Akosua Dardaine Edwards's Blog, page 228

Make room for the new

You cannot hold onto the old all the while
declaring that you want something new.
The old will defy the new;
the old will deny the new;
the old will decry the new.

There is only one way to bring in the new.
You must make roomfor it Neale Donald Walsh



So yesterday I was talking about adventure, and just how the Universe responds I have been having an adventure of a day! Woke up as normal did my meditation and journal writing and was about to write the blog and the electricity was gone! I started getting flashbacks of Kampala! I called the company, they told me that I was cut for non payment of my bill! What?? But I paid the bill last week through online banking! Sorry but you did not pay the current bill. But I haven't received the bill! Sorry but if you have any queries you can take it up with the customer service department in St James! I stood there feeling like a dummy! Ok this ought to not happen again, especially since my house has turned into a pit stop on a couple of people's journey!  So I vowed, this is the first, last and never again time! I get to the electricity company and they were sympathetic to my plight but I had to pay the balance of the bill and reconnection fee. Still feeling like I failed myself I went by my favourite nuts man- the guy who sells raw nuts in Port of Spain, he dishes out some nice nuts as well as some insightful commentary! I ask for my nuts and in his usual tone "Aye babygirl, what's going on with you today, like something on your mind" Wow! I love my nuts man! I told him like I have been making some choices that aren't the best ones! What do you mean he asked! So as we stood there talking I was listening to him, in between it all he said, "baby girl, you have to speak up for yourself, you have to not be afraid of what other people think of you, be respectful but stop hotting up your head, take a discount on these nuts and go home" LOL!
I love learning, you just never know where the lessons come from!
Peace!!

Put some real adventure into it...

Don’t settle for a day that’s just like the day before. Make the decision and make the effort to put some real adventure in it. Ralph Marston


This morning I was meditating, and just as I was done I walked outside to watch the rain and this question popped into my head and would not leave me ever since
"What is the meaning maker in your life?" Confessions on the journey, I have no idea what this question is asking me! "What is the meaning maker in your life?"
I think I better go and meditate some more! LOL!

What gives my life meaning? I think right now the answer to that is knowing that I am living an authentic life and taking whatever lessons that I have learnt and sharing it in my own authentic way, some people it will resonate with and some it won't and I am pretty ok with that!

What gives my life meaning is knowing that I am honouring the responsibility that I have to those who came before me and being proud of having the ability to do that!

What gives my life meaning is that I am moving daily to a place of unconditionally loving and accepting myself and living that truth
What gives my life meaning is doing what I want to do, rather than what society believes I ought to be doing!
These were my initial thoughts
Every day I wake up and give thanks because a day is such a wonderful mystery, no matter how much I plan and map it out things happen that excite and wow me every single day bar none! So I live from the knowledge that everyday is an adventure and I get to be in a daily adventure and that is super awesome!

What is the meaning maker in your life?
Peace!!
 

Cultivate.......

Cultivate a longer view of time: Forget 'getting somewhere in a year', build your life's work. Chela Davidson

One more book signing under my belt, brutally honest, every time I do one of these I'm sooooo nervous! So I tried something new this time I read from the book! Never did a reading in the past 5 that I have done and just as I predicted, started to cry! OMG! I was crying and I cry ugly, lips quivering, nose running the works!!! I kept telling myself get it together, get it together! I managed to pull it off but boy oh boy I had to pull out all the lessons! Don't judge yourself, be you, be compassionate to yourself!

I had a really good time despite the ugly cry! The crowd was brilliant! Two old work colleagues showed up and that topped it off for me! I haven't seen one of them in years and I kept promising to see her and it never happened! She looked great! mellow and calm compared to last time we met! Always had a soft spot for her!
The staff at the library was awesome!!!  I am really so grateful to be able to do this, do what I love!
On to the next one!!!
Peace!!



 

Book signing and reading tomorrow....

