Life humbles and blesses you in a way like nothing else can. My grandmother would always say “just keep living” I now understand what this means. A year from now you’ll reflect and realize you’re a completely different person. This journey is magical.
It is so funny [in an ironic way], how we have one chance at life yet we are expected to somehow master it. We have to get our shit together and at the bare minimum we should know what we are doing. I have always been interested in other people's stories. Not from a place of wanting to know another person's business but from a place of remaining a student of life. The more stories I've heard the more I realized I really know nothing at all in the grand scheme of things.
My parents had my siblings and me at young ages and while of course this caused its fair share of struggles it also came paired with blessings. I was blessed to have grown up around all of my maternal and paternal grandparents and great-grandparents. As time passed by, I grew older and my great grandparents have all passed away, my biggest regret isn't asking more questions and learning even more of their stories.
Stories are how we learn and the stories we pass down through the generations are how we leave each generation better than the one before. Most black women have been taught to put on a mask to cover the true version of ourselves. We have become accustomed to living in survival mode and adopting a persona that will allow us to navigate through our day to day obligations, but in doing this we neglect to prepare those who are coming after us. Our elders set these high standards for us without being transparent about the times they made a big ass mess out of their lives. They fail to mention how they bounced back so we strive to reach unrealistic levels of perfection.
This week be mindful of those you come in contact with. Listen, ask questions, and be willing to share truthfully. You may have the missing link that someone needs and vice versa.
Live a little...learn a lot...