The Truth Will Set You FREE: TRUTH SPEAK SERIES

So it is crazy how we find the good and the bad in something that is morally wrong.  I am referring to LYING of course.  Bottom line, lying is wrong.  That is what we teach our children; we want them to be truth tellers.  There is dishonor in lying, however even with all of this understood, as adults, we never cease attempts to rationalize lying.

In most cases, well in some of my previous experiences, lying was only used when I wish not to hurt someone's feelings or to not get me in trouble ( as a child).  Now I find that lying does not help in any case.  When you lie to keep yourself from getting in trouble, even though in some cases it may work, you still never learn the lesson.  You will never understand why lying is wrong.  You feed into the assumption that lying helps when in actuality it does not.  If you are lying with hope to not hurt anyone's feelings, when that lie surfaces, the individual is hurt more that if you would have just told the truth in the beginning.

I am learning now that withholding information does not help either because it is misleading.  Not that I intentionally try to mislead people, I am just a very specific person so if you do not ask me a question the way you want me to answer, you may not receive the answer you are looking for.  And I do not operate under the "I think I know what you mean" assumption.  I will answer all questions as they are asked.  I will give nothing more and nothing less...period.

So with that being said, I have to ask how many of us lie?  How many of us feel that we are not really lying when we are concealing truths with the hope to not hurt anyone's feelings?  I am sure we can say we are all guilty of this at some point.  And for those of us who just blatantly lie and see no wrong in that, well you have a lot of work to do.

It is true what they say, once you tell one lie you must continue to tell another and another.  If you start out lying about simple things, before you know it your entire life will be a lie.  We have to stop using the excuse "it's none of their business" either.  When we try to keep people out of our business by lying we began to believe the lies we are telling.  Unfortunately then our entire lives become a lie and we can not decipher between what is real and what we make other's believe.

Think about that!

Today's Topic: Taking it to the grave... - Truth Speak Series

Unfortunately secrets will eat at you.  In the past, I admit that I am very much so guilty of encouraging someone else and myself to keep a secret.  Unfortunately keeping secrets does not ensure happiness.  Withholding truths eats at your conscious.  We all have the capacity to determine what is right from wrong.  We all know that telling the truth is better than lying however I find that more so as an adult we shy away from the truth in relationships.  And that is any kind of relationship.

I happen to believe in honesty.  I have developed a mindset where I encourage everyone I am in a relationship with, whether it be friendship, sibling, mother-daughter, father-daughter, romantic, etc. to be honest in everything.  If you believe that knowing the truth is more beneficial than knowing a lie than you empower yourself to set an expectation of honesty.  And I stand for nothing less.

I have not always be as forthcoming and even if I am not initially at some point I will voice my concerns, opinions and/or feelings and ask people to take my truth for what it is.  I understand too that sometimes we make judgements on how critical information may be.  But we do not fully understand the importance of specific facts to another individual.  For some the smallest things are very irritable and for some the more larger issues and critical.  And that could too be dependent upon the situation.  It is not our role to dictate what will or will not be important to someone else, but it is our role to stay true to ourselves.  It is our responsibility to make sure that we bestow the same respect and expectations on someone that we wish to receive.

I want to share a secret of my own:

So when I was sixteen years old I was molested.  I remember immediately feeling helpless, trapped and scared.  I feared for my own safety.  I feared that the next step would ultimately be rape.  I was so scared all I could do was pray.  For me the first time I ever shared this secret was too a bunch of strangers.   I found that it was easier to express because no one really knew me.  No one could make any connections as to who I was talking about.  It was also approximately 4 years after it occurred.  So imagine keeping that secret, the emotions, etc. bottled up for four years and trying to live without hate and frustration.  Even with this incident I managed to not hate every man on the face of the earth.  I managed to still know when and how to trust.  I believe that my strength came from God.  I chose to forgive.

I pose a couple of questions to you:


How many of you deem withholding infidelity from a partner ok (whether married or unmarried) if he or she does not find out?  Why or Why not?


