Category: walking

We ARE The World.

I can’t tell you why, beloveds, but I find great solace in listening to ‘We Are The World’ when my heart is heavy. Don’t ask me why. It just does. The song reminds me of a time when the world came TOGETHER. As ONE voice. As ONE people. To help and love one another.

The song is decades old. The sentiment never changes. Ah, beloveds, that we all chose to come TOGETHER, once again!

We can. WE can. We CAN. IF, we ALL choose to. I choose.

How about you?

asking for A Friend,

Cassandra

#YourLifeMattersToMe

Note: There are sooooooooooooo many voices attempting to divide us all. I absolutely REFUSE to give up on my fellow man. Call me a big dummy. I’ll own that. Until we all come together in love and harmony, I pray. Ah, God. Help us all to get some act right. Love someone, beloveds. Starting with you. Extend your hand to those who don’t look like, talk like, believe like, or live where you live.

We ARE the world…

One step.

One step.

One step.

You are loved.

You are NOT alone.

Keep on being…YOU!

Don’t be afraid to fail.

Ack!

Geeeeeeeeeeeeeeezzzz!!!

*stomps foot*

*sigh*

I have been trying to teach myself how to transfer videos from Canva to Instagram. I am ready to scream already!!!

Times past, beloveds, I would have used the excuse ‘I don’t know how’ to keep myself from trying the little I HAVE learned.

Now, I try. Badly. I THINK I have figured out that you have to first download the video and then share or some such a thing.

Ack!!!!

SOMETHING is happening. The little white circle IS circling. Perhaps something shall post there. Perhaps not. Still, I am satisfied with my meager attempt to reach out to the world to let someone know they are loved and not alone.

Don’t be afraid to fail, beloveds. Fail, spectacularly. Then, dust yourself off and find something else to tear up until you figure out how…..hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!

I used to strive for perfection. Now, I strive to be as excellent as I can possibly be in this terribly frayed and flawed human called Cassandra.

Me is all I have. Me is all I can give. I am satisfied with this old, tore up me that is forever tearing up SOMETHING.

I am seizing THIS day. Shakily. Unhurried. Wondering. How wonderful!

Take care to remember you can only do what you can do. That’s it. KNOWING this, beloveds, why can’t you cut YOU some slack, okay?

asking for A Friend,

Cassandra

#YourLifeMattersToMe

Note: I KNOW I have flooded your inboxes, beloveds. Yet, someone is terribly discouraged and on the verge of giving up. I can NOT give up on him/her/them. I dare not. Be encouraged. Keep moving forward. Ever forward. Stop looking at the waves. Don’t fear the storm. You are NOT alone. You SHALL survive AND thrive. I promise.

How do I know? I did. I have. I am. God is no respecter of persons. Meaning, your life, safety and wellbeing is just as important as mine. Your steps are carefully watched, beloveds. Yes, I know. It feels as though your cries have fallen on deaf ears.

You pray. You wait. You pray. You wait. You watch others being blessed. You pray. You wait. You grow soooooooooooooooo weary in your well doing. You pray. You hope. You wait. Your heart fails from the endless waiting.

Tribulation befalls us all. It hurts. That said, once we have been tried, we SHALL come forth as gold. The heat is awful. It’s terribly lonely. The hard is terribly hard to deal with. Be encouraged. All things have an end.

The trial, the hard, is NOT the point. How you come out of the hard, the trial, IS what matters. The bible says to endure hardness ‘as a good shoulder’. More and more, I am understanding what that means. What does it mean? Ah, beloveds, you have to endure to find out!

Don’t give up. Not just yet. Don’t be afraid to fail. Failing does not make you a failure. It just means you have not figured the thing out. That’s okay. You are okay. Everything else will be okay. In case no one has told you today: I love you. So does He. Be encouraged.

One step.

One step.

One step.

You are loved.

You are NOT alone.

Keep on being…YOU!

Real talk: Not in my vocabulary!

https://www.instagram.com/stories/whycantibeloud55/3448124524157612835?utm_source=ig_story_item_share&igsh=dng2cmhybXl4MXF1

I think I did it!

Yaya!

trying,

Cassandra

#YourLifeMattersToMe

Note:

One step.