What you  stop doing  is just as important to your success as what you start doing

Planning moves ahead swiftly for Saturday, this is the first time that I will be without my crew who handles everything and my mother is also out of the country!
I saw yesterday all the hard work that they do behind the scenes to ensure that each event runs smooth! I went to the planning meeting yesterday and was like wow! I give thanks to my crew big time! So new experience, getting a stand in team, learning about the logistics and then showing up and showing out! I'm ready, I'm excited and I am grateful

So my question to you is, how many people behind the scenes contribute to you and your show, making it awesome? Your "show" can be your job, your home life, an event. How many times have you taken for granted the team? You just show up?
The importance and the value of the backup singers in the show is immense! Lesson learnt!

Peace!!

Come down if you can!!

https://www.facebook.com/AkosuaDardaineEdwards

Wake up and Live

 Life is one big road with lots of signs. So when you riding through the ruts, don't complicate your mind. Flee from hate, mischief and jealousy. Don't bury your thoughts, put your vision to reality. Wake Up and Live!"

- Bob Marley, iconic musician Working on a book signing event for this upcoming Saturday at the National Library of Trinidad and Tobago, who graciously invited me to come and spend the time with them reading and talking about my journey! I am truly grateful for the opportunitySo as I am going through the planning, I lend a friend of mine my car, with some hesitation I might add , as this friend got into an accident with my car before and that was that! Anyways, I get a message, the friend has had another accident! I'm like "no way" ok ok what's the lesson here? I am still processing it!I'm happy that my friend was not hurt, I am happy that everyone is alive, I am confused as hell now on what the lessons are in this scenario because truth be told this is not the second time but the third time! Same person! Obviously its no to borrowing the car but there is another lesson in there that I am going to sit still today to determine what it is! Focusing now on solutions!So if you see me blazing down your road in a busted up car, that's why!Peace!! 

Don't chase ideals

One of my friends told me that I was being harsh and inflexible on a particular issue! When he said it I was struck silent! Why? because he was right! I have been silently being a passive aggressive coward not saying anything and acting out by being harsh and inflexible! I said wow, you know what? you are right! He responded, please girlfriend you are only human! Don't even beat up on yourself!


Don't chase ideals: Whatever perfection you see out there isn't real. In everything there is pain because in everything there is change and when there is change, there's longing, attachment and loss.  
Chela Davidson



I was at first ashamed to have acted like such a jerk but at the same time I was proud to not take a defensive position and cuss his tail out!!

Have you ever been there? Where someone tells you something and you know that you know that they are right? Then you have to decide, ok how do I respond? notice I said respond and not react? Responding is an empowered choice, reacting is usually not!

So I own it and take responsibility for my actions and learn that being defensive is usually the ego wanting to take over!!
 

Im asking.....

I'm asking myself today:
Is this relationship, activity, thought or belief for my highest good?
Is this relationship, activity, thought or belief a wise energy investment?
Does this relationship, activity, thought or belief enhance or deplete my light?
Do I wish to integrate this relationship, activity, thought or belief into my being?
Does this relationship, activity or belief contract my energy through fear or expand my energy with love?
What are you asking yourself?
Peace!