How many of you are dealing with secrets that are tearing you up inside?  Will you ever tell?  Why or Why not?

Today's Topic: How Prejudice Are You??? - TRUTH SPEAK SERIES

So many of us do not like to admit the fact that we do hold some sort of feelings toward the prejudice that still remains.  Some of us fail to admit that we are actually prejudice.  It is quite natural in my opinion to segregate and use misguided opinions (assumptions).

I grew up in an age where I did NOT have to witness segregation, however I did have to learn about it and hear of its affects.  Those lessons in turn fueled a very early opinion regarding the mindset and thought process of caucasian individuals.  Although I do NOT consider myself racist or prejudice, I can not help but admit the pain, frustration and helplessness I feel when I hear about the trials and tribulations of my ancestors.  It sparks up a certain disappointment and rage.  I have the capacity to contain myself and my thoughts.  I have the ability to separate the past from the present, and in that respect I am able to not hold a grudge with individuals based on color alone.

Unfortunately racial bias and discrimination still occur.  Because of this, as an African American, we are sometimes forced to be prepared to handle these situations.  In those preparations we are planting and harboring seeds of the expectation of prejudice.  Some people believe that the capacity to succeed is based on color.  Some people believe that their  own setbacks are based on color.  We have to eliminate the mindset in order to truly eliminate prejudice and discrimination.  No one color is more prominent or more powerful than the other.  No one color has better chances at success than the other.  We have to stop generalizing personal traits and individual moral and standards.  We are making assumptions based on generalizations of a nation of individual people.  We have to stop making assumptions and making assess out of ourselves.   Not only because we are losing innocent lives, but because we are minimizing our own potential.  To live in this world and say that it is VOID of prejudice is ridiculous.  To live in this world and say that you are not prejudice is arguable.

My question to you all is will this ever end?  Will we ever be in a world void of racial discrimination?

Truth Speak Series

So I am working on something new and I am excited about it!  I had an idea to do a series of post, and it will initiate the month of May and go one through June.  During this period I will orchestrate some, what I like to call, "Truth Speak" topics.  I will encourage men and woman to share their stories.   Stories not exceeding 300 words, that will express aspects of their trials, journey and tribulations.  Somethings that most people may not know anything about.  More or less the deep dark secrets.  Fundamentally the truth.  I will also be so open to share things as well, that many may not be aware of.  

This "Truth Speak" Series is developed to help find closure and peace within the truth.  So often we hide things and we never understand how much the secrets manifest into pain and emotions of anger and frustration until we let it out.  By speaking about it, we are freeing up space in our hearts to let love in.  We are letting it go.  We can encourage one another.  We may also find that we have some things in common.  We will offer up suggestions.

This series is going to help give birth to spirits of forgiveness.  This series will help diminish spirits of fear, desperation, doubt and frustration.  This series will encourage us to move forward to some thing greater.

If you are willing to participate please visit my Facebook page www.facebook.com/audriwrites and let me know your interest.  Or simply comment on this post.

Have a great day all.

One Love,

Audreyanna

A to Z Challenge on AUDRIWRITES the BLOG NOW!!!

A to Z Challenge - 30 Days of Comic Relief

So if you know me at all I am definitely pushing myself outside of my comfort zone by writing about comedy in general.  Although I consider myself to be somewhat funny, more of a sarcastic funny really, but I am definitely going to try and thoroughly examine what contributes to a successful comedy.  

For all that are familiar with the with A to Z Challenge don’t judge me I am a rookie.  And for those who are unfamiliar with the Challenge basically I will be posting each day with a letter from A to Z (starting with A) being the topic for the post of that day.   If that doesn’t define the challenge thorough enough for you please feel free to click the link below:

http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/p/what-is-blogging-from-to-z.html 

Hope you all enjoy!  

One Love,

Audreyanna

Chip away...

