I AM...

What are you?  What do you think about yo'self when you hear those two words, I AM.....? 

I was motivated the other day by a speech I heard.  I want to highlight some of the powerful quotes- take aways if you will.  I have learned a lot about myself and continue to do so every single day.... and I am proud to say, at the same time I am continually reminded that I am human and can always learn a new truth.  It seems once you conquer one level, a new depth emerges.....Enjoy! I hope you have at least a few provoking thoughts encouraged through these lines...

Whatever follows I am, is going to come looking for you

If you want to see what your life will be like in five years, let’s see what you say about yourself today

It’s simple, your life is how you see it

We make things so complicated, but it’s the simples things that keep people grounded

When you open your eyes, say thank you

You become what you believe

The truth is you have more than you’ll ever need

Whatever you feed will grow

Find the courage to believe in yourself

When you are passionate about you are, it brings honor to God

Life is not over after a disappointment….nothing that you have been through is a surprise to God, God has written every page in our book

As long as you have breath somebody needs what you’ve got

Nothing is happening to you/ everything happens FOR you

When you are in peace, it is a position of power

My inability to trust people prevents me from fulfiling my full potential

Nothing is happening out of order

Wherever you are, is where you are supposed to be

When you say you can’t trust others, is it that you cannot trust yourself enough to know that if someone harms you that you can make a decision to move away?

God will bring the right people across your path

Don’t let one bad break ruin the rest of your life

You have to be confident in who God made you to be

Take everything one day at a time

That moment when you are in the plane, in a storm, and you break the clouds…. Guess what?  God was always there.  It’s called sunrise faith.

 

 

Living for THIS moment,

Hoss

 

ONE

Incredible song with heart warming lyrics.  Imagine what the world would be like if we never judged based on who you chose as your God, the color of your skin, or your sexual preference. Nothing but displaced hate and wasted energy.  We fear what we do not understand....

Love each other... we are all the same.  Happy Holidays!!!  XO

"One"
India Aire

Billions live their lives
Now Muhammad, Krisha, or the Buddha are the way.
Still some believe it's right to say
In the name of Jesus when you pray.

We are a human kind of 7 billion
so many different races and religions
And it all comes down to one

Some say God's a him
Still many believe that He is a Her
Does God Live in our hearts?
Or is She somewhere out there in the universe.

How far will have to go before we learn the lesson?
Gandhi, was a Hindu
Martin Luther King, a Christian
God is a religion, they knew love was the vision
And it all comes down to one.

Is there no God at all?
Or a pantheon of gods up in the sky
We can heal our broken hearts
If we give up the desire to be right.

We are a human kind of seven billion
So many different races and religions
and we all want the same things
Health, Love, Prosperity and Peace
Tolerance is the seed
And the gift of pure acceptance is the tree

Whether you are red, brown, yellow, black, or white
Man with a husband, or a woman with a wife
We can debate until the end of time who is wrong or right
or we can see ourselves as one
Cause it all comes down to one.

#onelove,

Hoss

Inspiring Questions....

How can you receive without asking?

I've met a lot of people in my life, been blessed really to have come in contact with so many different types of people from all walks of life.  I've travelled a lot, and I am constantly asking people questions.  If you know me at all you know that I am always curious about people's story.  What do those miles in their shoes say?  Mostly because I want to learn.  I am always hoping to gain a bit of knowledge I didn't have before, maybe a little perspective....(word of the blog!)... maybe see things in a way I haven't seen before. 

I have to say, more so women than men, have a lot of regrets.  Things they "wished" they did, that they "could" do.  "Oh I could never wear that..."  There are many things just life related.  But also professionally.  Are women just ok with being mediocre at work?  Or do they not have enough self esteem to think they could be runnin' 'ish???  I mean, I'm just wondering.

HAVE YOU ASKED? 

Have you asked your husband to go on a trip?  Have you asked if the family could take care of the kids while you take care of yo'self and your marriage?  Have you asked your boss for more responsibility and a raise?  Have you asked for more knowledge in your profession?  Cause ladies (AND MEN OF COURSE), Life comes at you fast.... and for everything else.... YOU HAVE TO ASK.

How do you expect to get what you NEED, or even what you WANT, without asking?  Men can't read your mind.  Hell, WOMEN can't read your mind.  No one knows what you are thinking.  One of the worst things women do in my mind is assume.  Yeah- I said it.  And assuming makes an ass out of you and whoever else you are coming in contact with.

I challenge you that the next time a friend asks you to do something with them, your husband asks you to travel somewhere... try and do it.  Try and live life to the fullest.  One day you are going to turn around and be old and crusty and "wish you had........."

