Peeling away the negatives:Positivism and giving are essential elements for Joy.

By Briana Booker

 Remember you only keep what you give away. If you never give away affection and care, you will never be able to obtain those traits in your lifestyle. And yes, this includes real romance. Also remember how you judge other peoples' characters can give others the ability to rate your character.

When people think or have negative outputs about others around them consistently, it displays his or her own personal unhappiness. It also reveals anti-social disorders.

Peel away all the labels you and others have given you and what is left: pure existence awareness and bliss. Think on it and try it out.

I am sure you will start to see yourself much happier and those around you more welcoming.

How to keep the faith during sadness.

We all have a story to tell. We all feel pain. But what to do when we have lost something dear to us? What to do when we have no control of an outcome?

Often these questions are especially asked when we lose a love one to death. We feel mad at the world and, if believers of God, we ponder why us? Did we do something wrong to deserve this?

I am here to tell you I have been there and done that. I am here to tell you that more than just you and me have been in those shoes. I am also here to tell you...do not lose faith.

I know you are thinking easier said than done, right?

Yes, it is one of the hardest lessons to give your worries and attachments away. It is hard to say that you feel true happiness after feeling a loss close to your heart.

I felt like my world had fallen apart when I lost my brother to illness, almost two years ago. I was mad at the world. I was mad at God.

I literally took hibernation from the external world. I was in much pain,but I do remember church folks telling me to believe.

Eventually, after they stopped telling me that, life went on. People kept moving, while I was still mourning. Sometimes, I would cry at night or look at a picture feeling sad. Then, in the morning, hide my sadness behind a smile.

But then, I realized, I had to stop feeling sorry for myself, my family and my brother. There were people who have suffered as I have in similar experiences. There were people that have been through worse, such as losing an entire family.

And sometimes one has to wonder during a funeral are you crying because you feel sorry the person has passed or are you crying because you were left behind? You felt the person was obligated to still be alive because you could not bear living without he or she?

It is understandable.

But what I have come to grasp is that you have to give your worries away and enjoy those in your life at all times! Maybe it is true that people come into your life for a reason, a season,and a life time.

Maybe what counts is just the present. Maybe you should hope for enough joy to make you kind and appreciative. Maybe we should hope for enough struggle to make us strong and wise. Maybe we should hope for an enough sorrow to make us know we are only human. And above all, maybe we should try to live our lives to the fullest because we are never guaranteed tomorrow.

What does this have to do with comforting you? What does this have to do with making you less angry at the world? None of what I have said eases the pain...only time can do that.


But maybe this will make you smile:

When we were born, we were crying to show we existed, to show we were alive. Everyone around us was smiling, welcoming us to the world. Maybe death is the reverse way. Maybe you or a loved one can be smiling, while everyone around you or your loved one is crying. Smiling on the good times and smiling because you/he/ she are finally at peace and one with God.

Now that is a fairytale I can roll with, thinking only that life was but a dream.

Knowing when to let down the ego and apologize!

It is human nature to hate feeling in the wrong or apologizing when we believe firmly and passionately about something. We allow our egos to get the best of our hearts! I had one of these moments recently.

The younger version of me would say fuck if [ insert person name] is mad, he or she hurt me! But the woman I am becoming is teaching me to let go of some disputes for those that matter to me and who I know care about me. I enjoy them too much as people to ruin the connections I have with these people. I want to grow a strong connection with those that bring positivity in my life, not a weaker one!

Often in the past I would treat people I knew didn't give a flying fuck about me better than those who did care. Illogical! How foolish!

Why worry about opinions that do not matter? Why appreciate people who do not give two cents about me? It was not sensible.

Loving people in my life deserve to be loved. People I know genuinely care for my well being, I was not treating them for their invaluable worth. Crazy!

The woman I am becoming is learning more and more each day to treat those who respect and treat me well with the same level of gratitude.

I recently wrote apology letters to people I care about in my life. I explained my actions and words were not based on them but negativity from my daily external world. I apologized and meant every word of it.

I can not change the past,but I can live in the present and love in the present. My ego is not that important to me to give up those things worth having- real respect, real appreciation, real kindness and real love.

I feel free being honest about how I felt and how I will change to make things better. Thank God for second chances. Thank God for enlightenment.

Letting go of Fears.

Well, I have not been personally blogging in a long time...maybe more than a year or so! So much has changed, in both good and bad ways! Where there is change, there is always room for growth! Much growth has happened in the past year or so for me!

I am finally not saying, I wish I could do this and that...now I am acting on it! There is so much power when you bring words into reality!

I finally am starting to make progression in creating a website for the people and by the people! I am falling more and more in love with this mission everyday!

If you have not visit my site http://www.fromgirltogirl.com/ , you should definitely check it out! I have been spending quite some time on it and now it is growing into a passion, not just a job for me!

This summer has been amazing to say the least! And I am learning, slowly but surely, that happiness does not always come externally. The greatest amount of happiness comes from within!

For years I use to wonder, what or who could make me happy! How wrong was I to seek happiness from outside sources beyond myself! Although material goods and people outside of myself can enhance my happiness, at the end of the day, I have to learn to be happy with me. I have to learn to love me.

Now, I am not saying I am fully there...but I am learning to truly love myself. Sometimes, the hardest lessons to learn to love ones' self comes from letting go of some of those external sources and attachments.

Recently, I have been letting go of many things and many people. Some things and people I did not want to necessarily let go for fear I could not have better....including the categories of friends, romance, work, and family. But now, I am starting to feel this was the best action for me. Letting go has open so many doors for me! God has made me gain trust in myself more.

I am starting to learn that I will not have worries when I bring my problems to the Lord. Everytime I have been in a bind, some way, some how, a miracle has seen me through it all!

I have been working and living in DC for a little more than two years. I am an intern learning amazing things about politics and policy! So much I did not know! And I am gearing up for my senior year!

I am finally putting my life back in shape in a physical, spiritual and mental sense.

So many decisions to make and so little time! Although stressful, it is, and I hope it continues to be a fabulous adventure.

I am excited to share my journey. I am excited to share my voice!

Until my next blog post, follow me on twitter @Briana_fierce! I post daily here on my life happenings! :-)