Akosua Dardaine Edwards's Blog, page 123

The Power of Pause

Guilt is always disruptive - ACIM


This weekend I did absolutelt nothing, I woke up, ate, slept, read a bit and slept again. Considering the month that I have had I felt it was quite necessary to recharge and reboot. In the middle of my blissful slumber - confessions on the journey, I started feeling guilty. You know the type of feeling like " am I really wasting all this time?" and "am I really doing absolutely nothing for two entire days?" that feeling lasted for about twenty minutes! Luckily I managed to convinve myself that guilt is a wasted emotion and rest is part of the work!

Iyanla Vanzant says it best, take a pause, take a rest, stop jumping from one thing to another without pausing. Even airplanes pause before they take off on their journey so who are we?
We move from thing to thing without reflecting, recharging, rebooting because someone or society has said to us being still and resting is weak, it is better to work your tailbone off and rest when you are dead! but Ive learnt that if you don't rest you will definitely die faster
So many times in my stillness inspiration comes! So many times in silence an answer is revealed, So many times in quiet time I grow. Paying attention to this it becomes easier and easier to drown out the guilt that comes during this downtime

The Power of Pause!

Peace

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Do One thing Each Day that Makes You Happy

“We must not be defined by what we do, but we must be what and who we are, then only happen to do what we do!” C Joy Bell

I have a poster up at my house which serves as a daily reminder, it says "Do Something Everyday Which Will Make You Happy". I figured that every day adds up, if I do one thing daily to make myself happy it can add to the quality of my life. To do that I had to get to know myself a little better. What do I like to do? What makes me happy? What brings me joy? Simple questions but somehow I paid very little attention to it whilst "living" and so now that I am very familiar with I do my level best to take my own advice

Sometimes it is the simplest things
1. Waking up at 5am to go on the roof to see the colours of the sun rise
2. Walking in the grass outside with no shoes
3. Eating a juicy piece of watermelon
4. Watching Arsenal Footbal Club play
5. Speaking to my grandma on nothing and everything
6. Curling up with a good book and a cup of tea

I know for sure that doing anyone of these brings me a smile and a feeling of contentment. it does not take much but it makes a hig ole difference

What are some of the things that bring you joy?
Peace

Personal Boundaries

“When we fail to set boundaries and hold people accountable, we feel used and mistreated. This is why we sometimes attack who they are, which is far more hurtful than addressing a behavior or a choice .”  Brene Brown


Setting Boundaries, having boundaries, executing boundaries- one of the most challenging things for me to do!  There have been times when I find myself in situations where people have overstepped my own boundaries but guess what? I never say nothin! I've figured it out that my silence is due to
1. not wanting to cause a conflict2. wanting to be liked3. not wanting to look fussy or "miserable"4. giving others a "second chance" 5. rewinding of old tapes5. thinking I am making a big issue out of a small issue
Almost every time it reaches to a point where things get sticky and blow up! 
What is a boundary? Boundaries are the physical, emotional and mental limits we establish to protect ourselves from being manipulated, used, or violated by others.
Learning to say no without the guilt! that's the clincher
I know, I know No is sometimes the most loving response
Confessions on the Journey - there are a few people, not many, that telling them no is hard. I am getting the hang of it though because on top of it being co-dependent behaviour it also leads to me being taken advantage of in a sense
I am learning, sometimes the hard way, to say no, to draw the line, to speak up!In fact, if I don't then there will be consequences!
Peace

Are You Paying Attention?

“ Intuition is a sense of knowing how to act spontaneously, without needing to know why. ” Sylvia Care

Life gives us so many clues and chances, hardly ever is there  something that happens "immediately" we always get some tyoe of signal, the question is what do you do with the signals? Do we pay attention? Do we ignore? Do we listen? Do we act on the signals?
I have learnt that paying attention to the signals is an important part of living a whole life! Ignoring them can at times be disastrous! Be it,A pain in your shoulderA nagging feeling about someone you cannot put your finger onA long lasting coughCall it intuition, call is signs whatever you call it, trust me, paying attention to it will turn out well for you 
What are some of the signs that you have been neglecting and ignoring?