Unhappy at work?  ASK FOR SOMETHING DIFFERENT.  Seek something different.  Whether it is internal or elsewhere.  Times are tough and no one is going around handing out life.  I don't have bits of your life in my purse to hand out... as you don't of mine.  As Sheryl Sandberg says, "Lean IN"

There's a lot of things I want.  But there's a ton of things I've been blessed to have or experience.  NONE without asking.  Or effort on my part, you can guarantee that honey.  When I am gone with the wind fabulous in life or work, I never feel like I stumbled upon this.  I always feel like I asked for it :)

If you can't ask your husband, your boss or your friends for what your heart desires in life, then ask the universe.  Ask your spiritual leader, Buddha, God, whatever your spirit calls for... BUT JUST ASK.

The way I live my life isn't the way everyone wants to live.  It's my experience and my journey, but this is the life I know... and I promise to grab every opportunity and try and make it everything I want.

Child- life cannot and will not give you what you want without the simple task of asking. 

Questioning it ALL,

Hoss

#nike

I want to share a few things that have really hit home with me in the last few weeks. 

The negativity has been LOUD the lately.  I'm not going to give it much energy or attention, that only feeds it... makes it bigger... gives it strength;  In which of course it does not deserve.  I read a quote today that helped me put things into perspective (you know I love me some perspective)....


Listen to your heart. Follow its prompting. Honor what you feel and act accordingly. People can convince us that we are what we are not, and lead us to believe that we are not what we are. Be able to identify your original thoughts from those you have adopted. Trust that you can have an original thought and act upon it even when others are not pleased by what you are doing.

Because:

The only relationship we can have in this life is the relationship we have with ourselves. We cannot love anybody more than we love ourselves. We cannot treat anyone any better than we treat ourselves. When you forget you, give up on you, or devalue yourself, anyone coming into your life has a universal responsibility to follow your lead.

....and as an end result, EVERYTHING is ALWAYS ok.  Everything.  No matter what the negative noise is.  No matter what insecurity someone else is projecting onto you to try and bring you into their circle of unhappiness..... Your chest should always remind you that you are ok.  Because you are listening to your heart... despite... despite it all. And you are loving yourself.  Allowing yourself to be WHO.YOU.ARE. 

My friend and I always say, DO YOU. #nike

It's the most incredible, simple, encouraging, rewarding life lesson we can learn.  I encourage you to not waste your life and learn it too late.  Be great.  Be great now.  Be confident, and above all, always intrinsically follow your gut.  Your instinct is your pathway to Gods voice.  No one knows better than Him.

I leave you with this:  people will always treat you how you let them.  Be strong.  Demand greatness.  When someone shows you who they are my friends, BELIEVE them.

#nike #doinit

Hoss

Look at yo'self

How do you measure yourself??


What I know for sure is that most of us allow society to be our beacon system. We allow TV, who we work with, our friends, our family, define when and where we should be in our lives.  The most ironic thing is... we are all on our own path.  We are all having our own experience.   And everyone is on a different learning curve than the next.   The best part about it.... is that we GAIN.  We GROW.

How do you measure others?

Think about it.... Think about that person that you know at work.  Or that you subtly know in your group of friends.  I mean, they are sub par at best.  And when you actually think about it, if they weren't there, it may be easier.  Because to be honest, they get on your nerves.  They irritate you.  They make your life difficult. 

Time goes by.

And then one day you learn something about them.  Something personal.  And you think... huh.  That changes my perspective of them.  That allows my point of reference to expand and give them more of the benefit of the doubt.

What if.......

Everyone had their own experiences?  and if you knew every ones perspective, life journey.... you would think differently?  Well, that IS the case. With every single person you encounter. 

So just look at yo'self.

Don't look at them when you are struggling with how they are.  Or how they've been.  And as a matter of fact... don't look at anyone else when someone is making you feel uncomfortable.  Get ahold of yourself and realize that it's YOU that are making yo'self uncomfortable.  And it's for a reason.  A lesson, a perspective.... or just simple to give you a bit of humble pie.  Know for sure that this is the journey you were meant to travel.  Whether it is the one that others are on or not.  Whether it is one others can relate to or not.  Irrelevant. 

What matters most is how you look inward.  In every situation.  Projecting your shi* onto me my friend, just ain't right. 

The most interesting, fun, exhilarating part of this journey is simply looking at ourselves. Sometimes looking back to see how far you've come.  Brushin' yo shoulders off and allowing YO'SELF to be happy.  Allow yourself to be free from all of the pressure that you and others put on those shoulders every.single.day.

I believe the key to this is vulnerability.  Comfort in it.

If you can find comfort in vulnerability.... you can find comfort in anything.

Iyanla said :The only walls in your life are the ones that you have built yourself. Clear your mind of clutter, congestion and conflict. Free your mind of unproductive, nonessential thoughts about yourself and your life.

You heard her.

Click here.

Or here.

 

 

 

 

"The greatness of a man's power, is the measure of his surrender."- William Booth

Looking at myself....

Hossy the Bossy

I see, you see, we all see......

