Yeah I know it has been a while (especially since I wanted to update once a week) and I know that Thanksgiving was about two weeks ago but hey we always need to be thankful.
This past Thanksgiving was an interesting one since this was the first time that it was just my siblings and I since my parents had travel set and we could not get the time off. But it was still a wonderful experience just hanging with my bro and sis for the holidays.
Now the real point of tonight's discussion is things that we are thankful for . . . I know that everyone feels that we are in hard times and that there are less and less things to be thankful for but I must disagree. I have to thank GOD for waking me up every morning (or whoever you may pray too) and for giving me the strength to just go through the day. I am also thankful for family and friends because without them life in itself would be very lonely. I am thankful the small things in life, like being able to have a thoughtful conversation with a co-worker or friend or being able to move forward in this game we call life :). Life definitely throws the curves here and there but even with its curves it is better than not being able to live it :).
I am thankful for a job and a roof over my head. I am thankful for food and a place to workout. I am just thankful for everything that GOD has blest me with and just wanted to share it with all of you!
Thanks for reading and I just leave you with a question . . . what are you thankful for? Until we meet again (which will be pretty soon :))!
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
The Life
Life is one-word at all times . . . interesting. It can be like the sea, calm and relaxing as if you are floating on a cloud and yet at other times it can be very rocky and unforgiving. Life has the ability to rock you within in arms and then drop you completely from its embrace. But that is part of the fun of living this life because these ups and downs are all part of living life to the fullest!
We all come at life from different perspectives: some of us are optimistic, looking at every corner, dark cloud and bad day as a new opportunity waiting to happen (even at the same time understanding that bad days are a part of life and WILL happen). While some look at it as if they are Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh, never seeing the silver lining no matter what the situation. Then there is the rest of us who understand that life isn't always sunny but is not a constant rain cloud following you around everywhere you go. No matter your outlook on life though, we all understand that life needs to be lived and it is through living life that we come to understand all different situations and experiences that life has to offer.
The biggest pleasure in life though is living through GOD's Will and coming to understand what his Will is for you! It is through this Will that we truly understand the value of our life and our true calling. But we must listen to understand what is being said to us since we allow the other aspects of life (the hustle and the bustle, let's say) to distract us from the voice of GOD! Come back and listen carefully (through the WORD, prayer and other avenues to GOD) and soon you will hear that quiet knocking on your heart that lead you to your specific path!
So remember life is what you make of it and is something that we all need to experience (no matter how different each person experience is) but remember to always take time out to listen to understand your purpose in life ;)! I want to thank you for taking time out to read this and I want yall to enjoy the rest of your night! Thanks yall!!!
We all come at life from different perspectives: some of us are optimistic, looking at every corner, dark cloud and bad day as a new opportunity waiting to happen (even at the same time understanding that bad days are a part of life and WILL happen). While some look at it as if they are Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh, never seeing the silver lining no matter what the situation. Then there is the rest of us who understand that life isn't always sunny but is not a constant rain cloud following you around everywhere you go. No matter your outlook on life though, we all understand that life needs to be lived and it is through living life that we come to understand all different situations and experiences that life has to offer.
The biggest pleasure in life though is living through GOD's Will and coming to understand what his Will is for you! It is through this Will that we truly understand the value of our life and our true calling. But we must listen to understand what is being said to us since we allow the other aspects of life (the hustle and the bustle, let's say) to distract us from the voice of GOD! Come back and listen carefully (through the WORD, prayer and other avenues to GOD) and soon you will hear that quiet knocking on your heart that lead you to your specific path!
So remember life is what you make of it and is something that we all need to experience (no matter how different each person experience is) but remember to always take time out to listen to understand your purpose in life ;)! I want to thank you for taking time out to read this and I want yall to enjoy the rest of your night! Thanks yall!!!
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Time to start ANEW
Hey everyone I know it has been a while, but my blogging juices started to flow again and I figured I would start off with a sort of "welcome back"/refresher course LOL.
Well lets start off easy, as you all know the name is Henderson Orlando Brathwaite II (yes very distinguished) and I am an attorney. Now when I first started writing this blog I was unemployed but I am happy to inform everyone that I am now gainfully employed as a real estate/will and trusts attorney (shameless plug I know but contact me if you got any problems I GOT YOU!!!).
As for the time that I was away I was basically just gaining my footing within this legal world and that takes time and effort basically sapping me of all of my daily strengths lol (not really but I had to make up some excuse LOL). I have come to a comfortable place (as for now because you know once you get comfortable to get lazy and I vowed never to do that again {ala a previous post}) and I am just slowly striving to etch my name in the ground of this legal career so that I can soar to new heights.
As for socially I am enjoying life as it is right now understanding that whatever GOD has for me will be, so I will live it to His Will. But other than that definitely enjoying MY NEW CAR (What up Mali :)) and enjoying "grown up life" lol (it is not as bad as everyone makes it out to be, but that just may be that I am just getting into it LOL).
Well I think that is enough for now any questions, comments or concerns get at me in the comments I answer any and all questions because I want too lol. Hey everyone enjoy and thanks for going through my rants with me. GOD BLESS!