One step.

One step.

You are loved.

You are NOT alone.

Keep on being…YOU!

Not in my vocabulary!

Quitting.

Not in my vocabulary!

Giving up.

Not in my vocabulary!

Walking away.

Not in my vocabulary!

Giving in to the darkness.

Not in my vocabulary!

Giving up on love.

Not in my vocabulary!

Giving up on my dreams.

Not in my vocabulary!

Giving up on my fellow man.

Not in my vocabulary!

Walking away from hard.

Not in my vocabulary!

Turning my back on me.

Not in my vocabulary!

Giving in to fear.

Not in my vocabulary!

Allowing doubt to take over.

Not in my vocabulary!

Running away from facing ME.

Not in my vocabulary!

Allowing others to run my life.

Not in my vocabulary!

Choosing to see the worst.

Not in my vocabulary!

Choosing to remain in my comfort zone(s).

Not in my vocabulary!

Nah, beloveds, we got entirely too many thangs to do than to allow anything or anyone get in our way. Including, ourselves. Especially, ourselves!

Get up!

Try.

Fail.

Laugh.

Then, get up and try, fail and laugh again.

And, again.

And, again.

Until?

Until we win!!

winning with you,

Cassandra

#YourLifeMattersToMe

Note: I have not had a paycheck since June. And, that was only a check of ONE day’s pay. That’s it.

I’m 55.

Jobless.

Alone.

Yet, not alone.

Does these ‘realities’ make me want to run for the hills? At times. Does these things make me want to doubt myself? Undoubtably. Does these things make me want to lose faith in my faith? No.

I won’t lie, beloveds. EVERYTHING was shaken after that awful tornado tore through my yard. Everything. I have never been more terrified. Never. And, I had been through Hurricane Katrina and another tornado, in the past.

I don’t know why THIS tornado was so earth-shattering, pun intended. Maybe, it’s because I faced it alone. At 55. Suddenly, my age took on a life of its own. It began to dominate everything. It made me question everything.

Can I REALLY move forward? Can I TRULY be successful. At my age?!

God keeps telling me I can do this. The Universe keeps saying I WILL do this. Life keeps shouting to me that I MUST do this.

Beloveds, I’m afraid I may not be up to the task. What if I can’t? What if I don’t? What if I do and what I have to offer is NOT enough?

Ah, there goes that word again, beloveds.

Enough. Six letters that causes the greatest anxt and heartache for ALL of us? Am I enough? Is what I have to offer ENOUGH? Can I give enough that will EVER matter to ANYONE?

Yet, the only way to find out, beloveds, is to go on ahead and to find out!

We may not be enough for some. We may be too much for others. We WILL be perfect for those The Universe has just waiting to love and care for us.

But, we are terrified of that six letter word. Enough. We soooooooooooooooooooo want to BE enough.

Why?

So, we can be CHOSEN. Ah, another word that tears at the heartstrings. Chosen.

What if no one chooses to be with me? What if the world chooses not to see me? What if my skillsets are not chosen, by a job? What if a mate refuses to choose me? What if folk won’t choose me to be a friend. What then?

Am I then, not enough? Not worthy?

It has taken God fifty years to love me enough where I could finally learn to love ME. So much so, beloveds, I am perfectly okay should I never be selected. If I am never chosen. If I am forever found wanting for the world.

Why?

Because, God loves me!

Me!

Astounding.

Amazing.

I can barely understand why. I’m loud. I’m a goof. I watch dumb things. I think stupid things. I am ridiculously hopeful. I am maddeningly stubborn in the belief we CAN! and we WILL!

Still, God whispers to me how very much I matter. Me. Not my work. Not my money. Not my try. Not my good deeds. Not my perfection.

Me. The goofy, loud, stupid, dumb, non-working me that has NO idea what to DO now. Ah, God, why won’t You just go ahead and quit me as the world so easily has done and shall continue to do?

I know I am talking to SOMEONE. Someone out there is wondering why in the fresh hell won’t God/The Universe/Life just give up on them already?! They want to throw in the towel. They want to quit. But, something just won’t turn them loose. Their dreams simply will NOT leave them alone. Life just keeps on annoying the hell out of them and telling them not to quit. Not just yet.

