Be the Change no. 43

“Change is difficult when you keep telling yourself the same story. Change your story and change your life.”

Be the Change.

People love numbers BUT don’t really understand what they mean. We are fascinated with data and statistics that hold no true significance or importance to how our lives work. Folks focus on the numbers and the data as if the numbers and the data show, reveal, or establish change. We seek cause in correlation and look for change in that correlation.

Folks seek comfort in the numbers. Comfort does not allow us to change into what we should become. Comfort keeps us firmly rooted where we are now. Comfort does not allow for growth and abundance. Comfort keeps us living in our narrative when we should be writing a better story. Comfort lulls us into complacency and acceptance when we should be struggling and working to become better versions of ourselves.

I know that comfort was a big part of where I was for forty-five years. I had made it to a point where I wasn’t worried. Things were going to work out better for me than they did for my parents. I was better off financially and academically. I was at a point where I wasn’t afraid. I was sure in my own security and safety. BUT I wasn’t living abundantly. I wasn’t living joyfully. I was living in a structure that only appeared to be safe and secure. And I think a lot of us can identify with a false feeling of safety and security. We get that feeling of comfort that is balanced right on the edge of fear and doubt. Maybe things are not as great as they could be, however, things are not as bad as they are for others. So we take comfort in being better than, rather than being better. And I can definitely see that in where I was fourteen days ago and then my focus changed.

I wasn’t living in alignment. I was totally a mess. I thought that this system that I was so tragically flawed was going to look out for me. That despite how full of holes it all was, that somehow it was going to save and protect me because it always had. BUT the system doesn’t care about anything other than its own survival and that is a difficult lesson to internalize. I see people struggling with it to this day. Folks that have accepted that the system is benevolent and righteous and just and is going to protect them as long as they follow the rules. It is an easy enough covenant to make with yourself and the system.

BUT the system is really good at making you believe in it. It has years of perfecting its message and crafting its influence and bringing you into its fold. The system has systems for everyone to find their own niche in the system. It’s wonderfully simple in its complexity and equally as dangerous and troubling.

So, I think it is time I stopped telling myself the same old story. It is about time I took control of my narrative. It is quite well enough to be comfortable and complacent BUT my future lies in struggle and growth, my future lies in knowledge and wisdom, my future lies in abundance and joy. And I am not getting there on a sofa. I am not getting there in a car. I am not getting there on a plane. I am getting there by knowing myself, aligning with my beliefs, and walking as the Most High intended. God did not create either me or you to suck at living. There is an abundance, a growth, a joy that is out there beyond the systems that society has created. We just have to make those things possible. We have to allow ourselves to change in order for the narrative to get told.

Have the day you want. I hope you find whatever you’re looking for.

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoGodsNoMasters #MyBodyMyChoice #MakeYourselfGreatAgain #BeTheChange

Be the Change no. 42

"Everyone chooses their level of involvement. We might share the same place BUT that does not mean we share the same space. Not everyone in the congregation is Christian."

Be the Change.

It is easy to get disheartened at humanity by looking at the congregation. And that is why I focus on the people of action. The ones that geny up and get the job done. The ones that put in the work and make the changes. The ones that build up themselves and those around them. I focus on folks with equal levels of involvement.

It is easy to fall into the weeds and look around at all the problems. And that is why I choose to look at the great things being done by myself and others. The actions that show compassion and cooperation among people. The actions that are not easy but are required to make things better. The actions that affect change in our lives and our community. I focus on positive change.

It is easy to find yourself confused, disoriented, and alone. It is easy to find yourself among the complacent, the worried, and the fearful. It is easy to find yourself outnumbered, bullied, and tormented. And it is just as easy to be a winner, live life abundantly, and enact change. The choice is yours.

Every day we get to wake up and choose change. Every day we get the opportunity to embrace knowledge and wisdom. Every day we get the opportunity to make our day, our life, our story into something we want. Every day we get a choice. How are you going to choose today?

A lot of us think we are born into something. A lot of us like to blame our genetics, blame our family, blame our community, blame our government, blame anyone else other than ourselves. BUT we have the power every single day. We get to choose if we are going to learn. We get to choose if we are going to grow. We get to choose how we react. We get to choose how the rest of the journey goes. We get to choose to be a victim or a victor.

I choose victory not because it is easier. I choose victory not because I was born a winner. I choose victory not because I have a history of winning. I choose victory because I get to choose it. I am allowed to win. I am allowed to live abundantly. I am allowed to be happy. And I think a lot of folks need to allow themselves that joy and victory. You need to allow yourself an abundant life full of exactly what you need, what you want, what you desire. You need to take yourself back. You need to make yourself great again. And you can today and every other day.

Have the day you want. I hope you find whatever you’re looking for.

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoGodsNoMasters #MyBodyMyChoice #MakeYourselfGreatAgain #BeTheChange