Ah.
Aha!
I woke with song in my heart. My heart wanted to sing.
I sang.
Badly.
Still, I sung.
MY song.
MY way.
Just cuz.
I sung to The Universe with gratitude.
I sung to God with love.
I sung to Life with joy.
Ah, beloveds. Sing. YOUR song. YOUR way. Sing with gusto. Sing badly, if you must. Just sing.
asking for A Friend,
Cassandra
#YourLifeMattersToMe
Note:
One step.
One step.
One step.
You are loved.
You are NOT alone.
Keep on being…YOU!
Me: I don’t know what I am doing WRONG!
The Universe: You are doing everything right.
Me: Why, then, am I not SUCCEEDING?
The Universe: You are much more successful than you know. Keep going.
Me: How? Where?
The Universe: Great questions! Keep asking. I will tell you a secret:
It’s not you, it’s Me. Getting in the way. Preparing the way. Making the way.
Me: Why?
The Universe: You shall run into the answers as you try. You will understand as you continue to strive.
I hate to say this for fear some may misunderstand…
Going through this tornado may have saved my life. Prior to it, beloveds, I was in the midst of running myself into the ground for any and everyone.
I had worked too hard. I had worked too long. I had ignored my body’s tells for far too long.
I had been burnt out for months. Okay, for the last two years at least. I told myself I could not afford to rest. I told myself folk could not afford for me to rest. Hogwash!
I did us ALL a disservice: Me, fam, friends, work, my community. I had nothing substantial left to give.
The tornado was like a huge needle being scraped over the vinyl record called my life.
I honestly do not know if I would have stopped abusing myself as I had. Abuse is a harsh word. A true one.
Don’t get it twisted, beloveds. The Universe is NOT served when we drive ourselves into the ground and rise as empty husks.
That said, I have promised to use EVERYTHING for my good. I don’t know why the doors have not opened yet. Yet. Three words driving me cra cra!😳😭
Hang in there, beloveds. It’s not you. Life has to make it do what it do. You just have to keep standing on business and doing all you know.
THEN…rest.
We got this.
believing in us all,
Cassandra
#YourLifeMattersToMe
Note: Have FAITH. DON’T quit. Not just yet. Yet…*sigh*. Be encouraged. I love you. So does He.
One step.
One step.
One step.
You are loved.
You are NOT alone.
Keep on being…YOU!
Sis wanted to get me some groceries. She wanted to get me the “good” soup. Meaning, the expensive soup. Two bucks plus per 🥫😲…*gasp*.
Growing up, we were never able to afford the “good” stuff. We “made do”. We scripted. We scrounged.
I learned to “make due” with every area of my life. I scrounged. I scrimped. I dared not ask anything for me. Things of value, anyway.
Doing this, I guess I taught myself to devalue ME. I didn’t understand mom was just making sure things lasted. The lesson I learned was that I was something that had to be managed. Barely.
That wasn’t mom’s fault. It was my child-like knowledge I turned into grown-up fear.
These months are teaching me how valuable Cassandra is apart from her effort. I’m worth a lot.
I think I shall let sis get me the good soup. I am worth it. I am worthy. I am worthwhile.
So are YOU, beloveds. Be sure to let yourself have some of the good things of life. You are priceless. You are worth all that life has in store for you. Be encouraged.
asking for A Friend,
Cassandra
#YourLifeMattersToMe
Note: This piece was hard to right. I’m sad and how long it took for me to see my value and worth. Thank goodness God was sooooooooo persistent and relentless in loving me.
One step.
One step.
One step.
You are loved.
You are NOT alone.
Keep on being…YOU!
Real talk, beloveds, it really is truth that when the student is ready, the teacher shall appear.
For weeks, I have been ramming my head against the same wall of fear 😱. EVERY day. ALL day. I told myself because I was in need of a job.
In truth, beloveds, the job had and has nothing whatever to do with my TRUE need(s):
The need to FEEL safe.
The need to BE safe, financially.
The need to KNOW the safety of the love of/from others.
NO job can meet those needs. NO person can meet those needs. NO bank account can meet those needs. Okay, they can TEMPORARILY. Then, the ultimate need will AGAIN present itself:
The need to be cared for. The need to KNOW/EXPERIENCE the fact we are NOT alone. The need to be cherished. The need to be heard. The need to be recognized.
Without these things, we feel empty, worthless and not worthwhile.
The reason I write is to let folk know they ARE:
Loved.
Seen.
Heard.
Valued.
Cherished.
By who/Whom?
Ah, great question! Answering this question is our quest, eh?
The FIRST person that must love us is US! How do we do that when we have forever been advised we are not lovable unless we come with endless gifts?
