There is a strange phenomenon that happens in the middle of real life. Everything is moving at full speed, but yet, there is a presence of mind, like say, when you’re falling down and in the middle of the fall, you have the presence of mind to know that you’re falling and yet, there’s nothing you can do but say, “Oh shit!”
Continue readingFrom Notes From The Heart: Do Not Quit
No one ever said that life will be easy . . .
There comes a time when you work and you work so hard that you almost lose sight of your purpose. You run into yourself at the door. You burn the candle at both ends and you wonder if any of this will ever make sense. You wonder if any of your plans will come through. You wonder if this is all just a game. Maybe what people say is true. Maybe this is all just a rat race. Maybe what people say is true and this is all just a maze and at best, all you can do is try to avoid the dead-ends so you don’t have to backtrack so much.
A Little From The Abstract: This is Me
This is my heart. Does it look any different to you? Can you see this? Can you hear it? This is my soul. It contains all that I need to think and feel, breathe and dream.
Do you see?
Perhaps, I can show you.
I am a series of ideas and a chain of events. I am the backbone of my soul. I am the way towards my fate and yet, I am the only factor that can ever hold me back. I am a young boy around the age of six or maybe seven. I am the realization that not everyone plays fairly. Not every memory is a benefit and not every lesson is taught by the appropriate teachers.
Switching Focus
Everyone knows what this is like but yet, when it all goes down, there is in fact an inherent sense of loneliness. When life fails or when you find yourself at the bottom of misfortune; or wait no, even worse is when you find out you’ve been wronged or betrayed, or wait no; when you’ve invested so much into someone for so long, you worked and bled, sweat and your tears were all given; only to wake up and realize that it all went wrong. You wake up to see your life blow up in your face. Your hopes are sunk and your heart breaks. In the meantime, there is nothing but the truth of what just happened. There is nothing but loss and the taste of contempt that coats your tongue. This is life sometimes. No one gets out without a scratch. Unfortunately, heartache finds everyone.
Continue readingA Mental Trip
It was after nightfall on the beach in San Diego. I was about a half mile north of Mexico. The moon was full and beaming down on the surface of the ocean. I had never seen a place like this before. I had never seen the moonlight intermingle with the waves like this. I never saw a pier that reached out from the land and stretched high above the shoreline and reached out into the water. I never saw anything like this, except in movies. I never felt the feelings or smelled the smells. This is partly what made my trip so memorable to say. Perhaps this was memorable because there is nothing like this in New York. There are certainly no palm trees. The sunrise was different here. So are the sunsets.
Continue readingAbout Recovery From Divorce
I believe the thing that stops us is the very concern of what happens next. What do I do? Where do I go? Or better yet, who will I be if not me or the person I’ve been for so long? The trouble is the ideas of what comes next or what comes after.
After what, you ask?
A Note To The Speaker
I have had the chance to speak in small rooms and large auditoriums. I have presented in front of people that ranged from young kids to adults. I do not change my speech. I do not change my explanation nor do I change the flow of my story. First of all, my story is my story so why change it? And the answer is yes, like anyone and everyone else in this world, I have a past. I have a past that I am not proud of. I have a history that was marked with shame. I have a stigma that I had to learn to change.
Continue readingNotes From The Heart: For Kareem
To say the previous year was a year of loss would be an understatement. The truth is we all lost. We lost connections. We lost the opportunity to gather. Some people lost their jobs and businesses, and some people lost hope. We lost loved ones, friends and family.
As it stands, 2020 is a year that will never be forgotten. There is no doubt this year will be a year that goes down in history books. This will always be known as the year of the pandemic.
Continue readingSilence The Inner Critic
There is a popular saying that goes, “I am my own biggest critic.” There is another popular saying, which goes, “I am my own worst enemy,” and all of which can be true. We can beat ourselves up. We can hold ourselves accountable for things that were far beyond our control. We can blame ourselves and punish ourselves but the punishment is in the mind.
Marcus Aurelius once said, “The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts.”
Think about this for a second.
No More Excuses
Charles Bukowski once wrote, “Your life is your life. Don’t let it be clubbed into dank submission.”
If you want to do something then do it. If you want to go somewhere then go. If you want to be someone then be it. Don’t let a small thing like intimidation set you back.
Don’t allow the worries or irrational fears to keep you from your dreams or your happiness. Above all things, don’t allow your dreams to be exchanged for a life you never wanted. Be mindful. Be aware of excuses and be diligent on your course towards happiness.
The Written Addiction 