Problems are vision tests. They remind us to look beyond what we see on the outside to what we know on the inside. They challenge us to broaden our perspective and alter our approach to life. Sometimes a change of perspective may be all that it will take to transform a painful, frustrating, or shameful experience into an empowering growth experience. -Iyanla

Carrie Underwood got it right when she asked Jesus to take the wheel.  You feel me?  Life is about so many different ups and downs.  You never know when either will smack you right in the face.  I think one of most common problems is that we all try and drive our life.  What we fail to realize is that we have very little control over our lives, the direction it takes, and the path it drives you towards.  The only thing we have control over, is perspective.

We have no idea what it is we have left to learn, need to experience, or what the future holds.  What I know for sure is that God gives us messages through experiences.  If you are having a "bad" or "negative" experience, that is God talking to you.  Trying to tell you, NOPE.  That ain't it.  But when we continue to try and drive or steer in the direction we THINK we are supposed to go, or we WANT to go.... it doesn't work out. 

Letting go and letting "life" or the divine drive.... going along for the ride.... allowing life to speak to you through experience is unlearning the behavior we were tall taught as a child.  We were always taught that our choices drives our experiences, that we have control over our lives, and this just isn't the case.  We do have choices and we do have control, but ONLY over our perspective, our perception of the situations life presents to us.  THAT IS ALL.  No matter what hand we are dealt, we can overcome anything with a little attitude adjustment, a little shift in the way we see things.  This is the only reason I have broken the cycle of my history.  I got tired of being tired.  I got tired of blaming everyone else for my problems.  I got tired of being "upset".

So the next time life presents you a shitty situation, something really fking hard to face, an experience you were not ready for or do not think you deserve.... be grateful.  Quiet.  Listen.  And get excited to learn from it.  God is trying to tell you to take it to the next level.  He is challenging you to climb those stairs of life.  Picking your leg up and actually stepping up is the hard part.  But when you get to look back, the vision of who you used to be is motivating....

Look at life with a BRING IT ON, kind of attitude.  Every experience, every situation, every person that challenges you in life is a blessing to be able to grow, mature and conquer. And the funny thing is, it's ALWAYS on purpose. Never let the situation take over your happiness.  Give it a minute, a day.... and then put your gloves on.  You are the only one who will consistently fight for you.  You are the ONLY one who can shift your happiness to allow your experiences to challenge you to learn positively.

Straight from the horses mouth,

Hoss

Anyway....

“People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.
If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway.
If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway.
For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.”
-Mother Teresa


HOLA!  Missed Blogging!  So glad to be back.

I will go ahead and preface this entry by saying, I am writing this blog for myself.  If you get something out of it, a smile, a perspective: bonus.  But I am telling you, it is I who needs a little perspective right now.

The last two weeks have been surprisingly, overly stressful to me.  I've been praying and searching and thinking and being as still as I can.  Trying to find out why.  I've got my hunches... but I'd like to say... it ain't nuffin but a little perspective. 

We all know from time to time, perspective can be the hardest thing to control.  Funny how ultimately it's the ONLY thing you have.  You have full control over this.  100% of the time.  You can read all the quotes: 

See really cool pictures:

 

 

 

And think... wow.  Those people are awesome.

Then 3 seconds later go right back into cussing someone out at work in your head, feeling the pain in your heart someone caused, being in a bad mood because you left your lunch at home.....

What's the point?!  Why do we do this to ourselves constantly?!

I am reading a book right now that is amazing.  It's called, The Untethered Soul.  And I think I am going to have to read it 4 times before I can trust myself to start living it.  It talks about being aware of the way your brain talks to you... it's interesting how much we beat ourselves up.  Daily.  It's a shame how much we don't let go and let God.  Trust Him to guide us. Follow along.  We know nothing.  We have no idea what's good for us. What we need.  We think we know, and we spend all of our times trying to fit that square peg in that round hole. 

Well, I'm tired this week.  I'm tired and that peg ain't fittin.  YOU HEAR ME?!

Just because we want it... doesn't mean it's good for us.

Just because we think it... doesn't mean it to be true.

And just because others need attention, need to put you down to make themselves feel better, get happy when they finally see they've gotten to you... remain calm.  Have compassion that they really must be hurting to do this.

Try and be the best you that you can be.  Every minute.  Even if it's not that great.  I have not been GREAT lately.  I just hope that I can get back to letting go and letting God.  Being content.

Thank you JESUS I have vacation coming up next week.  Maybe that will help me reset my perspective button.  I need to do it soon.  Otherwise, it's a slippery slope from here. :)

In the meantime, I'll continue to give advice on things that I am constantly practicing to learn on my own.  Like being still.  Appreciating what I have. 

And remember that when I get the way I criticise others for getting.... That I am just as human as they are.  Didn't Ms. Alicia Keys say, "Life ain't perfect,  If you don't know what the struggle's for.  Falling down ain't falling down If you don't cry when you hit the floor. I ain't nothing like I was before.....You ought to see me now."

Hmmm... I feel better already :)

Seeking strength in all the right places,

Hossy