I did not believe what I was told about being poor and black and female in Mississippi in 1954.
Our brain is organized to act and feel before we think. This is also how our brain develops – sequentially, from the bottom up. The developing infant acts and feels, and these actions and feelings help organize how they will begin to think.
Our life experiences shape the way key systems in our brain organize and function. So each of us sees and understands the world in a unique way.
For me, there are actually two lenses through which to view ‘what happened to you.’ There is the science-based explanation of the effect early trauma has on the brain. And then there are the myriad daily actions each of us take throughout our lives that are the result of, and that reflect back on, such trauma. These are the actions that, on the surface, look like bad decisions, bad habits, self-sabotage, self-destruction-the actions that cause others to judge.
The point is that our body’s core regulatory systems can be altered by traumatic experiences. A child exposed to unpredictable or extreme stress will become what we call dysregulated.
You can have it all. You just can’t have it all at once.
We only have twenty-four hours in a day. So you have a choice to walk with wise people and stack up more wisdom. Or you can become a companion of fools and your life will unravel.
Happiness is never something you get from other people. The happiness you feel is in direct proportion to the love you are able to give.
What I know for sure is that the only way to endure the quake is to adjust your stance.
Books, for me, have always been a way to escape. They were my path to personal freedom. I actually learned to read at the age of three, and once I did, I quickly learned that there was a whole world beyond my grandmother’s farm in Mississippi.
Gratitude can transform any situation. It alters your vibration, moving you from negative energy to positive. It’s the quickest, easiest, most powerful way to effect change in your life – this I know.
What I know for sure is that there is no strength without challenge, adversity, resistance, and often pain.
What follows ‘I am’ is what we’re inviting into our life. Meaning when you use phrases like, “I am exhausted,” or, “I am overwhelmed,” you are inviting exactly that kind of energy into your life.
If I knew then what I know now, I would never have wasted even a single minute doubting my path.
I believe everything that happens in our lives has meaning, that each experience brings a message, if we’re willing to hear it.
The truth is that the naysayers in your life can never be fully satisfied. Whether you hide or shine, they’ll always feel threatened because they don’t believe they are enough.
Look inward – the loving begins with you.
I know for sure that healing the wounds of the past is one of the biggest and most worthwhile challenges of life.
Finding what naturally soothes you not only regulates your heart and mind, it helps you stay open to the goodness in you and in the world.
The more the loving parts of your personality are the ones you’re cultivating, the more opportunity.
As a spirit dwelling in the ever-evolving human experience, I know that I am no better or worse than any other being. I simply am. You simply are. We are connected.