Remaining Faithful...Hopeful...& Positive

There seems to be so much happening in the world around us.  Some of it is affecting us directly and indirectly.  Needless to say, we are being affected.  These last few months seems like I have been surrounded by death.  Just about everything that I see on the news is NEGATIVE!  And let's not begin with social media.  All of these events make it extremely easy to lose faith, hope, and anything positive.  Sometimes it's hard to focus on the positive things in life when so much negative surrounds you.  I'm learning to surround myself with positive people and thoughts daily.  Life is much easier this way.

Death... My attitude about death changed a while ago.  It's the inexplicable and inevitable.  We know the time nor the hour.  All I can do is make each day count.  This life here on earth isn't guaranteed.  This is easier said than done, depending on the circumstances.  Remain faithful, hopeful and positive.  Cherish your loved ones.  Make memories as no one can take these away from you. Say I love you! But don't just say it...Show them that you mean it!  It has been 27 days since our (my family) world was turned upside down.  I can get through some of my worst days because I have memories of Corey.  Good, great, awesome memories. These things matter.  Send text messages, make phone calls and just cherish each other.

Negativity... I don't know when it became cool to be so negative.  The media, television and social media are draining the life out of people.  That is IF you LET them.  Don't get sucked into the drain of negativity.  Be that sprinkle of faith, hope and positive energy someone needs for the day.  We don't have to ALWAYS be attracted to the negative and the drama.  Spread hope and positive messages.  I like the fact that there's a challenge on FB to post three positive things for seven days on your FB page but also tag three different people daily.  I have found it to be refreshing and a good time for me to reflect on the positive that has occurred during the day.

There's so much to stress about, worry about, fret over, and all that other stuff BUT you can choose to focus on the positive things in life.  A lot of people will say it's hard to do when you have so much going in your life.  Your life could always be worse.  Nothing will change about your situation until you change your way of thinking.  No one has a perfect life.  And if they lead you to believe they do they are LYING! Things will happen...You may lose your job, house, car, loved one, etc but you have to make a decision to remain faithful, hopeful and positive.  Overcome the obstacle(s), learn from your experience, and share it with someone else who needs a little hope and positive energy!

Thankful Thursday! I'm thankful for it all.  I am stronger! I am smarter! I am wiser! I am more faithful! I am more hopeful! I am positive! I know for certain all my NEEDS are being met! #ThankfulThursday

Grown Up Purchases...House Buying & Ish!

First off, I have totally missed blogging.  Life started happening so quickly and then I was consumed.  Oh wait that sounds like an excuse but it's really what happened.  Here's a quick update on what I've been doing... Running and working out of course.  Running has been my saving grace.  I traveled to Canada to run my first international half marathon <-- blog coming soon.  I celebrated my birthday and had a blast... Then I bought a house! *SIGHS*

I guess I really grew up quickly.  Nothing has made me feel more grown up than signing my name on 90+ pages of documents.  So, it really wasn't my intention to purchase a house so soon and quickly.  I've been waiting for a good time to purchase but I never really thought it was a good time.  So, it went like this... On the phone with a friend and we're talking about an associate of hers that's a loan officer.  I give her a call and she tells me I'm pre-approved. What the what??? Really??? Then my process began.  I wasn't being picky or anything like that I was still amazed that I was even considering.  My first realtor sucked...Like she was horrible! So, she got left behind.  My new realtor was awesome.  She lined up more than enough showings and quickly.  I had already made up my mind that I didn't want to be house poor so I had a set amount I was willing to pay regardless to the pre-approval amount.  I was on a tight deadline... My lease was up on my apartment on June 30th.  So, I had about five weeks to make something happen.  Then I traveled to Canada and everything happened...

Needless to say, I closed and moved in one day! I LOVE my house... It's a little too much space but I'm loving making it MINE!  These little DIY projects are not really my friend but I'm learning to cope.  I spend a lot of time in Lowe's and other places.  So, expect pictures to come sooner rather than later... Before and after pics!  In the meantime, here are a few things I learned.

~Be realistic about your money will buy you
~Know your must haves and what you can compromise one
~There will always be unexpected things
~The small things add up
~Research your neighborhood or area
~Plan for everything and anything to happen during the process
~Enjoy your new house...Make it yours!

Day 3 - NaPoWriMo (Living with a Heavy Heart)

With all the recent deaths, I got to feeling a certain kind of way.  I've been here...Living with a heavy heart!

Things can happen so fast
Making it impossible to return to your now past
You know something that shakes you to your core
Making you believe you can't take any more

Have you ever heard your soul cry?
Or ever had a piece of your heart die?
It's not something you want to feel...
But it's what keeps us human even if it's surreal

The pain of missing someone every day
Searching for words but never having anything to say
It's not an easy task living in pain
Hoping and praying you can stay sane

Your heart aches and your soul cries
Making you want to say permanent goodbyes
But that will only cause more pain
And that really is insane

Finding peace is the key
And that's the only way your happiness will be...
It's hard living with a heavy heart
But know it won't always be this dark

Alexandria Walker
April 3, 2014

Day 2 - NaPoWriMo (Lost Girls)

A World of Lost Girls

I'm often referred to as the lost girl
Only because I'm consumed in a materialistic world
I don't have much focus these days
You can tell by my actions and unacceptable ways

I tried walking by faith and not by sight
But I everything I did seemed wrong and far from right
It is so easy to get lost in this world
Much easier if you are a misguided girl

I wasn't raised this way
My behavior and the things I say
I used to be that adorable, sassy little girl
Now, I'm lost in a cruel, heartless world

I've always had BIG dreams
Only now they've changed to go along with my materialistic themes
Naive, I didn't stand a chance in this cold world
I gave my soul now I'm just another lost girl

Alexandria Walker
April 2, 2014

Day 1 - NaPoWriMo

I recently learned about NaPoWriMo from one of my Sorors.  I'm going to try to see if I'm creative enough to write something each day of April.  I may get behind in posting but I'm giving it a try...  This poem doesn't have a title but I wrote it yesterday...

