Tag: Motivation

I Want to Be in the Room Where Things Happen

March 5, 2025 jcladyluv

I am not a particularly envious person. I celebrate all successes, and I genuinely believe that we all deserve to live our best lives. I believe that if you work hard and use your drive and ambition to propel you forward, then you will get to where it is you’re trying to go. But I am not naïve to the fact that there are some who get where they’re going out of sheer luck or because they just know the right people. I would be lying if I said that I didn’t wish I was the person who had that kind of luck or knew the right people because my hard work does not seem to be paying off.

I’ve wanted to be a writer since I was 6 years old and have been actively working at it since I was 10 years old. I started doing freelance work more than a decade ago and I have never once given up on the dream of being a full-time writer someday. Even had the audacity to think that at some point I would be able to get a job in someone’s writing room because writing for television has also been one of my goals. Now I’ll be honest and say that there are quite a few opportunities that I never even tried to shoot for because I had too many negative voices of people around me (on top of my own self-doubts) telling me that it could never happen, and I believed them.

That said, I’ve seen people write one book and find themselves on the Bestseller’s list. I’ve seen people write one script for a show and suddenly they’re the industry’s hottest new script writer. I don’t begrudge them their success at all, but I do wonder, if I’m working my ass off and I have the talent to back it up (because I have never once questioned my writing ability) then where is my success story at.

I understand putting in the work, but I have been working towards this dream for nearly my entire life, and I just feel like I should be so much further by now. I should be in the room where things are happening, and I can’t figure out why I’m not. I’ve got multiple degrees, I’ve studied my craft, I’ve written several manuscripts and poems, and stories, and articles, and if being a kind- and good-hearted person matters at all, I’d like to think I’m that too.

So why is it that some things come so much easier for some as opposed to others? I have my speculations as to what the answer to that are but truthfully, no one ever really knows why one person gets rewarded for all of their efforts and another person doesn’t. I do wonder at times if all of the ambition and drive I put into this calling that I have, this gift, what I truly feel is my purpose, is worth all of the rejection and heartache and sacrifice and loss.

I guess the simple answer is yes. I mean would I have been at this for more than three decades of my life (more if you actually count when I started working on the craft of writing itself) if I didn’t think that it would all be worth it in the end? I couldn’t have given so much of myself and dived as deep into this dream of being a crafter of words if I didn’t believe that it was worth giving it absolutely everything that I’ve got. I’m a writer. I was born to be a writer. If there was anything that I was put here on this earth to do, aside from being a mother to my amazing wonderfully gifted daughter with creative talents of her own, it was to impact people with my words.

So, do I feel the urge to give up sometimes? Yes! When I’m sitting in the waiting room of life, patiently waiting for my turn to be allowed in the room where things happen for people. The room where people get to see their dreams become a reality. The room where creatives like me get met with people who believe in their talent and ability enough to propel them forward on the ladder of success. When I keep having to peep inside the window, watching others get their turn and I wonder where is mine. Those are the moments I feel defeated. But the thing I’ve learned about myself over the years is that I refuse to be defeated. I refuse to give up. I want to be in the room where things happen and one day I will be, even if I’m the last person left standing in the waiting room.

Until Next Time… #BePatient #BeDiligent #BePersistent

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Jimmetta Carpenter

CEO/Writer/Editor

Write 2 Be Media/Write 2 Be Magazine

Struggling to Find the Light

February 26, 2025 jcladyluv

“Ease is a greater threat to progress than hardship.” ~ Denzel Washington

I’ve been feeling quite restless and uncertain lately. Okay, let’s be real, for nearly the last two years, since I lost my home, I’ve been living in a state of limbo and survival mode. It is not a good, or mentally healthy place to be. I’ve also been feeling homesick which I thought was crazy because typically you feel homesick when you’re away from your home and just want to get back to it (as in physically go home) so I’m of the mindset that since I no longer have a physical home of my own, how can I be homesick. When I read my devotional today it ironically talked about home and what that feeling of home truly is. It said that Home is where we discover security and where we belong; home is where we find ourselves and feel love; home defines who we are. That’s what the home I lost was for me. It was where I grew up essentially (I’m not talking about childhood home obviously because that was a nightmare).