Well lets start off easy, as you all know the name is Henderson Orlando Brathwaite II (yes very distinguished) and I am an attorney. Now when I first started writing this blog I was unemployed but I am happy to inform everyone that I am now gainfully employed as a real estate/will and trusts attorney (shameless plug I know but contact me if you got any problems I GOT YOU!!!).
As for the time that I was away I was basically just gaining my footing within this legal world and that takes time and effort basically sapping me of all of my daily strengths lol (not really but I had to make up some excuse LOL). I have come to a comfortable place (as for now because you know once you get comfortable to get lazy and I vowed never to do that again {ala a previous post}) and I am just slowly striving to etch my name in the ground of this legal career so that I can soar to new heights.
As for socially I am enjoying life as it is right now understanding that whatever GOD has for me will be, so I will live it to His Will. But other than that definitely enjoying MY NEW CAR (What up Mali :)) and enjoying "grown up life" lol (it is not as bad as everyone makes it out to be, but that just may be that I am just getting into it LOL).
Well I think that is enough for now any questions, comments or concerns get at me in the comments I answer any and all questions because I want too lol. Hey everyone enjoy and thanks for going through my rants with me. GOD BLESS!
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Anger
Hey everyone hope all is well . . . I am going to keep this post short but there was something on my mind over these last few days that I just wanted to talk about. Simply put anger should be put out of our lives. While I understand how hard this request can be (talking about myself personally) it is something that should take hold in our lives.
Anger causes a completely different side of you to surface causing you to become a person that you are not normally allowing you to become irrational, hostile and annoyed. You start saying things that you don't really mean and your actions are not completely yours since it is like there is something with you pushing you to act this way. Behaving this way can lead to destruction and ruin with you having to pick up the pieces later on down the road. It causes rifts in relationships and can completely destroy friendships.
Therefore this is what I will try my best to ascribe to from now on. If I feel the anger starting to boil inside of me I decide that I will walk away from the situation or switch my mindset whether that means stepping away from the situation for a bit, or defusing the volatile feelings with a few quick "WOO-SAHS". This is important for me to do since it is important not to lose close and meaningful relationship because you were suddenly gripped with the hot-hand of anger. . .
Thanks for reading and enjoy the rest of your day, now off to work for this one LOL! GOD BLESS!!!
Anger causes a completely different side of you to surface causing you to become a person that you are not normally allowing you to become irrational, hostile and annoyed. You start saying things that you don't really mean and your actions are not completely yours since it is like there is something with you pushing you to act this way. Behaving this way can lead to destruction and ruin with you having to pick up the pieces later on down the road. It causes rifts in relationships and can completely destroy friendships.
Therefore this is what I will try my best to ascribe to from now on. If I feel the anger starting to boil inside of me I decide that I will walk away from the situation or switch my mindset whether that means stepping away from the situation for a bit, or defusing the volatile feelings with a few quick "WOO-SAHS". This is important for me to do since it is important not to lose close and meaningful relationship because you were suddenly gripped with the hot-hand of anger. . .
Thanks for reading and enjoy the rest of your day, now off to work for this one LOL! GOD BLESS!!!
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Post-Racial Society . . .
Hey everyone I hope yall are good. I just really needed to talk about this concept that we are living in a post-racial society. I hear this term on the news, in tv programming and just through-out regular everyday conversation. Now what is a post-racial society you ask well it is a society that does not view people by their race just taking a person as that a human being.
Now all this talk has really picked up steam since Pres Obama was elected into office. Some ppl say "look you have a black president, so that must mean that race is no longer a factor". I look at this comment and say just the fact that you are pointing out his "race" to prove that we are past "race" seems to disprove your theory (but that is just me) . . .
Now let me get into a few recent stories that struck me as "odd" if we were living in a post-racial society: First since I am a lawyer I have to start off with the Harvard Law Student that stated that "African american are genetically predisposed to be less intelligent". Now the only reason why anyone heard about this story was because of who the young lady sent this crazy email to. And once it was sent it was forward to every Black Law Student Association within the top 25 law school list servs (gotta watch your friends, I keep telling ppl). Now even though this theory was disproved decades ago and there is no scientific backing for her ludicrous statements, she still voiced them. And to think she will be starting her legal career as a law clerk for a Federal Judge where policy can actually be affected. I will have the link to the story at the end of the blog post just in case you want to read all about it . . .
Next up we have this great article by Tim Wise entitled "Imagine if the Tea Party was Black", which basically outlines the ridiculous things that the tea party does but asking you to imagine if there was a black person doing these things. The article is very insightful and culminates stating the privilege that whites hold in this country to this day is staggering to say the least. Now I took a class addressing this topic of "white privilege" in law school and learn that no matter how much we try to deny it is still very much in play today in most aspects of society. The link to the article will be at the end of the blog post as well and is definitely well worth the read.
