Month: April 2021

The Patches in Our Quilts

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I was listening to an old Tyler Perry acceptance speech that talked about his grandmother’s quilt and how at first he was ashamed of the quilt his grandmother had left him because it wasn’t appealing to the eye. He spoke about learning how to eventually appreciate the patches in his grandmother’s quilt because he had to come to realize that every patch that went into making the quilt she left him told a story of an area in her life and her quilt was the overall story of her life and she was leaving that to him. Initially he hadn’t even understood the enormity of the legacy she had left him. It made me think about whether or not we always understand the value of our patches.

I have often at different points in my life of course, felt shame for some tough lessons I had to learn the hard way. I’ve felt regret for opportunities that I have been too afraid to take and for decisions that I couldn’t take back.  Now that I have just crossed into my forties and I have spent the last few years growing both spiritually and mentally, I have come to believe that those moments in my life that I used to want to take back have made me who I am, for better or for worse.

While I would have loved not to have learned some of the lessons I’ve learned the hard way I wonder if I would have ever learned them otherwise.  Would I have ever been pushed forward without the hardships that I’ve had? If I hadn’t been knocked down so many times would I have developed the tenacity and persistence to be able to keep getting back up and pushing harder for what I want?

All of our experiences in life give us something to take into the next phase of our journeys’. They prepare us and toughen us up for what will undoubtedly be a bumpy road to the success you’re striving for.  The failures that you’ve had in life are not what you should dwell on because those failures mean that you actually tried. One thing is for certain and that is that you can’t succeed at anything without ever having tried. 

My mistakes are what have strengthened me and they are patches in my life’s quilt. I am very proud to sew them together and see just how far I’ve come even if I still have quite a ways to go.  I hope to be able to pass the quilt of my life down to my daughter so that she can then be able to know my story. Perhaps she will add her own patches to the quilt to pass down to her kids in the future.  Everyone needs to be proud of the patches that they have in their quilts and not just proud but understand the value in every single patch.

Until next time… #BeBold #BeFearless #BeGateful

Jimmetta Carpenter 

Writer/Editor 

https://write-2-be.com/

http://write2bemagazine.com/

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jimmetta-Carpenter/1069480310

https://www.facebook.com/Write2BeMagazine

https://www.facebook.com/AuthorJCCarpenter

https://twitter.com/jcladyluv 

https://twitter.com/write2bemag 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPU35EkFSbuxgekCp4LfI5g

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Purpose over Perfection

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I have this need for things to be perfected. Logically, I know that I am not perfect, that I don’t always behave in a perfect manner, therefore, nothing that I do will ever be completely perfect. When you’re a creative and you are creating any kind of art, or a product to promote your art and/or company you want every finite detail to be just right. If it’s not just right then you tend to not want to put it out there for fear that someone else will point out those very imperfections. 

Now I know this doesn’t apply to all artists because I have read many books with quite a few errors in the books (mostly typos but some grammatical) and these are books by best selling authors, authors whom I love and am always excited to read their next books. Now these imperfections never stop me from picking up their next book because I know that human error comes in to play that’s okay. The problem comes when I’m putting together something and then I start to get inside my own head and pick apart every detail and it is what hinders me the most.

As I am about to launch my products for my Write 2 Be brand and Re-publish my first book along with three poetry books I am hesitant because I know that I can’t possibly catch every single error. As many times as I can go over something I know that I will inevitably miss something because I’m human and there’s no way that I can catch all of it (try as I might lol). I think if we could all have everything we do, everything that we put out there into the world with our names on it, be perfect we would. While imperfect people are uniquely wonderful in their own right, we want the products we buy to be as close to perfect as possible. No one wants a shirt where the wording is spelled wrong. 

So I’m nervous and I’m being extremely tedious and analyzing everything excessively (over analyzing is kind of my thing) to the point where I end up putting out nothing. I don’t want to analyze myself right out of the opportunities that are waiting for me and I don’t want you fellow over analyzers to do that either. We have to get out of our own heads, get out of our own way, and get our stuff out there. One thing is for sure, no one can buy a product that hasn’t been put out there to buy. 

So if you’re holding back on putting that book out there or whatever art you produce because you are waiting for every detail to be perfect. Stop. It won’t be perfect. You will always find something wrong because you are expecting to. Get your product out there to the best of your ability. I’m not saying don’t give it the proper analysis that it is due, I’m just saying when you are reasonably certain that everything is good to go, don’t go looking for a reason that it’s not.  Put yourself and your products out there! The world is waiting!