Hello Jouvert Vibe

Hey there don't you know? there's an isle with a style and a wind that sings a calypso - David Rudder


This morning we had a ball, at about 4am we hit the streets of Port of Spain for the ritual called Jouvay! It is, for me, the most freedom I feel.period!
We party hard! I stopped in to say hi and spread some Jouvay vibes with y'all
If you can ever experience a Trinidad Carnival, I highly recommend it, and I am not being biased
Peace

See You on the other side of the Lime

    Ask and it shall be given you, because it has already been given. Ask for light and learn that you are light. ACIM

It's Carnival in Trinidad and Tobago, the land of my birth, no description can do this time justice. One has to witness and be a part of it, and its like marmite, you either hate it or love it. It culminates with two days of abandonment in the streets where the party is from sun up to sun down!
It's a type of freedom which I find unparralled, I have witness it nowhere on my journeys. a vibe that hits you as soon as you touch down on the island, everyone is happy (some are way too happy) everyone wants to party and have fun, Everyone is friendly and accomodating, there are events on every day and every night, creativity is off the chain!
I give thanks daily that I have been blessed to witness this explosion of love and creativity
And so my posts have been less because I have been immersing myself into the events, the "lime" as we call it, the love.
I hope one day you can experience this feeling
so until then
see you on the other side of the lime
Peace

Why Are You Not Normal?

Purpose provides a direction for life; you know what you want to express or achieve and look for ways of doing that. Purpose is different to goals. A purpose relates to the road to be travelled, whereas goals are the stops along the way. When the direction you are taking is significant and worthwhile to you, your life has meaning. Christiana Star



Living by the status quo for me is now more difficult based on the choices I have made over the past few years. In this case I am referring to having a 9-5 job and all the trappings associated with it
Based on my "situation" after going to financial institutions they ask me "how are you able to live?" And all I can think about is "The Universe provides" but of course, when I mention that there is either an uncomfortable laugh or an uncomfortable silence. This week I went to a financial institution to get information about purchasing a property and was met with the same questions
How do you live?
You really have nothing of substance
I go through this every time and, confessions on the journey, it creates quite a bit of dount on whether or not I have made the right choices thus far.
And when I think about my life I come back to the questions
Am I doing what I want to do?
Are all my needs met?
Do I have have food, clothing and shelter?
Am I having fun?
Are the intentions behind what I am doing clear and pure?
If all of the answers are yes, the doubt subside
Can I make better choices? Yes I can
Can I live a different life? Of course I can
Do I want to? Depends on how I want to feel because my feelings are the guides to achiving the life that I want

Peace

The Need to Be Liked

“To love ourselves and support each other in the process of becoming real is perhaps the greatest single act of daring greatly.” 
― Brené Brown


gentle reminder to self: wanting to be liked is hard work & a poor use of energieswanting to be understood is just as much hard work as wanting to be likedwanting to keep others’ “good” opinion of you is overratedwhy are you Here?not only to be likedyou are on a journey, one that you consciously chose to be authentic and show up as yourself every single time, & that walk may inadvertently involve stepping on toes many times unintentionally, especially when new people are met. make all steps with the intention of love and kindness noting that some may interpret this differentlyyou are full of boldness, of courage, of courageous moves, dreams that are too big for some to see, you are full of curiosity, questions, questions, questions & more questionsyou are so much more than being likedyou are lovea woman wanting to learn, to grow to share, to support your sisters, to be, to floyou are willing now, to do all of that, as YOUminus the overthinking & the need to be likedyou are willing to remain kind as you step into the arenathis will require courage, change, openness, letting in, letting go, sometimes tears, embracing vulnerability & some conflict may inevitably arise. Do not shrink!you are here to share lessons on the journey downloaded directly to you from the most Highso… when you get scared that they will no longer like you remember to stand on what you know on what you came here forremember that you are a human be…ing, you have issues as wellremember that walking this path requires courage that you already possessremember that there is no compromise on who you are & why you are here

Vulnerability

“Imperfections are not inadequacies; they are reminders that we’re all in this together.”- Brené Brown



I have been reading about vulnerability, I get the concept in theory, however when it shows up in real life, it is so different. That feeling of being totally open to and with someone else! I can definitely say it builds strength and strength of character.
I  normally ask a lot of questions, I never realised it until a few people pointed it out to me, many times. And so I began to pay attention. I ask for clarity. I do not want to assume. If they do not answer, I can lose my mind, I want what I want when I want.
It's a truly uncomfortable feeling to be vulnerable, it opens up all sorts of questions, some of which I am not ready to deal with, some of which I don't even realise are dormant.

So here I am, willing to sit in it, to listen, to learn and to move forward.

Stay Tuned....

Peace

Love liberates

  Love liberates. Love lifts and Love wants to share itself with everyone it can.  Iyanla What is your definition of love? Of being in love? Of loving?Do you even have one?
There are so many things that we do in the name of love, things that we do and call it love. Are any of them done with your own definition of love in mind?Is there a definition for love or it is just a feeling?
For me, it's simple, love makes you feel good, it makes you expand, fills you up to the point of overflowing where you want to share, it is honest and open and true. Anything else is something resembling love.
Share with me some of your definitions
Peace