You chipped away at me
and I stuck to you still
like cement
I didn't move
even when you chose
to be
and dwell in the spaces
the place in between
uncertain
I made excuses for you
I hoped you would make your way back to
but you went on to the next
and chiseled at me
I allowed you to
Chip me away
and now my love is displaced

Untitled

so you are
that foreign tale
I longed never to get to
that broken heart
crippled pride
broken stride
and smiles
kept from life to
illustrate the pain
and I longed never to gain
or fight to tame
this kindred soul
and that was all true
until the day I fell in love with you...

Southern Belles, Fiction Novel, Synopsis *COMING SOON*

Southern Belles is a novel that takes readers on an emotional and dramatic journey into the lives, hearts and minds of a group of women who are true Southern Belles.  

Southern Belles is driven by the secrets of Jazzmine Phillips.  Jazzmine is originally from Chicago, but has lived in Texas for two years, in which she has developed a great friendship under the alias Alana Gaines with LaShelle, Natalie, Yolanda and Brittney.  When Jazzmine hit rock bottom, nearly being beaten to death, she fled Chicago and never looked back, determined to never let sex and money fuel desperation.  When Alana gets a feeling that she may have encountered a shady business deal, she calls on a friend from home to investigate.  Alana reluctantly discovers that LaShelles dedication to Slayton, is greater than any regard for Alanas best interest.

LaShelle, Shelle, age 30, is a woman of great knowledge but struggles with finding a balance between her professional, social and love life.  LaShelle is willing to do anything for the man she loves.  She is so blinded by love that it was inevitable that she would have to endure the consequences of being in a relationship with a notorious thug.

Natalie, Nat, age 25, spends most of her time climbing the corporate ladder, partying and seeking love.  Natalie has relations with three men; a man who doesnt really want to commit, a man who finally realizes that she is the one he wants and a man who she thought was willing to love her without obligation, through which she slowly discovers which gentleman truly has her best interest at heart.

Yolanda is a spoiled, unmotivated brat, who at the age of 28, still has no true goal for her life.  Yolanda lives at home with her parents in which she has no real responsibility.  Yolanda has acquired great education, at the expense of her parents, in hope to continue to receive their financial support.  She is perceived as naïve, but she always happens to be in the right place at the right time; because of that, she is able to shine light on a lot of things that have been going on right under the others noses.

Brittney, Britt, age 27, single handedly takes care of her son, Caleb, while running a very successful business and dealing with the trifling, selfish and freeloading man who fathered her child.  Brittney, so unhappy with the way her life was headed, leaves her babys father and jumps on a chance to be with her one true love, Maxwell Caleb Lawson, the man whom which she named her son after!   What Brittney thought would be a fairy tale ending turns into a nightmare.  Brittney finds out that everything that glitters isnt gold and there was a reason that she and Maxwell were not meant to be.

The Belles meet monthly; a time for each of them to reflect on their lifes journey, discuss issues and provide support for one another.  With this being a very dynamic group of women, the meetings can become unruly and not all the time do the ladies see eye to eye.

Southern Belles highlights the strength and determination southern women have for success.  Southern Belles seeks to promote self awareness, dignity and pride amongst women.  Southern Belles tells of how to succeed when faced with the inevitable aspects of life.

Who will persevere?  Whose life will end?  Will they remain friends?

Phases of Concrete

Fell hard on the grey slab
What was known to me as concrete
But what was known to you as
Cement
And the walls of entrapment
Or the pavement for road ways

I laid
I sat
I stood
I picked it up
Wasn't heavy at all
Seems that my mind
Translated the assumption into actuality
But really
It wasn't like I thought
Not at all
It was a grey stained t-shirt
That soaked up the words
And laughs
The smiles
And tears
Of all those who'd dare
To wear it
And now
It was my turn
To share it

The phases of concrete...

It is my turn to clear up the confusion
Put away misunderstanding
Make reality transparent
So you know the difference
Between
The phases of concrete

Your Kiss

Melt away my fear
Bring cheer to my heart
Warm my cheeks to rise
I smile
Engulfed in you
And your kiss
You make me feel alive
My soul dances
My spirit sings
Happy tunes
No blues
And its all due
To
Your kiss
How much longer do I have to wait for it?