Lessons in every situation

The only place you can be is here," said Kali. "Now, 'all you can do' is what it means to 'give it your all.'"
While I was away my mother called to let me know my cousin died! I heard what she said but it didn't make sense! I said I will deal with it when I get back! Being an only child, my cousins were like my brothers and sisters, we grew up very close in the same house and had a childhood together until the families went their separate ways, as we grew up some of us got closer and I decided to pull away from this cousin, because I didn't agree with some of his life choices!
When I heard he died, my own guilt surfaced on how I reacted to what he chose to do with his life! I stopped talking to him a long time ago just saying hi at family gatherings having been like brother and sister!
I got home just in time for the funeral and resolved to not cry! not be emotional, well scrap that, the Universe had other plans! I got there and it all came flooding back especially when they showed a slide show of us growing up and his sister stared telling stories about him!
When I got back to my grandma's house she called me upstairs and said he left a letter, a pretty long letter, since he knew that he wouldn't live beyond 40!
I couldn't finish it!But I got some lessons from the little that I took in! Live your life to the fullest, be free meaning don't let other people dictate what you do, be kind, be kind to everyone and everything! Love, tell people you love them. He said he felt like a tortured soul because he felt little love from his mother and that's all he wanted! He wanted to do his own thing and she was not having it and whatever he did was never enough and then she left him for a while to go to Canada to make a better life! As an adult he understood what she was doing - making a better life, but as a child it just felt like being abandoned!
The other thing is don't hold back the tears, let it flow, salt water is cleansing!
RIP Kofi! I've learnt from you!
Peace!

Thank you Grenada..

Why wait to find it in the future, or believe it has been lost already, or was never there?" . All that we need do to discover its reality is to look for it within ourselves, where it has always been ACIM


So I was asked to come to Grenada to facilitate two workshops with rural business owners, to chat with the business owners and the business support agencies! I prepared the agenda, the presentation (power point of course) the material and got there!

They took me to the venue, a beautiful part of Grenada, an once used cocoa estate where they are doing all sorts of awesome stuff like growing organic food, making goats cheese and yogurt, chocolate bars and all that lovely stuff! I ask for a projector and they tell me without batting an eye, there's none! Oh oh! No projector? Nope sorry! Time to get creative! The session actually went well, we had the opportunity to chat and get to know one another. Day 2 they come and tell me I have to change my entire delivery five minutes before the start because there is a new audience! Lessons and tests all around me!! and then just when I thought it was done I was asked to facilitate another session! Truth be told I had so much fun, I learnt that things can change on a whim, you just have to show up and be ready and have faith that you can contribute something to the party!!

So thank you Grenada, thank you Denyse and her crew and I really really want to come back to this lovely spice island!
Peace!!

When you remember who you are.....

I just had to share this, read this while I was writing in my journal this morning! It resonated with me so I thought I would share!

Peace!!

Mastin Kipp wrote in his blog
remember that at your center you are Love, abundance and joy. You have come here not to be needy and take, but to be full and give away to the world from that place of fullness.
 When you remember who you are, the desire to chase, to grasp and to yearn stops. You remember that you are a child of The Uni-verse and were created to fulfill a very special purpose. You remember that one of the great promises of Life is that you will be provided for as you walk along the path of your dreams. The fearful mind calms and the mind full of Faith emerges.
  You remember that you are enough as you are and that nothing can prove otherwise, other than your own admission that you are less than who you really are.   When you remember who you really are, you surround yourself with loving people. You bask in the fellowship of Love and no longer accept or tolerate abuse and hate.

You pull back from judging others and instead keep your eyes on Love and purifying your own desires and intentions.

You line up your thoughts with Love and then the actions and the fruits of Love naturally follow. You let go of the need to control and let The Uni-verse fill in the gaps, because The Uni-verse is very intelligent and knows what you need even more than you do.
When you remember who you really are, you Love yourself and your Creator enough to take care of your body with healthy foods, exercise, yoga and breath. You Love your mind enough to not let it run the show, and instead make time for meditation to calm it down so your Love and Spirit shine through.
When you remember who you are, you embrace challenge and catastrophe with acceptance rather than disdain. You know that with the Light comes the Dark and that both are needed in the dance of Life.
When you remember who you are, you are attractive to those who believe what you believe. You don’t see rejection as bad, but rather as a sorting device keeping unhealthy matches away from you. You naturally and effortlessly find Love because you already embody It.

When you remember who you are, life ceases to become difficult and transforms into an adventure you can’t wait to take.
When you remember who you are, you live your life following your Heart so that when you get to the end, you say: “What a ride!” instead of wondering, “What if I had…?”
Remember who you are today and all this & more will be yours