April's edition of The Diva Journals is here!

Meet April's Diva of the month, Ms. Clolita Castleberry

Try and Love. Try and Understand. Just Try.

I spent a lot of time away from home this past weekend traveling with my better half.  We got a chance to visit and spend time with a lot of friends.  Had a fantastic time.  For a moment The Diva Journals and the reason I started it were temporarily buried in the recesses of my very busy mind.  But then, I observed on several occasions, on several different days, the behavior in which women display towards each other.  Some behaviors were deep  acts of kindness and love shown towards each other.  The kind of love that lets a woman know "hey, I got your back in this  random, chaotic motion which can sometimes be your life".  That love will sustain you through some pretty hard times in life.  Then there was that other emotion I saw displayed, jealousy. 

Yes! I called it an emotion, because according to my good friend Merriam-Webster, jealousy  is an emotion and it typically refers to the negative thoughts and feelings of insecurity, fear, and anxiety over an anticipated loss of something that the person values, particularly in reference to a human connection.  Wow.  The green-eyed monster is eating us alive women.  If ever we are going to have any kind of unity on any kind of level, we have got to start recognizing and understanding the damaging traits and devastating results of jealousy. 

Sistas please understand, and hear me well.  Insecurity, fear, or anxiety are NOT friends of ours, and neither are the people whose existence in our lives are the center of which these horrific aforementioned nouns adjectives, and verbs breathe life and take form from.  Get rid of them.  And if this means letting go of that someone who always seems to bring anything except peace into your life, then get rid of that DRAMA.  

We need to, as a matter of fact we have to save each other from our attitudes, not enslave each other with them.  We have the ability to lift each other up, instead of knocking the hell out of each other. 

When we look at ourselves in the mirror, we have an opportunity to see several things; what we look like, what we use to look like, and what we want to look like.  And we don't have to look deep inside ourselves to see the difference in all three, we already know the difference.  We are very smart creatures. We know when we want to change, when we need to change, when we should change, and if we can change.  Nobody has to beat us over the head to let us know that we are sometimes screwed up; and a lot of times we are screwed up because of another person's behavior close to us in our lives. Either way, it's time out for the excuses we use to mistreat each other.

It's time to take out the garbage in our lives ladies before we get trash bugs, because like some people in our lives, they too are predators. We can be better to each other.  You recognize the hurt some one else has caused you, start recognizing the behavior you exhibit towards others, and how you can potentially hurt people.  This is not hard to do.  Treat each other like you want to be treated, and kick that something or some one in your life to the curb when it becomes a stumbling block to your success.  

Reach for something higher than someone else's dreams, reach for your own, and if you don't have any, get some!  Be yourSELF! and if you don't know who or what that is, guess what?  it's o.k.  Just strive to be better, and know that EVERY WOMAN was created with a purpose and a plan. No exceptions.  If you are still alive, that means there is still a purpose and a plan just for YOU.  Start creating a welcoming atmosphere for what could be the master plan for your life.  Kick damaging behavior patterns in your life.  Before you turn the corner let people see the light of your countenance approaching before they see you.  Treat each other well.  Love each other well, or at least try and understand the reason why it may be difficult for you not to.     

Prayer of an Anonymous Abbess

Lord, thou knowest better than myself that I am growing older and will soon be old. Keep me from becoming too talkative, and especially from the unfortunate habit of thinking that I must say something on every subject and at every opportunity.

Release me from the idea that I must straighten out other peoples' affairs. With my immense treasure of experience and wisdom, it seems a pity not to let everybody partake of it. But thou knowest, Lord, that in the end I will need a few friends.

Keep me from the recital of endless details; give me wings to get to the point.

Grant me the patience to listen to the complaints of others; help me to endure them with charity. But seal my lips on my own aches and pains -- they increase with the increasing years and my inclination to recount them is also increasing.

I will not ask thee for improved memory, only for a little more humility and less self-assurance when my own memory doesn't agree with that of others. Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally I may be wrong.

Keep me reasonably gentle. I do not have the ambition to become a saint -- it is so hard to live with some of them -- but a harsh old person is one of the devil's masterpieces.

Make me sympathetic without being sentimental, helpful but not bossy. Let me discover merits where I had not expected them, and talents in people whom I had not thought to possess any. And, Lord, give me the grace to tell them so.

Amen”
― Margot Benary-Isbert

For Divas everywhere

Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.
Coco Chanel

 

Happiness Is

Happiness is:
1. Falling in love.
2. Laughing so hard your face hurts.
3. A hot shower.
4. No lines at the supermarket.
5. A special glance.
6. Getting mail.
7. Taking a drive on a pretty road.
8. Hearing your favourite song on the radio.
9. Lying in bed listening to the rain outside.
10. Hot towels fresh out of the dryer.
11. Chocolate milkshake ... (or vanilla ... or strawberry!)
12. A bubble bath.
13. Giggling.
14. A good conversation.
15. The beach
16. Finding a 20-pound note in your coat from last winter.
17. Laughing at yourself.
18. Eye contact with a hot member of the opposite sex.
19. Midnight phone calls that last for hours.
20. Running through sprinklers.
21. Laughing for absolutely no reason at all.
22. Having someone tell you that you're beautiful/good looking.
23. Laughing at an inside joke.
24. Friends.
25. Accidentally overhearing someone say something nice about you.
26. Waking up and realizing you still have a few hours left to sleep.
27. Your first kiss (either the very first or with a new partner).
28. Making new friends or spending time with old ones.
29. Playing with a new puppy.
30. Having someone play with your hair.
31. Sweet dreams.
32. Hot chocolate.
33. Road trips with friends.
34. Swinging on swings.
35. Making eye contact with a cute stranger.
36. Making chocolate chip cookies (and eating them...!).
37. Having your friends send you homemade cookies.
38. Holding hands with someone you care about.
39. Running into an old friend and realizing that some things (good or bad) never change.
40. Watching the expression on someone's face as they open a much-desired present from you.
41. Watching the sunrise.
42. Getting out of bed every morning and being grateful for another beautiful day.
43. Knowing that somebody misses you.
44. Getting a hug from someone you care about deeply.
45. Knowing you've done the right thing, no matter what other people think.
-Author Unknown.

What are you listening to right now?

It's Friday, what am I listening to?   I got the iPod turned way up; this is the only way I like to listen to the reggaefusion  Say Hey (I Love You) by Michael Franti & Spearhead featuring Jamaican soul/dancehall singer Cherine Anderson from his All Rebel Rockers album.

I put this on, immediately I envision myself riding around in a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, reggae bouncin.   What are you listening to right now?

The Journals has a new Diva!

Meet Stephanie Lewis, The Diva Journals March Diva of the Month.
March Diva of the Month