day off while I'm at home watching the Outback Bowl.  I do feel more wiser and more prepared for 2014.  2013 was not a bad year but it could have been a lot better.  I take full blame for not making the most of the year. This year I want to make the most out of all 365 days in the year.  A few weeks ago I had a talk with my sister and I realized that I was not good at keeping to my goals.  I always set good goals for myself but I lack the discipline to follow through.  This year I want to change that.  This is not a goal, this is a habit that I want to break.  I want to be more focused and more dedicated to my career and to my family.  I also want tobe more open to new friends and new experiences such as love.  I've never been very good at relationships and so I also want to break the habit of not being committed.  It's always scary when you do not know what to expect but that's part of the fun in life.  You never know what to expect.  All you can do just enjoy the ride.  I look forward to 2014.  I know it will be a great year.  I'm claiming it now and I hope you do too.  Set your goals and carry them out.  Take each day at a time and enjoy life.  Keep your mind and heart open because the best joys of life are the moments that we remember and enjoy with loved ones.  I'm excited and look forward to a good year.  Let's go 2014, I welcome you with open arms.  This is life as we know it.

I'm Back!!!!

Greetings readers.  I am finally back after a long break from blogging.  It's good to be back and to be able to share my thoughts and experiences with you all once again.  I just want to say that 2013 is already going by way too quick! I was fortunate enough to start 2013 in Lagos, Nigeria with my family.  It was my second time traveling to Africa and to Nigeria but I had not been there since I was a small kid.  It was pretty amazing.  It was great to see all of my family.  People came from all over to visit us.  Nigeria is a very beautiful country.  The weather was very nice during the time we went. The people of Nigeria are beautiful and welcomed us warmly (although Nigeria does have its fair share of problems and issues).  We had a good time and were glad to return back to States.
              Now's back to reality and back to the grind.  At least the unemployment rate is slightly going down but America still has a long way to go.  We need to advocate more innovation and entrepreneurship.  This country needs new ideas that will create new jobs and opportunities.  It's times to turn to things around and I believe that it can be done if the government and people can find common ground and focus on the same objectives.  I'm not a political person but I'm just speaking on the things I've noticed.  Speaking of politics though, I'm glad to see Dennis Rodman and the Harlem Globetrotters had a safe and successful trip to North Korea.  Nice move USA. Last thing we need right now is another war so being diplomatic and finding common ground was a smart way to go.
            I do hope that the violence, especially in America reduces and eventually stops.  I know I'm not the only one that's tired of hearing about innocent children being murdered by nut jobs or helpless people being slaughtered.  It's getting pretty real out there!  Time to take responsibility of each other and do what's right.  This year I want to keep a positive energy and stay focused.  I read somewhere that your thoughts are powerful and that they are small waves of energy that goes out into the universe.  So basically, they have the snowball effect and so the energy that is sent out returns in greater force...Now I do not know if this is truth or not but if it is then I want good things coming my way so I'm going to start giving out good energy and vibes and being more positive.  I DO believe that your attitude affects your environment around you.  So either way, being positive seems more appealing then being negative. On the that note I'm going to leave with some words of encouragement. Life is not always positive.  There are good times and bad but that's what makes it beautiful.  In life, you should find something you love or love to do and share it with others because that's what defines you.  It's been fun guys, this is life as w know it...peace.