It's Spring...

The lilac tree is blooming outside my house... I love this time of year. The fragrance meets me at the door and it brightens my mood day or night. The tree only blooms for a couple of weeks and then the purple is gone... the fragrance is gone. What is left is the green leaves and branches. For a few years I didn't even know it was a lilac tree and would miss the blooming seasons because I was not paying attention to a treasure right in front of my face for weeks. In fact I didn't even realize it was a lilac tree until a few years ago when I was in the Arboretum and noticed the lilac trees looked like the "ugly tree in front of my house". A week after I realized the similarity, the tree bloomed and then I went back to the Arboretum and was amazed how much I didn't pay attention to what was right in front of me for years. That season I realized that I love Lilacs and now every year I get excited waiting for the bloom!

Happy Spring!

-WonderWoman

It's been a while...

I haven't blogged in a long time. I have been writing more and working on some things. I just wasn't in a space to blog and share, but today I wanted to share something that I have been reminded of lately over the past few months.

• Time has a way of changing things. I continue to be affirmed with the belief that every day is filled with new possibilities... and these days I am liking the possibilities before me. The emotional heart is an amazing thing... each experience changes it but it is truly a muscle and with appropriate emotional excercise the change can be that the heart gets stronger. My heart is stronger these days...
• People have to go thru what they have to go thru. Being there for someone doesn't equal taking on their experience as your own. That goes for family and friends. This is one lesson that I struggle with over and over again.
• When one door closes... look around sometimes its more clearly another door opening, but sometimes you have to look for the cracked window and lift it up so you can move to the next space.
• Spending time with family can be rejuvenating and affirming... especially when its because you choose to and not because their is some family event or tragedy.
• Hanging out with young people helps to ground you in so many ways. My house has become my youth development laboratory in some ways... journey from boys to men!
• "Shoulda", "Coulda", "Woulda" are such judgment words. Being present is so important and the real statement is "I am"!
• Kindness and thoughfulness turns my frowns upside down... oh I am liking the possibilities.

Peace and Blessing,

WonderWoman

25 Things about ME!

25 Things about ME!

Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you.

1. My favorite color is Purple- Purple is royalty. A mysterious color, purple is associated with both nobility and spirituality. Purple has a special, almost sacred place in nature: lavender, orchid, lilac, and violet flowers are often delicate and considered precious.
2. I am a writer! I recently reclaimed this truth. I find my authenticity thru my writing, and I also use the process to get unstuck. God's whisper comes to me thru writing. Writing is so powerful!
3. My playlists in Itunes are the soudtracks of moments in my life. Music moves me and sometimes gives me direction.
4. I have two amazing gifts from God… my two sons! God also keeps me from catching a case some days (smile). Listen my best advice to parents: enjoy each stage of parenting, it changes and goes by so fast… adolescents truly is the second toddler stage… and our children are not an extension of us, they have their own journey to travel we are their guide and coach them on their journey.
5. The last 10 months or so... have been CHALLENGING to say the least. There have been so many transitions going on at the same time in my life that it has been overwhelming at times... but I am coming out on the other side- wiser, stronger, loved, more loving, more on purpose, and awakened to the importance of peace and happiness in the moment (the future and the past aren’t now… I have to be present NOW).
6. I am a “glass is half full” kinda gurl, and I also know when my “glass is empty” and need to be replenished. Optimism is what gets me up and out of bed when my circumstances disappoint me!
7. Mary J Blige… damn I love her, because so many of her CDs have been soundtracks to moments for me. My Life got me thru, and No More Drama was the kick off to a great year in my 20s.
8. Michael Jackson… Thriller Album brings back so many happy memories. I was at the store the first day that 25th Anniversary Thriller CD came out.
9. Smiling and saying hello to others make my day better. Its my simple gift to the world.
10. Laughing is a gift to my soul. I laugh easily and often. I don’t like being around people that take themselves too seriously… one of my favorite quotes, “Why so serious?” –The Joker
11. I LOVE ice cream! I have found a healthier choice for my regular ice cream needs- Hagan Daaz Mango Sorbet. And for those difficult days, special treats, or well just when I convince myself I deserve it… Breyer’s Oreo Cookie, or Ben N Jerry’s Mint Cookies N Cream is soooo yummy to my tummy. Also I love a sundae with caramel and strawberries… YES YOU CAN mix the two (Reason… don’t judge me LOL)
12. I love fleece socks! I obsessively buy them at Job Lot. To justify my obsession I give them to others as gifts… sharing is caring (smile).
13. I got my license and my first car (my plum Mazda 626) when I was 21 years old.
14. One of the best ways to get out of my head, and remember that child in me… is to get a game going with a group of kids. My favorite is kickball (I can be competive) so yes I will even knock over a kindergartener in order to make it to my base LOL. The best training I ever went to was Project Joy… I love being a Playmaker!
15. I have loved and lost at least 3 times… and that has prepared me to love again. I am “single and ready to mingle”, my OtherMotha’s favorite phrase.
16. Spirituality is a journey from my perspective. I know there is more to life than what I can see. I am so happy that God love’s me in spite of myself! Hope, Faith, and Love are God’s gifts to me and I am sooooo grateful! I believe we are representatives of God’s love thru us to others. I try to remember that most when I am hurt and angry with someone…
17. My Grandma T is my SHERO! She is one of God’s best love representatives. How she lives teaches me more than what she says.
18. My Daddy is my HERO! He taught me that change is possible and that forgiveness is the best gift I can give to myself. He is one of my best friends. When I need a retreat and a hug… to Daddy’s house I go. I will always be Daddy’s Little Girl and I love him more than I can put into words.
19. I have one sibling… my big little brother. He is one of the most loving people I know. Brotha, can I borrow $5 LOL
20. I love breakfast food! I can eat breakfast anytime of day.
21. Gratitude is the door to blessings! I have learned to remember to be grateful for the big and small things in my life.
22. I have amazing friends! You inspire me, motivate me, cry with me, laugh with me, and most of love and push me to be my best ME! I am so thankful!
23. My mother is my ROCK! I am able to be who I am because of her support, and her love. We definitely don’t always agree or see things the same way… but I have grown to appreciate and respect her because I understand her more as I grow.
24. I know a little about a lot of stuff. If I don’t know it I will most definitely google it. Some of my friends will call me for the strangest things… I was their GPS before you could get one for $200. I should have been charging for my services.
25. Super heroes intrigue me. I most relate to Wonder Woman, particularly as she struggles to understand why she is called to be who she is?

