Focus is a skill!

I used to think that subliminal messages were mostly bad.  I would watch television or read certain types of literature and find them all the time.  All I could see were "warning" and "statistical" messages that all seemed to be designed to control who we can become.  However, when I started to look for good messages, I found that they were just as abundant, if not more plentiful.

I had to focus on finding good messages though, in order to do it.  Before long it became super easy to do, so I focused on doing other things.  That work has led me to the point where I am able to write this message,  for you and for myself; on a sunny Monday morning, living a life that I love.  Earlier this morning, I thought about what it took to get me to this point.  I realized that my focus has gotten much better in the last few years that I have been on my life journey.  There are different levels of focus.  If you are conscious of your level of focus often, then you can feel the difference between being at the level when you can find a needle in a haystack, and the level that it takes to drink a glass of water.

Because we can practice using the levels of intensity of focus, it is indeed a learned skill.  The problem with many of us is that we won't consciously practice it.  Intensity of focus is what builds great cities and produces  great artists.  It's what pushes us forward into the future.  What we focus on is the determinant for if and how we will arrive in the future.  And if you focus hard enough, you can see that the future is always now. It would also be good to remember that all focus on something produces something, now or later.  If you skillfully use your focus to project evil, then surely you will see it.  If you use skilled focus to produce good, it will show itself as well.  So in this moment, now...start to practice on your skill of focus.  See what effects practicing it and using it skillfully can have on your life.

Riding in a Whirlwinds!

Have you ever experienced a whirlwind?  That great gush of wind comes along and carries you off balance for just a bit?  As it meets you, it brings along leaves that found their place on the ground underneath their home trees, and maybe a small scrap of paper that someone lost along their way. 

On a hot summer day, the whirlwind's breeze is a welcome treat!  It cools you off and brings a smile to your face, as you enjoy the sudden coolness, as it squeezes your face, which was crackling from the heat.  The people who were inside, miss nature's attempt to bring them the simple joy of a summer's day wind.  Those who don't have modernized cooling mechanisms to keep them airy, must settle more rudimentary methods to bring their skin the breeze it needs to settle down.

Imagine the breezes of life as being the same as nature's world wind.  Swift and cool...Blowing through with the opportunity of a life time. Blessings that have been hidden sometimes- wrapped in the debris that the gush has accumulated on its travels.  When it passes by you, the whirlwind swoops you up too.  And a magnetic object passes by you.  You grab hold to it and land where it lands.  As you remove the dust from the object, you realize that the ball like object is your potential.  It has a place for a lock, but the area is broken and the lock is missing.  Once you open it, you realized that it has inside a seed of opportunity- that is waiting for you to nourish it until its reality.

I found my seed of opportunity this same way, you know.  I nourished it, and loved it.  Labored for it, with no complaint.  That seed has grown into God's greatest gift for me.  Its brought more to me than I ever would have had, if I had not looked for it in the whirlwind that picked me up! 

Make your own opportunity

"I had to make my own living and my own opportunity.  Don't sit down and wait for the opportunities to come- Get up and make them!" This an such an inspirational truth and a blunt call to action delivered by one of the most influential women in American History, Madame CJ Walker.  Madame CJ Walker is most notably credited with the invention of a chemical hair relaxer or the pressing comb (incorrectly, I might add), and so much so that all of the other things that she did to lift up and inspire, not only her race and women, but people as a whole is often overshadowed.

Mrs. Walker, a descendent of slaves- got instructions in a dream to correct a condition from which she was suffering, which caused hair loss.  Once she followed the instructions and reversed her condition, she set about the business of sharing her "tonic" with people everywhere.  While she was not herself a slave, she did work in the cotton fields of the Mississippi Delta, eventually working her way up to the kitchen.  After developing her scalp tonic, she began traveling from city to city promoting her hair products which eventually led to her having the ability to open several hair salons,beauty schools, and even a manufacturing plant.  She even developed and trained sales people to promote her products!  In addition to building a wonderful business, she was very charitable!  Giving thousands of dollars (yes, THOUSANDS) organizations such as the NAACP, and even joined a group of Harlem leaders to the Whitehouse to demand that the federal government develop and enact anti-lynching laws.  The attitude that Madame CJ Walker had was one of strength, dedication to something that she loved, and a commitment to hard work.  She had a dream and worked tirelessly to make it a reality.  She was able to become an entrepreneur and a respected member of her community, in the most unfavorable and unequal conditions. 

Today, the possibilities are endless for those who have a passion to make their own way- to acquire wealth, to be educated, to reach for a place higher in society than they currently stand.  When times were as difficult as they were in Walker's time, people still perservered and pushed through to become successful, influential people- who made history!  The lesson that we need to get from them and keep at the forefront of our minds, is shaped in the very quote that began this blog post.  Make your opportunity- create your living.  Work hard at making your dreams come true, as they surely can even in the most dire of consequences.

The TRUTH about the life of Madame CJ Walker can be found on a website dedicated to her and maintained by her great-great grandaughter, A'Lelia Bundles: http://www.madamcjwalker.com/

The American Dream

Good afternoon readers,

I started this Saturday out as I usually have for the past few months, and that is by spending quality time with my daughter.  She's at that age now where she's learning how to drive, look for a part time job, and she's starting to think about what she wants her future to be like.  For some time now, I have been telling her that she can do anything that she wants to do in life, as long as she is not hurting herself or anyone else.  I also ask that she not break the law and to be a good person.  

My sweet daughter does not know exactly what she wants to do as of yet, but she does have many great talents and character traits.  She's musically and artistically inclined, athletic, intelligent, sensible, and honest (sometimes brutally)!  She also wants to enjoy being a kid as long as she can.  She sometimes feel caught in a tight spot when she discusses her future with her dad's side of the family.  They are all accomplished in what I like to call "typical" high-yield occupations.  There's a risk manager, a doctor, and a few federal workers.  They try to convince her that the only way to be happy in this life is to play it safe.  Get a "good paying job" with "benefits" and conform to the standard of living that was once thought to be the way to get the American dream.

I teach her differently, because I see differently.  If my daughter's dream is to become a pop sensation, why is that wrong?  If she dreams of being the best high school janitor she can be, why is that wrong?  Who did the original idea for what many believe is the American dream come from?  Who's ever really described what it is supposed to be?

I went to college and earned a masters degree.  I thought that getting a great job with "benefits" was going to help me fulfill the whole in my heart where happiness was supposed to be.  I worked so hard to get those pieces of paper, and I even found a few good  jobs.  I still was not happy and feeling like I had found my true purpose in life.  I have sense come to believe that I can be successful and filled fulfilled, by sharing a positive attitude and outlook in the world by sharing good information, my skills, and my life in hopes that it will inspire someone else to be the best that they can be.  In my quest to do that, I will in turn receive the best things that are needed for me in my life abundantly.  I will do that by blogging, writing, and using video to practice and perfect my craft, hoping that the world will enjoy my gift to them.  That is my American dream.  And I hope ultimately my daughter and all of you decide that by giving the best of yourself to the world is the only way that you will get the best from it.

Love,

Kaye