Today is the official last day of 2015 and I must say I am ecstatic about the start of a New Year. I know that may sound cliché but it is exactly my feeling. I woke this morning with the feeling of promise deep down in my soul; promise of change, promise of opportunity, promise of continued progress.

This year I learned more about myself than I have in years past—good, bad, and ugly. I realize that although certain personality traits will remain with me as long as I am in this physical body. However, Andréa as a person, her beliefs, her routines, her view of life at large is vastly different than before. I embrace the change and progress wholly.  I realize that self-acceptance is of the utmost importance.

I would like to share just a few lessons and thoughts on life for you to carry with you into next year.

1. Your peace is priceless. Never allow anyone or anything to to disturb your inner or outer peace.
2. It is ok to let people go. Some people are not meant to be with you for a lifetime. That doesn’t make them bad people, just means that your time with them was not meant to be extensive.
3. Embrace your quirks. So what you like to eat your French fries with mayo and you would rather sit alone in the woods than go to a party. Love your authentic self.
4. Life should be treated as a journey, not as a short trip. If you are not progressing, you feel stagnated, etc, now is the time to find a way to MOVE!! Find your passion and pursue it . Everything vibrates. So should you.
5. Remember that no matter what happens, life is good. Greet each new day with a heart of gratitude and watch how things begin to change. The universe works mentally. Give off good vibrations consistently and watch your Youniverse change.

Peace, love, and light,

Andréa

Happy New Year to you all!

Source: Staying Grounded

Peace and love all! I hope this post finds you at peace within and without, feeling the great energy of the season all about. I posted a video on my spiritual practices on YouTube yesterday. In the video, I spoke briefly about the things that I do in order to be balanced and unburdened in my life such as meditation, affirmations, giving daily offerings etc. Today is a day that I am grateful for those practices and here’s why.

My mother is 58 years old and is suffering in her physical and mental body. She has a slew of diagnosis , the most prominent is early-onset dementia. Over the years, I have watched my mother suffer from bipolar disorder, diabetes, substance abuse, and so and so forth but this time it is different. Over the past two years, I have watched her deteriorate–to go from being totally independent and living alone in her home, to being in an assisted living facility, monitored each day and having her independence stripped for her own safety.

Quiet as kept, the facility has been good for her. Once she adjusted, she gained weight, made friends, and was functioning well. But big changes happened with her last hospitalization. She is very confused, she is not eating as she had, she is not able to follow instructions, etc. Today, she attempted to take her life. She has attempted suicide many times in the past but this time is different in the fact that I believe she truly does not want to live any longer. Her quality of life is not what it was and when I look into her eyes , I see her misery and feel her pain. Her pain is as tangible as the keys I feel as I type this.

These revelations I make are not for pity or to say I have given up. I honestly am making strides to take care of my mother in the very near future but , let’s be clear. I do not want her to suffer or to feel as if she has to remain in the physical for me. My mother raised me to be strong, to be resilient, and to most of all, be real. 58 years old is young in regards to life expectancy but when you have lived a life full of strife, hardships, trials, and tribulations, the spirit does grow weary.

I hope my words help someone that is going through a similar situation. Do the very best that you can in the way that you can. Love , love, love. And always be gentle with yourself. Life is cyclical and things have a way of coming full circle. My mother knows me better than anyone else. She was the first human I connected with, she is my creator. I want her to know that I am fine. I just want her to be……….

Peace, Love, and Light,

Andre’a The Tru Lioness

Peace and blessings all!

I initially wanted to write about current issues with the police and our people, our people against our people, and so forth but instead I have chosen to share with you some of my favorite quotes. I have been posting quotes on my personal Facebook page for several years. Initially I began to post the quotes as a way of adding some positivity to the timeline because of the constant bombardment of negativity and bad vibes. In retrospect, I realize that the quotes were not only helping other people but they were helping me. I have grown so much over the last few years and my worldview is totally different. The wise words of elders and contemporaries alike have reignited a passion within me to do my little bit of good in the world and to be the light bearer that I seek. Not all of these quotes have to do with revolution, some have to do with love but they all reflect my personal desires for liberation, freedom, and true love.  I do hope that these quotes inspire you, cause you to think, and most of all, “feel”.

1. “You can’t separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom.’ – Malcolm X
2. No one knows when the hour of Africa’s Redemption cometh. It is in the wind. It is coming. One day, like a storm, it will be here. When that day comes all Africa will stand together –Marcus Garvey
3. “People get used to anything. The less you think about your oppression, the more your tolerance for it grows. After a while, people just think oppression is the normal state of things. But to become free, you have to be acutely aware of being a slave.”- Assata Shakur
4. “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” –Maya Angelou
5. The first lesson a revolutionary must learn is that he is a doomed man. –Huey Newton
6. The kind of beauty I want most is the hard-to-get kind that comes from within – strength, courage, dignity. –Ruby Dee
7. You can be up to your boobies in white satin, with gardenias in your hair and no sugar cane for miles, but you can still be working on a plantation.- Billie Holiday
8. “You may not be her first, her last, or her only. She loved before she may love again. But if she loves you now, what else matters? She’s not perfect—you aren’t either, and the two of you may never be perfect together but if she can make you laugh, cause you to think twice, and admit to being human and making mistakes, hold onto her and give her the most you can. –Bob Marley

This is just a few of the quotes that I thoroughly and wholeheartedly relate to . I hope you all are well and that this post sheds some light on the Lioness.

Hetepu,

Andre’a The Tru Lioness