Heavy On My Mind

Let me start off by saying I do not claim any one type of religion as my own. I do believe there is something greater than ourselves out there and when you get to the bottom of it all, most religions have the message of having love, peace, and harmony, as well as being a humanitarian among mankind.  I have been VERY fortunate to meet people of different faiths/ethnicity and learn about their beliefs and customs. It's one of the things I love about where I live. Call me very open minded, but I have a large amount of respect for people who are willing to share their world with others to learn with open arms and a smile.

Since the killings in the Connecticut elementary school, people in the media and society have been saying that America needs God back in public schools. Children need guidance when parents cannot provide it. Children need values and morals instilled in them when parents don't do it themselves. Because God has been taken out of schools, these massacres are allowed to happen. This is what is being said, not my words.

Let's backtrack for a second; I was born in Detroit, MI raised for maybe 4 years in a small town called Jackson and we use to say the "Pledge of Allegiance" as well as sing the "Our Country" at school. I vaguely remember that there were prayer sessions for some students every morning. Once I moved back to Detroit in maybe 1st-2nd grade, I noticed that those three morning "traditions" were missing and it was straight to work for us after morning announcements. I found out later that it was taken out of most schools around the US because other religions had some concerns of it.

Lately I have been thinking about the many extremists out there in quite a few religions and since hearing people saying God needs to be brought back to schools, it gives me an uneasy feeling. I don't think it is a bad idea, however, I wonder what do those who are voicing the need mean exactly? Who's God? Will it be everyone or just a certain few? Since 911, there are many who are not very friendly towards Muslims, so it leaves in my mind to wonder who will it benefit? Who will it exclude? As great as it would be to give exposure and enable all religions to coexist, sadly the reality is that there are going to be a few who will go on a fear and smear campaign and it will cause another problem in itself. And for a mother of 3? Yes I definitely want to avoid any mayhem and foolishness as I teach my children that they have the right to their own faith without prejudice. Over the years, this world has become a big melting pot of people and I sincerely hope that one day people will stop being so agoraphobic in their thinking and step outside their comfort zone and explore what they do not understand. But today, I say "They're not ready".

I Am Woman Hear Me Roar!!!

Real women do it all but along with doing it all we tend not to do for ourselves. We often slack on our beauty, sleep, our all around health. How many times have you got up in the morning on the wrong side of the bed? How many times did you have to get up and moving and decided not to dress up but rather throw on sweats.......day after day because that outfit was convenient and comfortable? Yes, you and me both. We know those pictures that you post on Facebook and share on Instagram are in clothes you just threw on.. HA. Don't feel bad, we all do it and it just means that we have to make the time to pamper ourselves. We are living and interacting in stressful environments and sometimes we forget that we too need to keep ourselves in order as we keep the atmosphere around us normal.

I grew up in a household where vegetables had a place. I can remember my mom making baked chicken, cabbage, white rice with gravy, green beans, and a big salad. Anything we ate most ALWAYS was accompanied with a salad or some sort of vegetable. My mother would say "Eat your ruff-age" as she made collard greens with turkey necks. Oh boy!! What I am saying is that our meals were pretty balanced. For me it was just good eatin', when in fact it meant much more......

I moved to NYC when I was 18, in the fall of 2004. In a city where fast food restaurants and convenient stores are literally in your face, it is easy to get sucked into the quick, fast, hostility, and lazy lifestyle. Let's not forget, being around cultures where the diets are different. Some that are meant to have you feeling full and healthy for the whole day and some that make you look "healthy", or plump rather, and hungry within an hour. I have had a taste of both and managed to end up on the spectrum of plump. Well I wish that were the case, I ended up looking pregnant months after I had already given birth. So join me as I take this journey to get back on track with health in abundance of all things, mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual!