the gift of the present.
Wow! It's been a minute, y'all! I hope and assume you've been attracting blessings left and right. This post may pull you in several directions, so bear with me. In recent times, I've been coming to the realization that although I know a lot of people, have all of these alleged "followers" on Instagram, my reality is that the backbone of my support system is sustained mostly by the ones whom I interact with the least. Most people would get pissed off, vindictive, petty, and do whatever is in their power to retaliate. Actually, at one point, that was me too! But today, for some reason, I woke up feeling different, feeling absolved almost. I have decided to make the most conscious effort possible to REALLY leave yesterday behind. I have said that to myself and to others 1,000,000 times in my lifetime, but the reality was that I found it so impossible. Forgiving yourself is no easy task, and neither is forgiving others. But...what if we all started every single day fresh, with absolutely no negative ties and associations to the situations from before. Yes, we need to remember them as to not make the same mistakes again. We all want to ensure that we avoid offering too much energy to the shxt emoji individuals of yesterday, right? But, what if that isn't our focus at all? What if we just let people be who they are, and we just allow ourselves to be present and focus on what is on OUR plate only and what will take us to the next level? If we were to sit and analyze why our plate is not as abundant as it could or should be, we may find that we have spent a great deal of time staring at other people's plates, salivating as they serve themselves. Why? You may not be jealous or insecure about anything in particular, you just get easily distracted like most of us in this world. This system as it stands is designed to distract us, day in and day out. From social media to what is meticulously selected as our news, there is a conscious energy on this planet directed towards making everyone feel comfortable enough [in 1st world countries, I mean] to not see the minute and detailed things that go on around us. Whether it's where our food comes from, why we are told to take certain pills, and so on and so forth, the process has been removed from us intentionally. We are just told, and we just follow. N U T S, right? With that said, how can we begin the shift in the universe DESPITE the air of cloud emojis strategically placed before our beautiful eyes? By upholding the power that is the seemingly trivial details of the present moment. The other day, I was driving on the Belt Parkway. For some reason, I took notice of the clouds. [I guess I should be thankful for the bumper to bumper afternoon traffic that spanned a mere two exits]. In any event, the clouds looked different to me, so profound and defined. They were in great contrast with the sky as well. I thought to myself, "WOW! This is just beautiful! I am so fortunate to have the gift of vision to appreciate this wonder of the world". But then, I dove deeper into my thoughts. How many beautiful things have blessed my vision that I simply missed because my mind was stuck on something that happened before, something that I repeated day in and day out? How many times have I been M.I.A. mentally, even in the midst of a group of people? I think Drake said it best, "You can be in a room full of people and still be lonely, though". F A C T S. If I were truly being present, I would have and could have been there. With that said, over the last two weeks, I have decided to make some major shifts in my daily habits. I have been praying more, meditating more, and focusing on slowing the fxck down and being H E R E, instead of always being T H E R E [get it?]. My review: I could be slowing down even more, praying even more, meditating WAY better, stretching more, BUT I am doing better than I was two weeks ago because I am mindful now. Can we just agree collectively to be mindful of our existence together? Here's a challenge: point out [5] things in nature that you never noticed before by the end of this week, whether it's the scenery or maybe just a creature. Take a moment to capture a really great photo of it. Appreciate it! Imagine if we did that every week...[insert thinking emoji]
Let's be conscious and see where it takes us.
C I A O!
Peace, Kings & Queens
xoxo
Shanelle Julia Rosita Campbell