Well I am going to follow the rules and end at 25 things about ME. I am learning to follow the rules… sometimes (smile)

-WonderWoman

What a Week... What A Time!!!

I have struggled to find words over the last few weeks. My new year started off with a graceful reminder... PAIN AND CHALLENGE is PREPARATION FOR BLESSINGS!!!

In this time of my life some situations and experiences are disappointing (to say the least) and others are overwhelming gifts of God's love and grace in my life. These situations and experiences co-exist in my reality, and I sometimes struggle to understand why, and other times am able to remind myself... "it is what it is" and "be blessed, right now". I am moving thru a valley of a personal spiritual transformation... I know it sounds very Oprah/New Age-y, but it is truth! In this space, I struggle to find the words and I realized that I can celebrate the silence also. God is truly preparing me for GREATNESS and with his grace and mercy.... I am becoming more enlightened to my purpose and the gifts I bring to this moment to share with the world.

The Day WE made History!!!
On Tuesday, January 20, 2009 President Barack Hussien Obama was sworn in as the first African American President of the United States of America. I watched history being made with my Mother, My BabyBoy, My OthaMotha, and so many other elders of my community at My Mom's Church. When we first arrived, the planners of this event asked me to say a few words about what this moment mean to me as a kick off to the viewing. I was the first guest to speak, and when I looked out and say my son watching me, and my mother smiling proudly, I took the microphone and spoke from my spirit.

I shared how glad I was to share this moment with my Mother, My Son, and My Other Mother. I had been torn about going to DC or staying home, and at that moment I was so glad I decided to stay home. I couldn't imagine being anywhere else but there. I also shared about how I use to ponder historic moments in our past (The Middle Passage, Hundreds of Years of Enslavement, The Civil War, Post-Emancipation, Jim Crow Days, Civil Rights Movement, Black Power Movement....). As I learned about these times in history I often wondered who I would have been in that movement at that moment... what would I have done, where would I have been, how would I have participated in that moment in history. I said that this moment on this day, my curiosity about the past has settled ... because I was born to be in this moment, in this movement, at this time... this is my purpose and I am so thankful to do my part. As I said that silence came over me. That is truly what this moment means to me... IT IS MY WAKE UP CALL TO MY PURPOSE!! I am inspired by President Barack Obama's audacity to believe that this was the time and the right moment for him to run for Presidency... and I am most inspired by my fellow Americans that we had the AUDACITY to join this movement of our lifetime!

After other speakers finished... we settled down to watch history. I was listening somewhat, but the moment was so spirit-filling that I had to just feel it (Later, I had to go back and watch President Obama's speech so I could really listen to it). After the Inauguration, we shared lunch with everyone. There was a woman whose Birthday was celebrated during this luncheon and she turned 88 year old woman. I sat with an elder from Alabama and I could feel her spirit as we watched the Inauguration, and during the lunch as she would touch my hand and rub my shoulder she said, This is a Blessing", and I never thought I would see this". I AM PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN AT THIS TIME IN THIS MOMENT!!

My wake up call has opened up my heart, mind, and spirit...

• This week a dream I have had for many years was re-energized after a great conversation with a sista I met. I am writing again!!!
• I am more Swaggerful today than I was yesterday!
• I am coming out of my funk, and overjoyed with the possibilities...
• I am saying yes to the possibilities, and no to the fear that often holds me back

Somethings I understand about spirtuality and are eloquently said by others (this is from Oprah.com)...

Elizabeth says spirituality is ingrained in all of us. "There's this instinct inside of each and every one of us that there's more to life than meets the eye," she says. Elizabeth says spirituality is our intuition that there is something greater to life than the daily grind. "It's the fearlessness to ask the big questions," she says. "Who am I? What's my purpose? Life? Where do we go when we die? And how do we live a fully alive, meaningful, giving, generous life when we're here?"

Oprah's definition of spirituality revolves around the understanding that we are more than what we can physically see. "When you begin to realize that you are more than your body, that your purpose is greater than your profession or your career—that every life, because you were born you have a right to be here and there is a calling on your life—it means you live your life without fear and you know that no matter what happens, no matter what happens, you are going to be all right. You are going to be all right. That's what spirituality is for me."

Loved and Loving,

WonderWoman