Until next time… #BeBold #BeAuthentic #BeMotivated

 

Jimmetta Carpenter 

Writer/Editor 

https://write-2-be.com/

http://write2bemagazine.com/

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jimmetta-Carpenter/1069480310

https://www.facebook.com/Write2BeMagazine

https://www.facebook.com/AuthorJCCarpenter

https://twitter.com/jcladyluv 

https://twitter.com/write2bemag 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPU35EkFSbuxgekCp4LfI5g

We Can’t Judge Someone Else’s Walk

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When someone dies, celebrity or otherwise, there is always a slew of prayers and condolences going out to the family and a wave of Rest In Peace’s throughout social media. It’s the ordinary person’s way of expressing their sadness for the loss of life and I think it’s wonderful that we show that expression of sorrow and compassion for the family and friends that are left behind. What I don’t understand is those who will judge that person’s lifestyle and assume to know what their relationship may or may not have been with God (thus making ignorant claims that the person isn’t going to heaven because of the life they’ve lead) as if they were somehow privy to all of their private moments.

One’s relationship with God is their own and seemingly private and I think that it annoys me when people quote parts of the bible without remembering some of the other crucial parts of it. Now I will admit that I can not quote nearly any of the bible other than some of my most favorite scriptures but I know that in the bible it makes it clear that God loved both sinners and saints equally and that he is unbelievably forgiving to those who have been deemed “unredeemable” to the rest of the world.

I don’t make a practice of trying to figure out what someone else’s relationship with God is, for one because I’m still working on strengthening my own. I know that each person will have their own special bond and only God knows what’s in someone’s heart. I just question where some get the nerve to judge the life anyone has lead and determine for themselves where they are going when their spirit leaves this earth. I also distinctly remember the bible saying (and I’m paraphrasing here) ‘judge not, lest ye be judged’ so I think that we should spend more time concerning ourselves with our own walk in life and making sure that what we’re doing is what we perceive is the right thing to do for us and our own journey, spiritually, personally, and professionally. 

We spend far too much time judging other people for things that we can’t possibly know and frankly for things that have absolutely nothing to do with the path that we are currently on. I think I spent far too much time myself, in my younger years, worrying about what everyone else was doing in relation to me, instead of just focusing on my journey, and what I was doing and how I was going to get to where I needed to be. We get sidetracked trying to determine what other people are doing with their lives and where they might go at the end of it and really it’s not for us to say.

When we lose someone, or when someone we love or admire and are inspired by passes on I would hope that we focus on the wisdom they imparted and on the gifts they gave to the world (I don’t mean material or monetary gifts) and how they enriched our lives. I would hope that the worst things or mistakes we’ve ever made in our lives would not be the way that others judged the legacy that we leave behind. We should always strive to remember the best that someone had to offer this world, never the worst.  I hope that you always think before you judge the walk of another person.

Until next time… #BeMindful #BeEncourged #BeGrateful

 

Jimmetta Carpenter 

Writer/Editor 

https://write-2-be.com/

http://write2bemagazine.com/

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jimmetta-Carpenter/1069480310

https://www.facebook.com/Write2BeMagazine

https://www.facebook.com/AuthorJCCarpenter

https://twitter.com/jcladyluv 

https://twitter.com/write2bemag 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPU35EkFSbuxgekCp4LfI5g

Its Always a Good Day to Have a Good Day

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I have a plaque sitting on my new desk that says ‘It’s A Good Day to Have a Good Day’ (I added always in the title of this blog for emphasis on remembering this fact) and I knew when I say this that I need this for my office because I need that daily reminder. Since I’ve been on my spiritual journey and deepening my relationship with God I have tried to keep a positive attitude about everything and to even find the silver lining or the lesson in everything that happens. I truly believe that while everything that happens to us in life won’t be good and may not have been planned or what we wanted to happen, it is our reaction to the things that happen that will inevitably allow us to pull through any given obstacle thrown our way. 

I’m having one of those days where I needed to be reminded of the fact that I make the choice of whether it’s going to be a good day or not and where I have to try to figure out the lesson in the obstacle. I can choose to brood all day and complain about what happened and how unfair it was and how it wasn’t handled correctly by other parties but ultimately I still have to look at what I should have done to avoid the obstacle.  What good is complaining about something for the rest of the day when those complaints will not change the outcome? The only thing that will change it is to handle it, rectify the issue behind it so that it doesn’t happen again, and move on with the rest of my day and what needs to be done.

I’ve been that person who has complained all day and then the rest of the day ends up being wasted because I choose to sit in that one bad moment of the day and allow it to bloom into the rest of the day. I have worked really hard to change that way of thinking and I suppose today was a testament of that.

I am choosing to make the rest of this day matter and to make it, not only a good day, but a great day. I am alive, I am seemingly healthy (well I need to lose some weight but I’m working on it), and I have a rood over my head. I am blessed beyond measure and that alone makes it a very good day. So no matter what happens in your day, in your week, in your month, or in your year, make the choice to have a good day. Life really is what you make it!

Until next time… #BeGrateful #BeMindful #BeBlessed

Jimmetta Carpenter 

Writer/Editor 

https://write-2-be.com/

http://write2bemagazine.com/

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jimmetta-Carpenter/1069480310

https://www.facebook.com/Write2BeMagazine

https://www.facebook.com/AuthorJCCarpenter

https://twitter.com/jcladyluv 

https://twitter.com/write2bemag 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPU35EkFSbuxgekCp4LfI5g