Ah, great question! Answering this question is our quest, eh?🥰
It took me many years to learn to love ME. There are still days when I have to remind me to keep loving me through all of my foolishness. Ah, Cassandra, why did you do THAT?! Oh, Cassandra, why didn’t you do THIS??!
One day, God told me to stop worrying about the outcome. He told me to focus on the try. I didn’t understand. Not at first. I was used to living and dying from the outcome.
I judged God by outcomes, or lack thereof. I judged people by outcomes, or lack thereof. I judged me by outcomes, or lack thereof.
Slowly, I learned to simply focus on MY try. I can’t do a thing about folk reading or not reading my pieces. I can’t convince folk to receive my care or not. I can’t force The Universe to bless me, monetarily.
ALL I can do is TRY. Lately, I found myself focusing more and more on the outcome, or lack thereof. All that did was send discouragement pouring in all corners of my world.
I forgot to look UP. I was too afraid to move FORWARD. I forgot to take joy with me through the hard. All I saw was nothing happening.
Thursday morning, I chose to put everything down. I told myself I refuse to allow fear to run my life and job search. The job is not the point. The point is to continue building my life upon FAITH, ACTION, INTEGRITY, AND LOVE. Everything else will come out in the wash.
I turned off the job searching and went in search of my peace of mind. I needed a reset. A while after that, a CS Lewis channel came across my feed. He was talking about resting and the fact that God is moving in our lives whether we see it or not.
Then, another wonderful channel appeared with beautiful scenery and positive affirmations.
Today, I came across a WONDERFUL piece from The Work At Home Guide. I HAD to share it with you as she has literally shared what I have been praying and asking for for weeks:
From Dreamer to Doer: Taking Action for Success – The Work At Home Guide
https://theworkathomeguide.com/from-dreamer-to-doer-taking-action-for-success/#respond
The whole point of this piece is to encourage you to just try. What you need SHALL be added to you. Who you need SHALL appear.
I hear a cup of coffee calling my name. Who is up for a cup?
asking for A Friend,
Cassandra
#YourLifeMattersToMe
Note: Keep trying, beloveds. If your try was not having an effect, your haters wouldn’t be hating so hard. No matter what results, you are growing. You are living. You are moving forward.
Life is much too short to waste on bitter feelings over what was or wasn’t. Move on. Move past. Start again. Again.
One step.
One step.
One step.
You are loved.
You are NOT alone.
Keep on being…YOU!
Eyoww!😳
Hard:
Life has been living! Eyoww!
The bills won’t stop. The month is running out. My want to has not always wanted to.
My want to:
EVERY day, I drag want to out of bed…
Hard has been forcing me to DO SOMETHING, CASSANDRA!
The more I DO SOMETHING, the less large fear looms. In fact, fear gets embarrassed when I DO SOMETHING. Fear doesn’t know what to do, when WE do something to combat fear.
Ah.
Aha!
Just this morning, beloveds, fear told me to stop writing. Doubt chimed in and said nobody cares about you or your thoughts. Reality insisted I will NEVER see my dreams in real time.
Ha, I replied!
I appreciate hard, now. I don’t care for it being so bloody hard. I understand why, now.
Don’t be discouraged when hard gets so damned hard, beloveds. These times are simply opportunities to activate and utilize your faith. Period.
We all believe in something. Hard times simply show us what we are actually standing on.
Keep on believing in your try. Your try WILL result in a wonderfully, delicious life.
In the meantime, try not to focus so much on the hard of things. Enjoy your day. Hard is going to be hard. So what? You have thangs to do.
Tell reality to kick rocks when it reminds you of your age and limitations. We CAN. We WILL.
asking for A Friend,
Cassandra
#YourLifeMattersToMe
Note: I REFUSE to allow hard to keep me from trying. I got thangs to do. Don’t you dare let your hard keep you from LIVING!
One step.
One step.
One step.
You are loved.
You are NOT alone.
Keep on being…YOU!
I have had to clean house this year. I have had to clean up many a mess due to some internal stinking thinking.
I didn’t believe in myself, like I could have. In turn, I failed to fight for myself, as I would have.
Just now, I took out the trash. It has been terribly cold these last weeks. So much so I have absolutely DREADED taking out the trash.
Today, I told lazy to stop being lazy. The sun was stunning. She brilliantly showed off her sparkles for all who were smart enough to get outside.
Taking out the trash gave me the energy to do more. Okay, it didn’t. I made myself get on with the business of LIVING.
Fear, of the future, can keep us from living, in the present.
Be sure to get out of your fears, beloveds, and into your brilliant future.
Folk all over the world have been bemoaning the state of the world. To hear folk tell it, we may as well just pack up, not care, and kick a pet or two on the way out. Hooey on that!
Real talk, beloveds, we HAVE to keep up with our internal housekeeping. If not, we shall find ourselves too easily swayed and dismayed by lies and disinformation.
