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Before I get into today’s blog post, I want to wish you a happy new year! With 2023 over, I am hoping that you were able to reflect on what went well, where you would like to improve, and what you need to do to get there.

In March 2023, I made a commitment to myself to try blogging for the rest of the year. While I have been on and off, in terms of my weekly releases, I am still proud for committing a portion of my efforts to this project.

Writing these blog posts have given me the opportunity to be more present in my life, be more involved within creativity, and to improve my written communication skills. I will say, whenever I interact with someone and they mention they read my blog, I never know what to say. It is like even though I am writing this to an audience, I am not processing that this is something people can read and reference.

In an effort to take my work more seriously, I have decided to start packaging everything I create into a book. Every blog post, photo, drawing, etc created by me in 2023 will be put together. I don’t know if I would sell it because I would honestly prefer my audience to create their own work, and show appreciation towards that, rather than another person’s work.

One thing that I appreciate about the compilation process is that it really puts into perspective all of the work that has been created. For instance, in total, I wrote over 20,000 words when combining all of my blog posts together. When I started the blog in March, that number probably would’ve felt unrealistic.

The same thing can be send when I was compiling all the photos I took last year. I primarily use my iPhone 11 to take my photos. I compiled all the photos I took, and thought I was done. That was when I realized that I used two other cameras to take photos.

It doesn’t even stop there! I, then remembered I made different types of videos, dabbled in music production, and did some paintings. This is why I feel it is important to take a step back, and really look back on the progress you have made up until this point. It will definitely help if you are feeling down.

Getting into today’s blog topic, the subject is one I have discussed previously. However, since the last time I wrote about it, I have gained concepts from other facets of life, and when applying it to this subject, it helped me look at it from a different perspective. I am hoping that with this new level of understanding, it could maybe inspire you to “unblock” yourself mentally from any of your aspirations.

When distractions are abundant, I have noticed that it is difficult for one to find directions. You, yourself have probably noticed that when you are in an unfamiliar place and your GPS tells you that you’ve arrived, you turn down the volume, so that you can concentrate. I’ve done this several times and at some point, I wondered to myself why I am reducing what my ears are hearing, when I am using my eyes to see.

I believe it is because the brain needs more bandwidth to process information coming from one’s sight. Looking at the housing or building number, looking at the address, checking if one is in the correct location to park are all things that happen within a short period of time. Tying this into the main topic, I feel as though I have been able to do a good job of knowing where I want to go, and moving in that direction. However, for some time, I have not been moving very much.

I have realized that I have grown quite comfortable with my current arrangements. So much so, that I took some gas off the pedal. This has been happening for so long, I’m causing traffic in the road system that is my mind. It is possible that you have probably had that feeling where you are aware of the problem, but aren’t doing anything to fix the issue. Through me living life, I was able to pick up some concepts from the Christian faith and meditation that addresses this issue.

In James 4:6, it states “But He gives more grace. Therefor He says: “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.”” Now upon reading the verse one might think words like “proud” and “humble” are used to distinguish groups of people.

While it can be used that way, I think it would be more effective to apply this internally. A follow up question might arise: How can I be prideful within? To answer a question with a question, how easy can you admit that you are wrong? That your decision didn’t bring the best results? That you failed?

Being humble enough to admit when you went wrong is the first step towards being right. Unless I am reading the verse wrong, it states that God gives grace, specifically the humble. How I interpret “grace” is by giving someone to fail without judgment.

I’m sure you can think of many times where you failed, saw someone succeed in the same venture as you, and then beat yourself up for it. Just as God gives us the opportunity to fail, we should, in turn, do it for ourselves and others too.

Meditation shares this concept as well. From what I have been able to gather, the purpose of meditating is to be present. To be fully aware of all the actions that are taking place within your body. Feeling itches, focusing on different parts of the body, things like that.

During the instructor explaining what meditation is, and how to do it, they continuously mention how easy it is to get distracted; to let your mind wander. This happened many times I practiced meditating. However, the instructor explained that all you need to do is acknowledge you are off track. That that is all meditation is… starting over again when things fall off track.

Being too hard on yourself, and not giving yourself the opportunity to start over can impede the flow of “traffic”. You never know the impact you have on others. Don’t potentially miss the chance to impact someone positively because you cannot acknowledge your shortcomings, and try again.p { line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0.1in; background: transparent }

I appreciate you all for reading this post once again. Remember, in everything you, have grace. If you fail, forgive yourself, get up, and start again… That’s all life is; a series of attempts. This blog post’s song recommendation is Number 2 Pt 2 by Terror Fabulous