Next, we move to the new Arizona immigrant law which is "tough on border patrol". Now while I understand that we have to be tough on people crossing the border, this law in my view steps up a system of racial profiling that is bound to have grave repercussions. Not only do you have to walk with identification to prove that you are "legal" (even though this country was built by "illegal immigrants") the police can stop any one you they "reasonably suspect" to be an illegal, man that is just opening up the door to grave due process violations (but that is just my way of thought). Just like how mostly blacks are stopped for "reasonably" being "suspicious" (which is complete BS), so will many Latinos succumb to this blatant racism. And if that was not enough the citizens of Arizona have the right to sue any governmental agency (other than the police department and the State itself) if they feel that this law in not being enforced (and people wonder why the Court systems are so clogged). Well there is a hilarious take on the law done by the Daily Show and the end of the post.
Finally, this was last year but I just remembered it while I was typing and that was the uproar that surrounded a white homecoming queen at Hampton University an HBCU. While the controversy to me personally was just ppl showing their true colors it comes to show you that no one is beyond this craze racism. And just a spoiler she is mixed . . . The link to the article is at the end of the post.
As I stated at the beginning this post-racial society concept is a good concept but in this country I feel it is more of a fairy tale than anything. These four stories tend to show that people still conceive the concept of race daily and to reject that it still has its place in this society is rejecting what this society is . . . Thanks for reading and enjoy the rest of your day! GOD BLESS!!!
Link to Harvard Law Student Email: http://abovethelaw.com/2010/04/hls-3ls-racist-email-goes-national/
Link to Tim Wise Piece "What if the Tea Party were Black": http://ephphatha-poetry.blogspot.com/2010/04/imagine-if-tea-party-was-black-tim-wise.html?spref=fb
Link to Daily show skit on Arizona Immigration law: http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-april-26-2010/law---border?xrs=synd_facebook
Link to the Uproar over teh White homecoming queen at Hampton: http://thefreshxpress.com/2009/10/a-white-homecoming-queen-at-an-hbcu/
Now all this talk has really picked up steam since Pres Obama was elected into office. Some ppl say "look you have a black president, so that must mean that race is no longer a factor". I look at this comment and say just the fact that you are pointing out his "race" to prove that we are past "race" seems to disprove your theory (but that is just me) . . .
Now let me get into a few recent stories that struck me as "odd" if we were living in a post-racial society: First since I am a lawyer I have to start off with the Harvard Law Student that stated that "African american are genetically predisposed to be less intelligent". Now the only reason why anyone heard about this story was because of who the young lady sent this crazy email to. And once it was sent it was forward to every Black Law Student Association within the top 25 law school list servs (gotta watch your friends, I keep telling ppl). Now even though this theory was disproved decades ago and there is no scientific backing for her ludicrous statements, she still voiced them. And to think she will be starting her legal career as a law clerk for a Federal Judge where policy can actually be affected. I will have the link to the story at the end of the blog post just in case you want to read all about it . . .
Next up we have this great article by Tim Wise entitled "Imagine if the Tea Party was Black", which basically outlines the ridiculous things that the tea party does but asking you to imagine if there was a black person doing these things. The article is very insightful and culminates stating the privilege that whites hold in this country to this day is staggering to say the least. Now I took a class addressing this topic of "white privilege" in law school and learn that no matter how much we try to deny it is still very much in play today in most aspects of society. The link to the article will be at the end of the blog post as well and is definitely well worth the read.
Next, we move to the new Arizona immigrant law which is "tough on border patrol". Now while I understand that we have to be tough on people crossing the border, this law in my view steps up a system of racial profiling that is bound to have grave repercussions. Not only do you have to walk with identification to prove that you are "legal" (even though this country was built by "illegal immigrants") the police can stop any one you they "reasonably suspect" to be an illegal, man that is just opening up the door to grave due process violations (but that is just my way of thought). Just like how mostly blacks are stopped for "reasonably" being "suspicious" (which is complete BS), so will many Latinos succumb to this blatant racism. And if that was not enough the citizens of Arizona have the right to sue any governmental agency (other than the police department and the State itself) if they feel that this law in not being enforced (and people wonder why the Court systems are so clogged). Well there is a hilarious take on the law done by the Daily Show and the end of the post.
Finally, this was last year but I just remembered it while I was typing and that was the uproar that surrounded a white homecoming queen at Hampton University an HBCU. While the controversy to me personally was just ppl showing their true colors it comes to show you that no one is beyond this craze racism. And just a spoiler she is mixed . . . The link to the article is at the end of the post.
As I stated at the beginning this post-racial society concept is a good concept but in this country I feel it is more of a fairy tale than anything. These four stories tend to show that people still conceive the concept of race daily and to reject that it still has its place in this society is rejecting what this society is . . . Thanks for reading and enjoy the rest of your day! GOD BLESS!!!
Link to Harvard Law Student Email: http://abovethelaw.com/2010/04/hls-3ls-racist-email-goes-national/
Link to Tim Wise Piece "What if the Tea Party were Black": http://ephphatha-poetry.blogspot.com/2010/04/imagine-if-tea-party-was-black-tim-wise.html?spref=fb
Link to Daily show skit on Arizona Immigration law: http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-april-26-2010/law---border?xrs=synd_facebook
Link to the Uproar over teh White homecoming queen at Hampton: http://thefreshxpress.com/2009/10/a-white-homecoming-queen-at-an-hbcu/
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Music!
