I WILL P.U.S.H. with great F.O.C.U.S and clear my ledger of its I.O.U’s

It’s been a while since I have shared my testimony to help others. From a young age I knew that God had intended my life, my trials, and my tribulations to be a pre-cursor to my success and a building tool for others who have hit the bottom or can not tread the turbulent waters of life on their own with out encouragement. What others may see as a burden God has given me strong shoulders to bear so that I can encourage, inspire and motivate others. Yet, I have taken a break; writing those who need my motivation an I.O.U. for a later date cause at this moment I just don’t have the know-how to give you a part of me so that you may be well.

If you don’t know what I.O.U stands for let me reiterate. I.O.U stands for I Owe U (meaning I intend on giving something to you in the future) so yes I have put sharing my motivation on the backburner with no specific date in time for you to reclaim what is owed. I said to myself, “not today, not now, maybe later” because its time that I take my clear my personal ledger of its I.O.U which is a more self-developing acronym. Every now and then even those who motivate need to take a little TLC.

So I put a tweak on I.O.U and decided instead of it solely being in the interest of others to benefit lets make it two-fold and allow this same I.O.U to pay off in the interest of me. I know this sounds kind of selfish. But, have you ever considered that even the doctor who treats others must see a doctor of his own, so that he/she can be treated, is that selfish? No not at all. Should he/she not seek treatment that would be the true disservice. You cannot heal what ails others until you have addressed your own ails.

So I do not owe anyone motivation as long as I am not Investing in myself and motivating myself to my highest standard to give my best to others. I.O.U., Invest On yoU is just as important as the I.O.U the investment that you have reserved for others. After taking this all into consideration I had decided that there were things out of place in my own life, things that I had not cleaned in my boudoir; my private place where I shelve up my own inequities, shortcomings, and defunct junk. Yes, even those who have all the right things to say and can purge the sorrows of others and have them stand straight hold a key to their own closet bearing skeletons that they hold dear and sometimes simply burden their own soul.

It was time that I seek my motivator, my one more move, my investor and that is God. However, before seeking my investor he knew that I need to be invested in so he sent messengers with their bouts of encouragement, opportunity, motivation, or just a simple hello that helped to lift up within me something I was sure I had lost.

After much deliberation with my investor who owes me nothing yet pays me in dividends on a consistent basis I decided that I was doing a disservice to myself and others in many ways and I came to this conclusion.

I will P.U.S.H. (Pray Until Something Happens) while I remain in F.O.C.U.S. (Forward On Course Until Successful) and make my daily I.O.U (Invest On U) while steadily fulfilling my purpose of motivating others with the Talent he has blessed me with.

In layman’s terms I am telling you to Invest On yoU so that you can truly help others. If your grass has weeds and you are busy tending the fields of others before long your lawn will be infested with weeds; and it will take more than weed-be-gone to have your grass weed-free and green again.

Share your thoughts and look out for the Inspired Women’s Forum (IWF) brought to you by women who inspire and give back to their community all in the name of helping sisters network, grow, and be better today.

Enid Middleton

Rose is always a rose and a violet is always a violet

Rose is always a rose and a violet is always a violet

Today I was standing in Bryant Park for no reason at all thinking about how I haven't posted on tears4seasons in ages and I looked around and a pot of violets caught my eyes. As I looked at the violets it was almost like they whispered to me; like the fish in the lil mermaid to the prince, “just kiss the girl”. They whispered to me let us be your muse; let your pen kiss us. Weird I know, but the way the violets stood was very symbolic to my life; past, present, and all hopes for the future.
I noticed a cluster of violets that seemed to all look a like creating a beautiful picture; but, one stood apart and alone and was just as beautiful. Just like I had seen pieces of me in the stars, a rose in concrete, and the imagery of me on the clouds I had saw myself in that violet; standing alone but just as beautiful.

Her sister flowers were near but she still desired to grow at her own distance making sure to stand out. Even though she grew from similar beginnings it was almost like she knew that she would not be placed under, not overshadowed, but instead stand dominantly on her own.
Probably not; I mean violets have no say on where they grow, right? Possibly the hands that planted her may have known but she did no more than grow in the condition provided to her.

Although she stood alone she didn't seem to be alone, and that is what meant so much to me. You can stand alone; you can choose to have your own ray of sunshine, and sip the water of the soil that feeds your unbounded roots and know that it’s ok to nurture alone. But she wasn’t so far from her sister violets where tough winds would leave her without care; no, they were there. If a wind blew I am sure she would be able to sway her petals right beside those of her sisters. She stood alone but it made her no less a violet. They may be clusters but they can stand alone; like my sorors, like strong black women, and just like I can.

I say with DISTINCTION: I am a ROSE the that grew out of concrete; a tree that GROWS in Brooklyn, a CUTTER of the glass ceiling, and a beautiful VIOLET; WHAT ARE YOU?