Happiness

This past weekend I attended the Detroit River Days Festival and I had a really good time. I initially went to support my little sister, she's in the choir at Detroit Academy of Arts and Sciences. After their performance wowed the crowd, I decided to stay and enjoy the other acts. I was very delighted to see Chante Moore perform, as well as the legendary Gladys Knight. I had the most fun that I've experienced in a while. I decided to go back to the festival on Sunday. I'm glad I went back, I got to see Dave Hollister, Jagged Edge and Bell Biv Devoe perform. Opening for them was a talented Detroit artist, Shay Lewis. She did a wonderful job entertaining the crowd, before one of her songs she asked the audience members a few questions.  1: Do you have  have dreams? 2: Are you living out those dreams? 3: Are you HAPPY? Those questions are the basis of this discussion. I thought to myself as she asked these things, I found myself in the gray area. I am living out some of my dreams and there are a few more manifesting gradually but I couldn't answer yes on the part about being happy. Thinking back I can't even recall a specific time in my life where I've ever been completely happy. It always felt like the good times were few and far in between. I've always been a glass half-empty guy, which isn't very healthy. I'm learning to embrace the process and accept temporary setbacks. Every experience, "good" or "bad", is a building block on the path of life. I really wanted to release my first book ( Blame It On The Music) on June 30th, but that isn't going to happen. There's no reason to be down or sad about it. I have confidence that when I'm able to release it, it will be a major success. In this process I've learned that personal happiness is something that we all have control over. To me happiness is really about having inner peace. I will stop attaching my personal happiness with monetary and materialistic items. Just like that I am feeling a lot better about my life and dreams. I want to thank Shay Lewis for using her gift as a tool of inspiration and motivation. I hope my words will do the same for others.

Accountability (Taking a look in the mirror.)

 I actually got this idea after I heard Micheal Jackson's song Man In The Mirror. There comes a time in every person's life when we have to take a long look in the mirror. It's not easy at all but self-reflection must be done. Often times we let ourselves off the hook by facilitating blame on others. For as long as I can remember I've heard women with children talk down on their child's father. It was done regularly in the child's presence. Men aren't exempt either sometimes guys complain to their boys about how their baby mama ain't sh!t. One thing I realize about it now is how easy it is to speak on another person's shortcomings. It makes us sleep better at night, there couldn't possibly be anything wrong with us.We have to start holding ourselves accountable. We give others too much power over our actions. Adults shouldn't blame anyone for their mistakes and issues. I'm not saying that others don't play a role in our hardships. Sure people help make our lives miserable, but its up to us to get where we want to be in life. I've had people tell me I can't do certain things, laugh at my ideas and just completely ignore my suggestions. I'm not going to act like it didn't affect me, we all want backing and support. I recognize people who don't see greatness within themselves will lack the vision that you have for yourself. People aren't the only ones that tell us we cant do things. If we allow our surroundings to influence us, it will also show us we can't escape them. I don't like other factors having control over my mind, so if the world tells me its impossible, I still push forward. My advice is if you believe in your heart  that you're called to greatness, don't let anything or anybody stand in your way!