It has been a while huh, yeah I know but hey I am coming with the fire LOL! A lot has been going on with me and it took a while before I have been able to get quiet time to sit, think and write! Well today's blog post is about one of my favorite subjects out there: MUSIC!!!
Now we all know that music can affect your inner workings, it can make you sad, it can make you happy, heck it can even give you that extra push that you need to accomplish any task at hand. Music to me is one of my outlets to express my joy, my sadness and my accomplishments.
I have been singing from a very young age and have learned that music can tell a story, can lift spirits and move people to unseen heights. A lot of the music today is garbage but there are definitely from diamonds in the rough!
A lot of people don't seem to understand that music has the power to affect you on levels that most other media cannot get into and that you need to guards up around certain types of music. Now I am not saying that you need to completely stop listening to a type of particular music but I am saying everything should be done in moderation. Well that is enough of my soap box.
Now here is a little exercise for everyone. Think about your top five songs that are always in rotation and illicit some sort of reaction or strong emotion from you. Once you have thought of them put them in the comments sections so I can see what type of music everyone likes (and may even take some to download for myself LOL). Here are mine to start up the conversation (IN particular order LOL yours does not have to be of course): 5) Luther Vandross: a house is not a home; 4) Tony Terry: With You; 3) n*sync: Gone; 2) New Edition: Can you Stand the Rain; and 1) BoyzIIMen: On Bended Knee (man they need to come back out; favorite group of all time)!!
Thanks everyone for reading and I hope I see a bunch of hits in the comments section comparing and enjoying the wonderful feeling music can bring!!! Enjoy and GOD BLESS!
Now we all know that music can affect your inner workings, it can make you sad, it can make you happy, heck it can even give you that extra push that you need to accomplish any task at hand. Music to me is one of my outlets to express my joy, my sadness and my accomplishments.
I have been singing from a very young age and have learned that music can tell a story, can lift spirits and move people to unseen heights. A lot of the music today is garbage but there are definitely from diamonds in the rough!
A lot of people don't seem to understand that music has the power to affect you on levels that most other media cannot get into and that you need to guards up around certain types of music. Now I am not saying that you need to completely stop listening to a type of particular music but I am saying everything should be done in moderation. Well that is enough of my soap box.
Now here is a little exercise for everyone. Think about your top five songs that are always in rotation and illicit some sort of reaction or strong emotion from you. Once you have thought of them put them in the comments sections so I can see what type of music everyone likes (and may even take some to download for myself LOL). Here are mine to start up the conversation (IN particular order LOL yours does not have to be of course): 5) Luther Vandross: a house is not a home; 4) Tony Terry: With You; 3) n*sync: Gone; 2) New Edition: Can you Stand the Rain; and 1) BoyzIIMen: On Bended Knee (man they need to come back out; favorite group of all time)!!
Thanks everyone for reading and I hope I see a bunch of hits in the comments section comparing and enjoying the wonderful feeling music can bring!!! Enjoy and GOD BLESS!
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Commitment
Afternoon everyone, I don't know but I just have so much to talk about as of late lol! Well this post was actually inspired by something that my pastor said today in church . . . it resonated so much with my that I came str8 home and shared with Facebook! But after seeing that I could not express the way I was fully feeling through that post I figured this would be a great way to do so.
First what was the quote you ask, well here it is "Commitment brings out the true character of a person". Profound isn't it. My pastor was using it to so how committed Christ was to the redemption plan, even committed enough to die for all the sin of the world. But he also explained it on a human level stating that we see a person true character in any aspect of life when they are truly committed to the endeavor whether it is marriage, work and the like. He then goes on to attach it to keeping your word when you state something. Therefore if you are committed then no matter what you will keep your word.
After hearing this I started to think on the subject for a bit and I saw it was so true. We all know that your character is who you are and until you are truly committed to something then you cannot show your true and honest character. What I mean by this is that people hardly open up to strangers or strange activities, and doing so would be deemed as weird to some people. It is not until the person is truly comfortable with the person or the situation that they tend to open and display true aspects of their character.
And once your true character is fully out there on the table do you start to give you all. And once you give your all that is all anyone can ask of you. So when you look at circumstances and wonder why either it did not work out to your benefit or you find yourself bored and complacent you just need to ask yourself are fully committed to this circumstance? If the answer is no then you need to ask yourself if the circumstance is worth your true commitment and if it is not then you need to get out right away! This is not a perfect guideline but it is a guideline that should help is some circumstances.
Well I got everything out that I wanted to say, I may actually have more to say at a later date, I might just label it Commitment (Reprise) lol! Well I thank you for reading and I would definitely like to read your comments on this topic as well as my other posts. Do you feel my guideline is any good or do you feel you should work harder. Hey I am open to all views. Hit the comment box and lets have a great conversation. Thanks again for reading and remember as always GOD IS GOOD!!!
