Allow Yourself to Just Be

There's nothing like having peace of mind or feeling “unbothered” by all of the craziness that tries to get under our skin. But sometimes, there are just some things we don’t want to part with...like the pain caused by anger or fear. Sometimes, we like to sit with the pain, hold on to it, and revive it whenever we don’t want to deal with our “stuff”. And, some of us choose to give our peace away just to validate that we are still alive and breathing. Trust me, I know! One of my best friends had to give me a dose of tough love just yesterday! You see, these two emotions – anger and fear - are soul-robbers! They steal away our joy and happiness, making us bitter, vengeful, and resentful over time. The very opposite of peace is MAYHEM, the destroyer of hopes and dreams. Whenever we entertain mayhem, we give it permission to take over our lives. And, that PEACE, that we so desperately need, becomes harder to reach when negative situations and negative people set up shop in our inner sanctum. As Black women, we cannot afford to offer up our sanctum like it’s nothing! Our overall health and wellbeing depend upon us protecting our positive energy - that sacred space between what is good for us and what is not good for us. In the Faith in the Valley by Iyanla Vanzant, she writes: “Right where you are is where you need to be. Don’t fight it! Don’t run away from it! Stand firm! Take a deep breath…” It is in these moments of truth that I tend to find my peace…when I show gratitude, even for the smallest blessings…and when I allow myself to “JUST BE”.