ENJOY your today. It’s the only you get. Hopefully, another today will be tacked on to this one!
asking for A Friend,
Cassandra
#YourLifeMattersToMe
Note: Okay, um, like you are supposed to be doing chores. What are you still doing here?😁🥰🤣❤🙏
One step.
One step.
One step.
You are loved.
You are NOT alone.
Keep on being…YOU!
Yes, you CAN.
Yes, you WILL.
Any other questions?
asking for A Friend,
Cassandra
#YourLifeMattersToMe
Note: Now that you KNOW you CAN and you WILL, what in the heckamiah Jeremiah are you waiting for?! Get going. You have too many thangs to do.
One step.
One step.
One step.
You are loved.
You are NOT alone.
Keep on being…YOU!
Ow.
Ow!
OWWWW!!!
Disappointment has kicked my tail this year.
Apparently, disappointment has had nothing better to do than to mock me relentlessly.
In my disappointment, I found myself rushing to God to hold up the latest pile of what in the fresh hell is THIS?!
Then, all God has done is told me to take it up with The Universe.
So, I scoop up all THAT disappointment, and rush off to confront The Universe.
Then, The Universe shrugs and tells me to take it up with Life.
Sooooooooooo, I scoop up the now THIS pile of disappointment, and confront life about presenting me with so much THIS and THAT.
Life simply smiles and reminds me I am learning HOW to make mishmash.
How can I argue with that?
In fighting disappointment, I am learning to fight FOR me, not against my current circumstances.
Things change. The only thing consistent is change. I am forcing myself to learn how to graciously accept the change.
Yes, I will continue to try. Yes, I will change what I can/must. Still, I will be good to me until the change comes.
Whatever your circumstances, beloveds, try not to allow disappointment to grow bitter walls within you. Stay open. Tear down your defensive walls.
Allow light to come in. Breathe joy in there.
Whatever you choose, be sure to take a bunch of love to disperse wherever you go.
asking for A Friend,
Cassandra
#YourLifeMattersToMe
Note:
One step.
One step.
One step.
You are loved.
You are NOT alone.
Keep on being…YOU!
All you have to do to stand out is to stand up.
All you have to do to show out is to show up.
All you have to do to meet the challenge is to meet the need.
Stand up!
Show up!
Meet the need!
The world is in desperate need of folk who will get out there and love it. Warts and all. Faults and all. Misdeeds and all.
Lately, folk have been urging black women to boycott and not work for or shop in corporations that don’t/won’t value us.
I choose the bigger fight. I choose to love. Period. In whatever setting I find myself in. The world will do what it does. I CHOOSE not to respond in kind.
I will:
Stand up!
Show up!
Meet the need!
Can a sista get some help here?
asking for A Friend,
Cassandra
#YourLifeMattersToMe
Note: Apathy is for the lazy. Hate is for the misinformed. Gloom and doom is for the haters.
Let’s go, beloveds. We got thangs to do.
One step.
One step.
One step.
You are loved.
You are NOT alone.
Keep on being…YOU!
I’m taking a break for a few days. I’m relinquishing my need to control things I can NOT control.
The unknown does NOT have to be the terrifying place I have been making it, these last few weeks.
I have been seeing gloom and doom when neither of those things have been near.
I have been secretly prophesying my imminent demise, from my abode.
I have been seeing boogeymen in EVERY corner, when none have been close by.
Unknowingly, I was building a castle of fear. Realizing my error, I gave myself permission to step aside. I needed to regroup. I needed to catch hold of that which had caught hold of me.
I need to step back so I can keep the main thing THE main thing: Standing on FAITH. Standing ten toes down. Waiting PATIENTLY. Free from fear.
Why? Because, I am loved and I am NOT alone. Neither are you, beloveds.
I REFUSE to allow the fear of the unknown to run my right now. Right now, I am here. Right now, I am cared for. Right now, I am enjoying my place. Right now, I have a wonderfully tight relationship with God, a few family members and a couple of friends.
Right now, I have my health, such as it is. Right now, I am in my right mind. Right now, I have amazing life I am reimagining. All I have is right now.
Someone needs to KNOW that things are NOT as they appear. I wonder who has me up this late? Ah, God, we have need. Hear us. I speak also for those who don’t believe in You. Bless them also. Continue to love them also. Give us grace to hang in there. Ah, we are trying so hard not to be tired. We are a smidge on the exhausted side. Be there for us. Uplift every heart. Meet each need. Asking for many friends. Amen.
Cassandra
#YourLifeMattersToMe
Note: Things are NOT what they seem. Be encouraged.
One step.
One step.
One step.
You are loved.
You are NOT alone.
Keep on being…YOU!
Why Can't I Be Loud?! 