First what was the quote you ask, well here it is "Commitment brings out the true character of a person". Profound isn't it. My pastor was using it to so how committed Christ was to the redemption plan, even committed enough to die for all the sin of the world. But he also explained it on a human level stating that we see a person true character in any aspect of life when they are truly committed to the endeavor whether it is marriage, work and the like. He then goes on to attach it to keeping your word when you state something. Therefore if you are committed then no matter what you will keep your word.
After hearing this I started to think on the subject for a bit and I saw it was so true. We all know that your character is who you are and until you are truly committed to something then you cannot show your true and honest character. What I mean by this is that people hardly open up to strangers or strange activities, and doing so would be deemed as weird to some people. It is not until the person is truly comfortable with the person or the situation that they tend to open and display true aspects of their character.
And once your true character is fully out there on the table do you start to give you all. And once you give your all that is all anyone can ask of you. So when you look at circumstances and wonder why either it did not work out to your benefit or you find yourself bored and complacent you just need to ask yourself are fully committed to this circumstance? If the answer is no then you need to ask yourself if the circumstance is worth your true commitment and if it is not then you need to get out right away! This is not a perfect guideline but it is a guideline that should help is some circumstances.
Well I got everything out that I wanted to say, I may actually have more to say at a later date, I might just label it Commitment (Reprise) lol! Well I thank you for reading and I would definitely like to read your comments on this topic as well as my other posts. Do you feel my guideline is any good or do you feel you should work harder. Hey I am open to all views. Hit the comment box and lets have a great conversation. Thanks again for reading and remember as always GOD IS GOOD!!!
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Growing Older
Hey everyone out there in internet land. Another post back to back I am surprised as you are LOL! But I felt today was an appropriate day to write a post since it is my birthday and I have reached the tender age of 28 :)! As I reflect back on my life I am in a completely different place then I thought I would have been when I was 21. By now I wanted to be married with maybe one child and a successful career, but as usual your plans must bend when it comes in contact with the will of GOD.
Now I am not saying that we should not plan but I feel we need to be flexible with our plans or we might just lose out on the blessings that have been provided for us. It is funny most ppl say that when you are younger you are more flexible to change and as we grow older we become more rigid in out paths and lifestyles. I find that funny since it was the complete opposite for me. Mind you this is limited knowledge since I am really not that old but still when I was 21 I had a strict plan that I wanted to adhere too and it was only as I grew older and saw the different opportunities that were presented to me that I started to gradually change my plan to fit the circumstances. And by changing the plan I am the man that you see before you today. Now who knows what might have happened if I had tried to stick to my plan but I have also learned that regret damages the soul and no matter what you should be content with whatever decision you made for your life because at that time it was the right decision for you.
Now looking forward who knows that will happen with my life. All I know is that I still have my ultimate goal but I am working towards it in the time that is set before me. I will probably reach it sooner than later but only if I keep myself flexible to all the opportunities and blessings that are out there for me. As you reflect on your life remember tomorrow is not promised so we must live our lives to the fullest no matter what allowing yourself to take advantage of the many possibilities that may come about. Thanks for reading and GOD BLESS!!!
Now I am not saying that we should not plan but I feel we need to be flexible with our plans or we might just lose out on the blessings that have been provided for us. It is funny most ppl say that when you are younger you are more flexible to change and as we grow older we become more rigid in out paths and lifestyles. I find that funny since it was the complete opposite for me. Mind you this is limited knowledge since I am really not that old but still when I was 21 I had a strict plan that I wanted to adhere too and it was only as I grew older and saw the different opportunities that were presented to me that I started to gradually change my plan to fit the circumstances. And by changing the plan I am the man that you see before you today. Now who knows what might have happened if I had tried to stick to my plan but I have also learned that regret damages the soul and no matter what you should be content with whatever decision you made for your life because at that time it was the right decision for you.
Now looking forward who knows that will happen with my life. All I know is that I still have my ultimate goal but I am working towards it in the time that is set before me. I will probably reach it sooner than later but only if I keep myself flexible to all the opportunities and blessings that are out there for me. As you reflect on your life remember tomorrow is not promised so we must live our lives to the fullest no matter what allowing yourself to take advantage of the many possibilities that may come about. Thanks for reading and GOD BLESS!!!
Friday, March 26, 2010
Stay Vigilant!
Hey everyone out there something came across my mind today that I just wanted to share with everyone. At the beginning of the year I had a post called Moving Forward where I stressed that moving forward for 2010 was way to go. Yet I was not even listening to myself. Yes I was making strides forward in certain aspect of my life (such as getting admitted to the NYS Bar Association) but in other areas I got too comfortable and stagnant and actually lost something that was very important to me. Since then though I have started to get back on the track that I set forth for myself at the beginning of the year and I am already starting to reap some of the benefits; such as getting back on my work out game and losing a few pounds since I started and GOD willing I think I have a guaranteed job starting in the fall {will keep you posted on that one :)} ! So this brief post is to just let everyone know to stay vigilant in all that you do because you never know what is out there for you and what GOD has prepared to be your blessing!!! Lets get it and now back to my grind!!!
Monday, March 1, 2010
Crazy Behind Kids These Days!!!
