Wednesday's Word of the Week!

It's Queen She known as Me here and I'm bringing with me the Wednesday Word of the Week.

BYPASS

by·​pass 
verb

go past or around.  To avoid something unpleasant or laborious

synonyms: go around, go pat, make a detour, avoid

-Google Dictionary

Developing Your Best Self

"I am a woman of substance.  Success is not withheld from me. I am strong and built to succeed." – The Holy Spirit

A mantra.  A word, a sound, a phrase repeated to aid in concentration during meditation.  An affirmation to motivate and inspire you to be your best self.  Used to provide encouragement when you need to focus your mind to achieve a goal.  The statement above, that’s my mantra.  

Even though mantras have been around for at least 3,000 years, in present day we see them everywhere; on social media with the famous hash tag on Instagram, we pin them to Pinterest, or even in songs like Toni Braxton’s Let it flow, where she tells us to “Just let go and let it flow” (I’ve used this one so many times in the last 20 +/- years).

Happy Black Woman founder Rosetta Thurman introduced me to mantras and how effective they can be in my everyday life.  In 2011, I did her 31-day Reset Your Life program and one of the assignments given, in fact the first assignment given, was to create a mantra.  Changed my mindset so much that every year, I encourage myself to create a new one.  Why not? We can evolve! (but that’s another blog for another day).

Studies have shown that when we are feeling overwhelmed and flooded with thoughts of every kind, repeating a mantra can help bring about very real change in our mindsets and everyday lives.  In the world we live in today, stereotyping and mental disorders of all kind are present, front and center, every day and are attaching themselves to or attacking people’s though process.  Constantly.  It’s good to have mantras as a way of kicking negativity out of the psyche or simply changing an unwanted aura. We may not be able to control the situations that surround us all the time, but we can control ourselves and how we respond. It’s not always easy, but it’s doable.

Share! Drop your mantra below in the comments and let us know how it helps you. If you haven’t gotten one yet, get busy! Start the process to creating the mindset you want to have.  Happy creating.

Wednesday's Word of the Week

Hey Peeps! Queen She known as me here with my Wednesday word of the week.

BENEVOLENT

be·nev·o·lent

adjective

well meaning and kindly.

"a benevolent smile"

(of an organization) serving a charitable rather than a profit-making purpose.

"a benevolent fund"

synonyms: charitable, non-profit-making, nonprofit, not-for-profit

-Google Dictionary

Wednesday's Word of the Week

Hey Queen She known as me here with my Wednesday word of the week.

AMBIGUOUS

am·big·u·ous

Adjective

(of language) open to more than one interpretation; having a double meaning.

"the question is rather ambiguous“

unclear or inexact because a choice between alternatives has not been made.

"this whole society is morally ambiguous“

Synonyms: equivocal, ambivalent, open to debate

-Google Dictionary

January 2019 Wine Choice

I drank it!

Bogle Petite Sirah 2016 Red Wine

                                                                                                                                       

Tasting Notes: Blueberries, Brown Sugar and Cocoa

This is a full bodied red wine. It’s not too strong, and not too light, a good balance.  It doesn't have a lot of sugar, it goes well with spicy dishes. Let it breathe for a few minutes before drinking, (I didn't, and I KNOW BETTER!, but I wanted to dive right in!) When I went back in to it a day later, it tasted even better.   It's real smooth. It’s awesome, but i'm not surprised at that because Bogle is a great brand.   I’ll definitely buy again.  

It's a match! me and this wine like each other!  If you have a favorite you'd like me to try, comment below, and I'd be willing to oblige! 

As usual, have a great day, enjoy yourself and life, and keep a look out for me monthly as I continue making my POUR decisions!

                                                                                                             Image from Google.

Just Breathe

Today I stepped away from the location I’d been at most of the day for a break.  I was taking a short walk to try and calm my mind; I was thinking I have this to do, and that to do and the time when I’d have to have them done by.  I was so gone with thoughts that I was thinking about the deadlines of other people, and about what all they had to do.  Then it hit me, and I had to ask myself, “what is going on with you girl?” and then the thought crossed me to breathe and focus.  

As I did, I took several more longer breaths.  Inhaling slowly, taking air into the lungs, and then just as slowly expelling it, until it became normal and felt natural.  Before I knew it, my mind was clearing, clearer, then just clear.  Something changed within me, around me, to me.  Almost as if I gained extra energy.  

I know this is nothing new, and I’d heard this a thousand plus a thousand more times, to take deep breaths to calm yourself when needed.  But until you become overwhelmed, and realize you’re not breathing, it means nothing more to you than a taught relaxation technique.  It’ll never mean anything at all until it does.

When you’re feeling stressed, annoyed bothered, need a break, or maybe just need to turn your mind off for a minute, slow down, take a deep breath and focus.  Then take more deep breaths, until you’re as calm as you can be.  You’ll be surprised at the results this brings to the body, as well as the mind.  

Just remember to breathe. 

TDJ Reads

“Ah, how good it is to be among people who are reading.” – Rainer Maria Rilke

This month TDJ is reading
Bury What We Cannot Take
a novel by Kirstin Chen

The day nine-year-old San San and her twelve-year-old brother, Ah Liam, discover their grandmother taking a hammer to a framed portrait of Chairman Mao is the day that forever changes their lives. 

To prove his loyalty to the Party, Ah Liam reports his grandmother to the authorities. But his belief in doing the right thing sets in motion a terrible chain of events.

You avid readers out there, share what you’re reading. Let’s go!!

Image from Amazon

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BOOK REVIEW

Done 01/28/2019

Bury What We Cannot Take: A Novel-Kirstin Chen was released March 20, 2018.

Set in 1957 Drum Wave Island-Gulangyu, Fujian Province, China.

Nine-year-old San San and her brother Ah Liam witness their grandmother smashing the portrait of Chairman Mao.  As a way to prove his loyalty to the party, Ah Liam reports his grandmother and turns their lives upside down.  Now they must flee their home on Drum Wave.  Their father is already living in Hong Kong taking care of the family business (so he would like for the family to believe) and along with their mother, Seok Koon, have come up with a plan to get their family to Hong Kong, but when the mother goes to secure passports for herself, their grandmother and both children, the government will only issue them passports on the condition she leave one of her children behind as proof her and her family will return. Begging, in distress and in haste Seok Koon makes the bad decision to leave her daughter, San San behind. 

The rest of the book tells how San San struggles daily to not get caught by the officials as she comes up with a plan of her own to get to Hong Kong, how she survives, how Seok Koon tries everything imaginable to get her daughter back, how the Ah Liam struggles with guilt, but still has his loyalty to the Party, and how the father is barely holding on and is secretly in financial ruin, living with his mistress in Hong Kong.  

Bury What We Cannot Take, is a good read, and most of the time it’s a page turner, but there were several things I didn’t like about the book.  One was the ending, and the other was character development.  The ending seemed rushed, and unreal.  Some of the characters like the dad for instance, has a huge presence throughout the book, but at the end he has such a minimal part.