I’m talking to YOU, beloveds. If you are reading these words, I am speaking to YOU. I am praying for you. I am rooting for you. Don’t give up on you. Not just yet. Your life is NOT near the end. You are on the precipice of a fantastic journey.

Get ready to enjoy your life. Get out there and live. Yes, you have your stresses. So what. Toss your stresses in the shower and keep it moving! Make some coffee. Take a walk. Make a new friend. Hug a neighbor. Reconcile with family. Just DO something.

Be encouraged.

One step.

One step.

One step.

You are loved.

You are NOT alone.

Keep on being…YOU!

Don’t give up. Not just yet.

I want to give up.

Right now.

I’m tired. The roofers are roofing. The maintenance guys are maintaining. The heatwave won’t end. The bills keep piling up.

Me: I’m tired of this.

God: I know.

Me: I don’t think You are moving fast enough. Honestly, it doesn’t seem as if You are moving at all for ME.

God: I know. Will you trust me?

Me: Do I have a choice?

God: You do. I will love you however you decide.

Me: Fresh hell…K.

I am in a blaming mood. I want to blame the tornado for turning my life upside down. I want to blame my job for not caring. I want to blame friends for not caring. I want to blame me for not understanding that work and friends would not care when things got hot. I want to blame God for allowing all of this mess in the first place.

I want to lay in bed and play the blame game. Instead, I rise. I get up. I make coffee. I write. I pray. I stand fast. I choose joy. I choose to wait patiently. I don’t have the luxury of time. Life is much too short to be wasting by playing the blame game.

Today is the start of another month. I wonder what the month will bring. I am doing my best to accept whatever comes. It’s not easy. We were never promised an easy life. We can have an awesome life. It’s up to us.

We decide to love. We decide to hope. We decide to dream. We decided we quit or continue.

Be encouraged. Don’t give up. Not just yet.

asking for A Friend.

Cassandra

#YourLifeMattersToMe

Note: I honestly did not want to make my act right act right today. I want to tell my try to shut up already. I can’t. I have things to do. I’m tired of all the construction going around. I’m tired of looking at all the destruction. I’m just tired. I can’t quit. Neither can you.

It’s easy to quit when we are tired. Don’t give up. Not quite yet. You have no idea what’s beyond the next corner. Move forward. Keep looking up. It’s OK to be discouraged. Just don’t quit.

A friend told me to turn on my music and to sing real loud. I have my music on. I am singing loudly on the inside. Singing is bringing up my joy bubbles. Ah, God, where You at?

You SHALL win, beloveds, so long as you don’t quit. Don’t. Not quite yet. Your best IS still to come. It is. Ah, I know. Faith hurts when your dreams just refuse to come to you. I believe in you. God believes in you. Life believes in you. The Universe believes in you.

While we are all toiling, waiting, wondering, wishing, I gather us all and pray for faith, peace, comfort, hope, joy and special blessings whilst we continue to LIVE. Don’t spend your days surviving life. Thrive. Where you are. In the midst of hard. We got this. We truly do.

In case no no one has told you, I love you. So does He. Be well…..

One step.

One step.

One step.

You are loved.

You are NOT alone.

Keep on being…YOU!

It’s simply a matter of trust.

God: Do YOU trust ME?

Me: Absolutely.

God: Nuff said?

Me: Nuff said.

God: Simple as that.♥️🎤

Me: Simple as that.🥰

It’s simply a matter of trust AND time.

It’s simple, beloveds. You either trust, or you don’t/won’t.

Do you?

Will you?

asking for A Friend,

Cassandra

#YourLifeMattersToMe

Note: Trust is not always easy. You have to TRUST in the character of the other person. You have to KNOW the other side has YOUR interests at heart. You have to BELIEVE in the other side.

Who do you trust, beloveds? Who or whom, do you believe in? Do you KNOW you can trust said person(s)?

Don’t trust blindly. Consider. Be thoughtful. Measured.

Has he/she/they EARNED your trust by THEIR words/actions/deeds?

Trust is value. Don’t toss your trust around every which way. Be sure the other side has earned your trust.