It has been a long time hasn't it... And I wanted to have a blog post every week bad... Well that is enough chastisement for now lets get to the post.
First and foremost I want to say that this is my OPINION and anyone who is offended I am sorry but I really need to speak what I see and maybe/hopefully something will change for the better. As many of you know I am the youth pastor for my church the Canarsie Church of Christ. My interactions with the kids has basically brought me to this point where I had to blog about the way in which the moral fiber of our society is deeply impacting our children resulting in a morally deprived generation. Now I know I am still young as well but there is a marked difference to the way I grew up to the way most modern teens are growing up and fundamentally this is where the problem lies. But it is not completely the children's fault but there are several factors that can be attributed to this decline.
First, many parents are just not as involved as they used to be (note I did not say all parents, since I know a good group of parents that are doing what they have to do when it comes to raising their children) . Granted it may be that they work long hours and when they get home the child is already sleeping but these situations are not what I am aiming at. My aim is at the parent that consciously makes an effort not to be a part of their child's life. Whether it be helping them with homework, going out for a family event, or even going to a PTA conference; these parents need to start to show an interest in the well-being of their children, letting their children know that they care about them. This in itself can change the direction that we are headed in as a generation
Second the sense of a child being raised by a community is completely gone or at least absence from the thought patterns of this generation. I remember growing up that if my parents were not around (whether they are working etc...) my next door neighbors (on both sides) kept a close eye on me to make sure I did not get in trouble. This sense of community is vastly gone leaving the child to their own devices which we all know is not the best thing. Yes children do need to learn things on their own but they should not have to learn EVERYTHING by themselves.
Finally, and this is connected to the first two factors, children today are being raised by the media and they are looking up to celebrities and the like as role models. Now if there were a bunch of positive role models out there in celebrity land, this would not be the worst thing but that is certainly not the case. The majority of celebrities are really bad role models for children growing up in this day and age (sorry celebrities but you know I am right). From the ridiculous music artists to celebrities within the sports and entertainment world the children of today have a SLIM and mean SLIMMMM picking of good positive role models out of this batch. But why should they even have to pick role models from so far away in concept when they should have upstanding role models in their houses daily. But because this is missing they reach out to rappers/movie stars/athletes as that moral base.
These are just a few yet main factors I see as being the cause of the moral deprivation of our children today, to go into all of them would have taken a while. I know we have all seen at least one child being bold (I say bold cuz i was would have got snuff if I ever did that)and back talking to their parents, cursing tons of bad words while in the back of a bus or just acting ignorant and disrespectful in general. These are all signs of the time and if we do not do something fast this will lead to a generation of children void of any moral which would not be a sight that anyone would want to see... Thanks for reading and remember the children are our future we got to do better!!!
First and foremost I want to say that this is my OPINION and anyone who is offended I am sorry but I really need to speak what I see and maybe/hopefully something will change for the better. As many of you know I am the youth pastor for my church the Canarsie Church of Christ. My interactions with the kids has basically brought me to this point where I had to blog about the way in which the moral fiber of our society is deeply impacting our children resulting in a morally deprived generation. Now I know I am still young as well but there is a marked difference to the way I grew up to the way most modern teens are growing up and fundamentally this is where the problem lies. But it is not completely the children's fault but there are several factors that can be attributed to this decline.
First, many parents are just not as involved as they used to be (note I did not say all parents, since I know a good group of parents that are doing what they have to do when it comes to raising their children) . Granted it may be that they work long hours and when they get home the child is already sleeping but these situations are not what I am aiming at. My aim is at the parent that consciously makes an effort not to be a part of their child's life. Whether it be helping them with homework, going out for a family event, or even going to a PTA conference; these parents need to start to show an interest in the well-being of their children, letting their children know that they care about them. This in itself can change the direction that we are headed in as a generation
Second the sense of a child being raised by a community is completely gone or at least absence from the thought patterns of this generation. I remember growing up that if my parents were not around (whether they are working etc...) my next door neighbors (on both sides) kept a close eye on me to make sure I did not get in trouble. This sense of community is vastly gone leaving the child to their own devices which we all know is not the best thing. Yes children do need to learn things on their own but they should not have to learn EVERYTHING by themselves.
Finally, and this is connected to the first two factors, children today are being raised by the media and they are looking up to celebrities and the like as role models. Now if there were a bunch of positive role models out there in celebrity land, this would not be the worst thing but that is certainly not the case. The majority of celebrities are really bad role models for children growing up in this day and age (sorry celebrities but you know I am right). From the ridiculous music artists to celebrities within the sports and entertainment world the children of today have a SLIM and mean SLIMMMM picking of good positive role models out of this batch. But why should they even have to pick role models from so far away in concept when they should have upstanding role models in their houses daily. But because this is missing they reach out to rappers/movie stars/athletes as that moral base.
These are just a few yet main factors I see as being the cause of the moral deprivation of our children today, to go into all of them would have taken a while. I know we have all seen at least one child being bold (I say bold cuz i was would have got snuff if I ever did that)and back talking to their parents, cursing tons of bad words while in the back of a bus or just acting ignorant and disrespectful in general. These are all signs of the time and if we do not do something fast this will lead to a generation of children void of any moral which would not be a sight that anyone would want to see... Thanks for reading and remember the children are our future we got to do better!!!