He is affectionate, loving, and caring
You know the kind that makes you open your heart to sharing
It's easy to walk in the park hand in hand
Making you proud to call him your man

He's attentive to your needs and encourages your dreams
You throw caution to the wind and does what seems
To be right and give him your all
His smooth talking will eventually be your downfall

He spoils you with surprise gifts and trips
He makes it hard not to believe everything that falls from his lips
You visit every romantic place
Only to one day have them haunt you with his face

He didn't come with a warning label
Actually, he was welcomed at the dinner table
He was the dream chaser, money maker
And the ultimate heart breaker

He made you fall in love with him
Just like he did the rest of them
A smooth talking, hand holding brother
The type that's encouraged by your mother

Alexandria Walker
April 1, 2014

Training Your Brain to Achieve Your Goals Seminar!

On Saturday, I had the pleasure of attending a seminar hosted by Black Girls Run!  The guest speaker was Dr. Stan Beecham, author of the book entitled: Elite Minds.  There were so many great takeaways from his talk on Saturday.  I will only highlight a few of those.

First, we all know that we are our own biggest critic.  The question Dr. Beecham posed was, "What gives you permission to judge and critique yourself?  We are quick to say we don't want to criticize or judge others but we do it to ourselves all the time.  I know in my case I do it all the time.  I'm harder on myself than I should be.  I don't really enjoy the small accomplishments because I'm always worried about what I have not accomplished. I'm working on breaking this habit.

He talked about wealth.  So, let me ask my readers, what is wealth to you.  Dr. Beecham stated that wealth has nothing to with the things we usually associate it with.  It has nothing to do with money and material things but it has every thing to do with the way you are living your life and your happiness.  How wealthy are you?

SUCCESS! Success isn't about desires but it is about actions.  We all desire to be successful and success looks differently for each of us.  What actions are you taking to be successful?  Success has no one path.  It all looks differently for each of us.  He talked about our misconception of success.  There is no one easy way to be successful but there is on path to failure. Quitting!  Giving up on yourself is the only way to fail.

Everyone has a calling and most of us will spend our entire lives not knowing what our calling is.  Just know if you have a calling and you try to run from it you will not have a moment of peace.  If you are called to do something and you avoid doing it, it will haunt you and you will not have peace until you complete what you were called to do.  You don't have to be totally comfortable to do something.  Most of us spend half our life working a job we hate to make money to live a life that we hate.  Know your calling and follow it.

This is a quick and dirty overview of the seminar.  Perhaps, the most important thing that stood out to me was the way he started his talk: You are the right age, at the right stage, the right race, at the right place and at the time... Basically, you are capable of doing whatever it is your heart desires.  Stop being your biggest critic and live your full potential.  You have no idea how far you can go and great you can be.

Check out his book: Elite Minds and hopefully you are inspired as I was by his discussions.  I am only 40% through the book and it has been inspirational! I'm sure I will blog when I have completed the book! Stay tuned!

Runners' History! Inaugural Summit...

Today, I had the pleasure of attending the Inaugural Summit for Black/African American Running Groups in Metro Atlanta.  The summit was held by South Fulton Running Partners.  What makes this history.  South Fulton Running Partners is the oldest Black running group in the United States! It was such a great experience to be apart of history.  I had no knowledge of the other running groups in Metro Atlanta.  There were 200+ Black runners in attendance and it was more than exciting.

It's always a good feeling to be in the company of others who respect the fact that you are a runner but more importantly who are just as passionate about running as you are. I think what was more important is that they all looked like me.  Well not really but you get my drift.  They were Black like me.  You talking about combatting the stereotypes that "we" don't run.  Haha! This event did that.  We had individuals who had run marathons in all fifty states, the Boston Marathon several times, and so many other accomplishments.  I love how the running community can come together and celebrate what we are so passionate about.

The summit was a platform for Black running groups to gather, network, and run together.  We enjoyed a nice, hilly 4.2 mile route.  Once we returned, we received a medal, photo op, food, and socialized.  Of course, when it's more than two people it is ALWAYS a party.  They were turnt up.  LOL! It was a great experience and I'm happy to have been a part of it. Did I mention it was FREE?! Yep, it was free!

I'm thankful for the SFRP for paving the way 35 years ago! I'm proud to be a runner and especially proud to be a Black Woman that runs!  The groups that were in attendance: South Fulton Running Partners, South DeKalb Striders, Black Girls Run!, Black Men Run, Savannah Pacers, Running Nerds, National Black Marathoners, & Urban Running Group.