Then, trust until you are presented with evidence showing your trust was not valued. If so, retrieve it. Don’t hide it away in fear. Don’t judge the rest of the world because some short-sided goof took advantage of your trust.

Don’t beat yourself up for caring enough to trust. Learn. Keep it moving. Stay the beautiful person you are.

I trust this piece was inspiring. 😁😁😂🥰

Take care of your wonderful ♥ heart. Asking for A Friend.

One step.

One step.

One step.

You are loved.

You are NOT alone.

Keep on being…YOU!

Repeat after me: It’s okay to be tired.

Repeat after me:

It’s okay to be tired.

Now, rest, beloveds. This has been a tough year. You have, you are, doing your best to take care of yourself and those you care about.

Don’t worry about what comes next. You can do nothing about what comes next, until it gets here/there.

Enjoy your Friday. Enjoy the weekend. Make some moments. Share your thoughts. Share your love. Expect GOOD things, for your life. Acknowledge where you are hurting or are in need. Then, ask for guidance/help and RECEIVE them.

I got your backs, beloveds, in prayer. God has us all in HIS Care. Even if you don’t believe, beloveds, those of us who do believe, pray for you, hope for you, exhort you, embrace and love you.

In case no one has told you today: I love you.

Have an amazing Friday.

asking for A Friend,

Cassandra

#YourLifeMattersToMe

Note: It’s okay to be tired. Get some rest. The rest will come out in the wash. Things truly will be okay.

One step.

One step.

One step.

You are loved.

You are NOT alone.

Keep on being…YOU!

It’s okay to have the chicken strips.

I wanted some chicken strips.

I told myself I would get some act right and start going to bed at a ‘decent’ hour. For the last week or so, I have been deliciously staying up ALL night to binge watch Suits, American Greed, Mega Machines and whatever other shows that suited my fancy.

Today, wombie suggested me getting some sleep act right and get my sleep back turned around on a more normal schedule. Since I am not working, not sure what the ‘normal’ schedule is buying me.

I thought of what she said. It sounded reasonable. I packed things in. I turned down the lights. I situated the covers.

Then, chicken strips started whispering, from the kitchen. I told chicken strips to shut it as I need to get some shut eye so I could get my sleep patterns back ‘normal’.

Wouldja believe God wandered by and asked if I wanted to join Him for some chicken snacks….hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

I decided on the chicken strips. I think I may add yet ANOTHER all night binge watching! Yaya!!!

It has been really hard learning HOW to rest. I have to keep telling myself my worth is NOT in what I do. I am worthwhile simply because I breathe.

Remember, beloveds, you are valuable simply because you breathe. Don’t feel as though you HAVE to be doing something 24/7. Make sure you get some time to chill and be as lazy as you can possibly be. When you are ready, then get up and keep being about being about it.

We all need to treat ourselves better than we have been. We work too many hours. We exercise too little. We comfort eat too much. We don’t eat enough healthy foods. I’m doing my best to get some act right, whilst also being able to rest and have chicken strips every now and again.

Moral of the story: Don’t be afraid of indulging yourself, from time to time.

I hope you are enjoying your day. If not, get to enjoying it. This is the day that was made for you to rejoice and be glad in.

asking for A Friend,

Cassandra

#YourLifeMattersToMe

Note: It has been soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo surprising finding out how hard it is to just BE. Ah, God. Help me to relax and just be me. Asking for a friend(me).

One step.

One step.

One step.

You are loved.

You are NOT alone.

Keep on being…YOU!

Embrace your difference.

Embrace your difference.

Embrace the differences, in others.

Since when, beloveds, is it acceptable to think those, not like as, as an enemy or threat?

We are, ALL of us, beautiful, in our own way.

We are, ALL of us, ugly, in our own way.

Since when did we all criminalize being ‘different’?! SMH. Life would be terribly boring if all of us were the same. Geeeeeeeeeeez, people, get it together!

In this political environment, I have to forever make the choice to NOT demonize and dismiss those I disagree with. Yes, some of them are saying what I think are the dumbest things. I am certain they think half the things I write are stupid. Their right. Doesn’t make us both morons. Just that we are thinking differently.

