Pursuing Purpose

My entrepreneur, pastor, mother, activist and author friend warned me she was about to have less time, be less responsive and more focused because she had a lot going on (see the list!).

So I tried to be the kind of friend that made the most of the time she had without berating her for not having more. ‘Cause we all have stuff to do…like a purpose to pursue!

Inhale On Purpose, Exhale Guilt…
Inhale Laser Focus, Exhale Distractions…
Inhale Hot Pursuit, Exhale Meandering…
Just Breathe

#JustBreathe
#Focus

Knowing your purpose should allow you to organize and prioritize your activities. But if you know your purpose and continue to align yourself with something that’s not what you’re supposed to be doing…

If you continue to say yes to things that are not aligned with your vision or values…

Or if you feel guilty about saying no and you talk yourself into doing something you know you shouldn’t be doing…

Then you’re going to be out of balance and experience stress.

“Your purpose determines your priorities, your priorities direct your plans, and your plan gives energy to your push. If one is misaligned, everything suffers.” ~ Cortney Sigilai

Inhale Prioritization, Exhale Unintentionality…
Inhale Alignment, Exhale Guilt…
Inhale Balance, Exhale Instability…
Just Breathe

#JustBreathe

Traumatized

Scholars like Dr. Joy DeGruy have theorized that white supremacy has traumatized black AND white Americans. “Black people are afraid of a government which has not and will not protect them; white people are afraid that perhaps their injustice, or complicity in the dispensing of injustice, will come back to haunt them.”

That fear of retaliation is at the core of the gun debate…it’s why hate groups have found a safe haven in those institutions initially created to hunt slaves and why the FBI has never referred to the KKK as a terrorist group but recently labeled those peacefully protesting the violence against black bodies “black identity extremists” and warned that police attacks on black Americans could spur “premeditated, retaliatory lethal violence” against the police.

It’s a fear that’s rooted in fantasy, not reality, and yet has resulted in real oppression, real harassment, and real deaths.

“What a world this will be when human possibilities are freed, when we discover each other, when the stranger is no longer the potential criminal and the certain inferior!” ~ W. E. B. Du Bois

Inhale Reality, Exhale Fantasy…
Inhale Compassion, Exhale Complicity…
Inhale Justice, Exhale Guilt…
Just Breathe

#JustBreathe
Reflections With Renita

Unfocused

Maybe at some point, Americans will recognize that unchecked, unabated hate is also often unfocused…

“Until we are all free, we are none of us free.” ~ Emma Lazarus, who also wrote the words on the Statue of Liberty

Inhale Humanity, Exhale Apathy…
Inhale Ownership, Exhale Excuses…
Inhale Action, Exhale Guilt…
Just Breathe

#JustBreathe
#Humanity

Everyday Values

“It’s not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are.” ~ Roy E. Disney.

If you say you value integrity, SHOULDN”T you be where you say you’re going to be, when you say you’re going to be there…do what you say you’re going to do, when you say you are going to do it…you know, be accountable to yourself?

Asking for a friend…

Inhale Integrity, Exhale Excuses…
Inhale Commitment, Exhale Guilt…
Inhale Accountability, Exhale Anxiety…
Just Breathe…

#Values
#JustBreathe

Tag: Guilt