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Who am I?
This past weekend I was attending a church function where my girlfriend's brother was being installed as a Youth Pastor. It was a nice service but he said something that stirred me and now is the topic for this blog post. He stated that as Christian we have started to lose our identity, allowing the world to influence the ways of the Church and not the other way around. So he stated that to change this we have to figure out our identity first so that we can move forward and project this identity to the world.
This train of thought had me thinking of "who am I?" and then inspired me to share this thought with the rest of the world hopefully allowing everyone to take a look inside and see who they really are. Well who am I? I am a Christian first of foremost but that does not fully explain all of my quirks even though it influences quite a bunch of them... well I am also a son, a brother, a friend, a gamer (in the video game sense, not the player sense LOL), a singer, a youth pastor, a soon to be lawyer (as soon as I get admitted) and a confidant. But those are all titles that describe me and can be seen from the surface therefore I figured I needed to go a bit deeper to fully understand and see the purpose of this exercise. While digging deeper I discovered I was compassionate yet selfish at times, likes being alone with my thoughts at times yet needy at other times. I also realized that I was loving, kind, passionate, silly, crazy energetic, sometimes rash, but usually thinks in black and white. This being the initial look into the mirror I figured it would be clarifying and it was, but it is far from over. I plan to over the year continue to look at myself and examine myself, goals, motives, and dreams hopefully coming to a full understanding of my inner workings and solidifying my identity to the world!
Therefore, I would challenge everyone to examine themselves a few times this year. Now I don't mean just look at the surface of urself but truly dive deep and you will be surprised about what you come up with!!! And as always I leave you with a song that embodies the post. The Man in the Mirror by Michael Jackson I feel is the perfect song for this post. So move forward while evaluating. Well until we meet again GOD BLESS!!!
This train of thought had me thinking of "who am I?" and then inspired me to share this thought with the rest of the world hopefully allowing everyone to take a look inside and see who they really are. Well who am I? I am a Christian first of foremost but that does not fully explain all of my quirks even though it influences quite a bunch of them... well I am also a son, a brother, a friend, a gamer (in the video game sense, not the player sense LOL), a singer, a youth pastor, a soon to be lawyer (as soon as I get admitted) and a confidant. But those are all titles that describe me and can be seen from the surface therefore I figured I needed to go a bit deeper to fully understand and see the purpose of this exercise. While digging deeper I discovered I was compassionate yet selfish at times, likes being alone with my thoughts at times yet needy at other times. I also realized that I was loving, kind, passionate, silly, crazy energetic, sometimes rash, but usually thinks in black and white. This being the initial look into the mirror I figured it would be clarifying and it was, but it is far from over. I plan to over the year continue to look at myself and examine myself, goals, motives, and dreams hopefully coming to a full understanding of my inner workings and solidifying my identity to the world!
Therefore, I would challenge everyone to examine themselves a few times this year. Now I don't mean just look at the surface of urself but truly dive deep and you will be surprised about what you come up with!!! And as always I leave you with a song that embodies the post. The Man in the Mirror by Michael Jackson I feel is the perfect song for this post. So move forward while evaluating. Well until we meet again GOD BLESS!!!
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Let Reconnect!
Hello all, how is everyone today. First and foremost I have to say that my prayers go out to all of my Haitian friends and to anyone who has been affected by the earthquakes that devastated Haiti yesterday. Within the short time since the earthquakes though, I have come across several ppl through blogs and discussion boards that feel a disconnect to the people in Haiti since they were not there or have no family present there. Now while I can understand the disconnect I guess as a human I cannot understand the reasoning. But this seems to be the reasoning for most Americans today. We seem to have a disconnect when it comes to people who are not within our circle of family and friends. This is why people can look at the news and not feel some sort of way with the amount of violence and death that is going on around them. It like we have been desensitized from the process of caring for another human being, which personally I feel is what is wrong with today's society (which is just my opinion so you can definitely disagree). And the reason why I feel it is what is wrong with today's society because through this process we come to a place where we only care about ourselves and everyone else has to fend for themselves.
This needs to end here and now. Yes there may be many things that separate us; whether it be gender, race, economics, religion etc... (just to name a few). These ideologies may not have been initially for separation but in actuality it does, allowing us to forget that at the core of every person we are all still HUMAN. We tend to dwell so much on our differences instead of focusing on what we all have in common with this commonality binding us together when it comes to caring for one another that we may not know. All of these walls/differences need to be broken down so that when something of this magnitude happens anywhere in the world, we ALL can rally together and do ALL that we can to help. But this change starts with you, so give a smiling face to a person that may seem down, lend a hand to an ailing person, just be there when you can for people and you will see how rewarding it is!!! As children of GOD (which we all are) let us learn that we have a lot more in common and come together to show that this world of people have heart...