Don’t be ashamed of who you are. Keep on being you. If you are doing things which are hurtful to someone, stop doing that!

Don’t be afraid to be you. There is nothing wrong with being unique. Yes, it can get lonely when we are misunderstood or dismissed because of the perceived ‘different’ that we are. Still, we can NOT stop being the weird folks we are.

I’m doing my best to not regret the things I have done. I do regret, beloveds, not being ALL me more. I crammed my weirdness so as not to make others ‘uncomfortable’. The hooey with that!!

Uncomfortable is needed. Uncomfortable is important. Otherwise, how will we ever grow out of the pot we are in? How else will we learn what things to do and say? We have to be okay with getting out there, speaking, putting our foot in it, saying oppps, getting some act right, then trying again.

We all we got, beloveds, but we are all we need. Keep embracing yourselves. Keep embracing folk who don’t look and think like you. We all can learn from one another, eh?

asking for A Friend,

Cassandra

#YourLifeMattersToMe

Note: Okay, so, um, you supposed to be out there embracing someone! Since you are here….((((((((((((((((((hug))))))))))))))))))))).

One step.

One step.

One step.

You are loved.

You are NOT alone.

Keep on being…YOU!

Live now. Let it go.

Life is short, beloveds. Much too short to keep beating yourself up for all you did, did not, should have, should not have done.

I have been forever forgiving myself, this week, for not being able to contribute as much as I ‘should have’ to my 401 and now it won’t be as much as I would like.

There is nothing I can do about that. Not now. I couldn’t afford to. Not then.

So, back and forth I go:

You dummy.

You did the best you could do, at the time.

You idiot!

You did what you could afford to do, at the time.

YOU MORON!!

You did what you could do, at the time, Cassandra.

Okay. Okay!

I did what I could. Then. Nothing can be done about it. Now.

I am using this time to get my act right acting right in as many places and spaces as I can.

I see why, now, why God and Life is being so silent. So, I can have the time to face and acknowledge sooooooooooooooooooooo many things I have shoved in a corner to be dealt with ‘later’.

I am making ‘later’ right now. It’s not easy. Facing up to things. Acknowledging things. Forgiving things. Mitigating things. Then, getting on with it already, Cassandra!

I am trying to cut myself more slack. I did dumb things, because I was afraid. I did stupid things, because I was lazy. I did ridiculous things, because I woke up in an annoyed mood. I said silly things because…*shrug*. Just no telling.

In ALL those things, beloveds. They happened. Get OVER it already, Cassandra, and move on with your life already!!

I can’t blame myself for being alone because I was so focused on helping other folks get THEIR other folk…lol. I don’t regret that. Now, I am just paying the consequences of giving too much of my me away to them and not taking enough time to do me FOR me so I could have more things in MY corner/bank account. Whew!

I am starting over. Again. For the 50 billionth time. This time, I am building for ME, with ME in mind. Yes, I am still going to look after folk and encourage folk and do what I can for folk. I am just adding ME into the equation.

Speaking of you, beloveds, it’s time for you to get off your case for all your coulda/shoulda/woulda. Live. Now. Let the rest go. You used to be a pain. So what. Stop being a pain. You used to act a fool. So what. Stop acting a fool. You used to be lazy. So what. Stop being lazy.

Get up. Move forward. Let things go so you can grow already!

I hear some chicken strips calling me. A cup of coffee is also scolding me for not drinking it whilst it was scalding hot…hehe.

I hope your day is going well. If not, do something. If so, carry on…hahahahahahahahaha.

Don’t let your struggles keep you down in the dumps. You are doing the best you can. With what you have, right now.

asking for A Friend,

Cassandra

#YourLifeMattersToMe

Note: I am doing my best to do the nothing I wished I could be doing whilst I was working so hard. I am looking forward to do more nothing, tomorrow…hahahahahahahahahahaha.

Take care of yourselves, beloveds. We got this. The outcome is not for us to worry about. If you are concerned about something, that’s okay. Drag that worry and heave it up on The Father’s Lap. If you are not a believer, drag that worry and heave it up on The Father’s Lap anyway….hahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahaha.

One step.

One step.

One step.

You are loved.

You are NOT alone.

Keep on being…YOU!