Well those are my thoughts on the matter but please if you can give, GIVE. If not then mobilize and be the outlet for someone else who wants to give but does not know how too. Remember to always "Love your neighbor as you love yourself" or even better "Love your neighbor as Jesus loves you" :). Wow almost forgot to add a song that goes hand and hand with this message lol. The song for this message goes to Fred Hammond "Not Just What You Say" off of the "Something bout' Love" soundtrack. Check it out! On that note GOD BLESS and enjoy until we meet again.
As a reminder; text "yele" to 501501 to donate $5 to haitian relief efforts or text "haiti" to 90999 to donate $10 to red cross for haitian relief fund, this money will be charged to your next month's cellphone bill.
This needs to end here and now. Yes there may be many things that separate us; whether it be gender, race, economics, religion etc... (just to name a few). These ideologies may not have been initially for separation but in actuality it does, allowing us to forget that at the core of every person we are all still HUMAN. We tend to dwell so much on our differences instead of focusing on what we all have in common with this commonality binding us together when it comes to caring for one another that we may not know. All of these walls/differences need to be broken down so that when something of this magnitude happens anywhere in the world, we ALL can rally together and do ALL that we can to help. But this change starts with you, so give a smiling face to a person that may seem down, lend a hand to an ailing person, just be there when you can for people and you will see how rewarding it is!!! As children of GOD (which we all are) let us learn that we have a lot more in common and come together to show that this world of people have heart...
Well those are my thoughts on the matter but please if you can give, GIVE. If not then mobilize and be the outlet for someone else who wants to give but does not know how too. Remember to always "Love your neighbor as you love yourself" or even better "Love your neighbor as Jesus loves you" :). Wow almost forgot to add a song that goes hand and hand with this message lol. The song for this message goes to Fred Hammond "Not Just What You Say" off of the "Something bout' Love" soundtrack. Check it out! On that note GOD BLESS and enjoy until we meet again.
As a reminder; text "yele" to 501501 to donate $5 to haitian relief efforts or text "haiti" to 90999 to donate $10 to red cross for haitian relief fund, this money will be charged to your next month's cellphone bill.
Monday, January 4, 2010
FORWARD
We are now in the year of 2010 which is not just a new year but a new decade. For this reason I decided to try something alil different to start off this new decade. Usually I am not the type of guy to 1) share his feelings with the world, or 2) start off a new year with some sort of direction since I am guided and lead by my LORD Jesus. Now last year was an amazing year were I graduated law school, passed the NYS Bar and gave my second sermon at my church but I feel since this is the start of a new decade that I should try something new to further better myself. Therefore, I decided to start a blog, this way I can express my thoughts, concerns etc... possibly getting feedback from ppl out there in internet land and maybe even encourage someone out there with my words.
So lets start, this year I decided to make it the year of "moving FORWARD". Now this may seem like a novelty but I feel that it is an interesting concept that most ppl take for granted. Moving FORWARD as a concept is exactly what it sounds like, you continue to move forward in your life. Now most of the time when a person moves forward have the tendency to look back and dwell upon past decisions, accomplishments, mistakes or failures (which I have fallen prey of myself)which does not allow them to fully move FORWARD. You hinder your self when your train of thought is "if only I did this different" or "where would I be if I did it this way" since we cannot go back and change the past. Look at it this way say you are walking and your shirt gets caught on a fence without you noticing, you will continue to move forward but after a while you will get caught up and cannot move forward any longer until you free yourself from that particular obstacle. This is the same way we should treat our life as we move forward, of course taking your past into consideration but learning from it and moving on not dwelling on it, allowing it to control you.
Moving FORWARD is my new motto for this new decade and I have high hopes for what it can teach me as I continue to move forward in my goals and my life in general. So lets all move FORWARD together understanding our past but not letting it control us :)! Also check out Mali Music Forward (I provided the link in the comment section). It basically completely encompasses my motto for this year. Well to all who read this I wish you a great decade of moving FORWARD and thank you for reading. GOD BLESS you all!!!
So lets start, this year I decided to make it the year of "moving FORWARD". Now this may seem like a novelty but I feel that it is an interesting concept that most ppl take for granted. Moving FORWARD as a concept is exactly what it sounds like, you continue to move forward in your life. Now most of the time when a person moves forward have the tendency to look back and dwell upon past decisions, accomplishments, mistakes or failures (which I have fallen prey of myself)which does not allow them to fully move FORWARD. You hinder your self when your train of thought is "if only I did this different" or "where would I be if I did it this way" since we cannot go back and change the past. Look at it this way say you are walking and your shirt gets caught on a fence without you noticing, you will continue to move forward but after a while you will get caught up and cannot move forward any longer until you free yourself from that particular obstacle. This is the same way we should treat our life as we move forward, of course taking your past into consideration but learning from it and moving on not dwelling on it, allowing it to control you.
Moving FORWARD is my new motto for this new decade and I have high hopes for what it can teach me as I continue to move forward in my goals and my life in general. So lets all move FORWARD together understanding our past but not letting it control us :)! Also check out Mali Music Forward (I provided the link in the comment section). It basically completely encompasses my motto for this year. Well to all who read this I wish you a great decade of moving FORWARD and thank you for reading. GOD BLESS you all!!!
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