I was about 20 years old when I moved into that place with my then boyfriend who I realized the hard way, was not good for me. I was in that home when I realized that I had to teach myself how to love me with all of my imperfections and quirks. I was in that home when I had my daughter and started my own little family of just the two of us and decided I would be the mother to her that I wished I would have had. I was in that home when I, for the first time ever in my life, felt safe and secure and yes, at peace. Then in an instant it was all gone. That safety and security, that growth, that love that I had found in myself, that belief and confidence that I had found within me. Like the snap of a finger, just like that, it was gone.

I have been feeling really homesick lately because now I am not in a place where I feel secure and safe. I am not in a place where I feel loved. I am not in a place where I feel free to be myself. I am not in a place where I feel at peace and it’s frustrating. I don’t like living in survival mode, and I don’t like that my mental health is in constant jeopardy because of having to live in said survival mode. I’m trying to stay positive that things are going to turn out good in the end. I am a spiritual person so I am trying to have faith and believe that whatever storm God takes me through He will pull me through to the other side and won’t leave me.

However, I am struggling to hold onto that positive outlook. I am struggling to believe that all of this can somehow be for my betterment. That said, even though I am struggling to hold on to that faith and that positivity, I am still in fact holding on (for dear life mind you). I think it’s just in my nature to believe that there is a reason for everything.

I heard an interview Tyler Perry did the other day where he was talking about how all things work together for our good and it’s all there to teach us something, so he doesn’t see his failures as that. He sees them as a tool to teach him the lessons he needs to learn for the next venture. He also said something else that I thought was interesting. He doesn’t view closed doors in the way that most people (including myself) view them. He sees a closed door as a wall of a maze and when that wall goes up, blocking us from something that we want (or thought we wanted), it’s just a guidepost to redirect the course we are on so that we follow the new path and keep going. I found that interesting. There are no closed doors, we’re just in a maze and when an obstacle is thrown at us, we just have to redirect and find a new way to get to where it is we’re going.

I like that idea so much better than the image of door slamming in my face so I’m going to use that metaphor. From now on when I start to feel like that light at the end of the tunnel is becoming a lot dimmer and I’m not seeing a way out, I’ll just think of it as a maze. I’m not losing the light. The light is just shifting and changing where it wants me to find it. Yeah, I like that way of looking at it much better.

Until next time… #BeDiligent #BeConsistent #BeSteadfast

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Jimmetta Carpenter

CEO/Writer/Editor

Write 2 Be Media/Write 2 Be Magazine

Taking Stock and Putting Things Into Perspective

December 30, 2024 jcladyluv

As this year winds down and comes to a close I find myself in the land of wishing. I wish this year had gone the way I wanted it to. I wish that I had published more. I wish that I had found a new home and not had to stay in what feels like a nightmare that I can’t wake up from (lots of stirred up childhood trauma here). I wish that I could have done more, been better, accomplished everything. I know, some of that seems unrealistic but have you met me. I tend to strive for the damn near impossible and I’m okay with that because in the end, if you shoot for the moon, even if you don’t make it there you will still land somewhere amongst the stars. Or something like that.

Anyway, I was feeling in a woe is me kind of mood tonight (I’m writing this on Christmas Eve, well technically it just turned midnight so it’s Christmas now) and to be honest I’m still there but I got to do one of my favorite Christmas Eve traditions that I didn’t get to do last year and that is watch It’s a Wonderful Life. It’s my favorite Christmas movie and I love more than anything, the overall message in the movie. Turns out my daughter has never seen the movie; she would usually always be in her room watching her own favorite Christmas things.

She had me explain what the movie was about tonight (because you know today’s generation knows next to nothing about good old black and white classic movies lol) and in explaining the message in the movie to her I found myself taking stock of what is good right now. In my explanation (by the way I did not do the best job of explaining this movie which is why I don’t write movie reviews lol) I summed it up by saying overall the movie teaches a lesson that no matter how bad you think you have it, no matter how much you think you don’t matter and there’s no one’s life you make more significant by being here, your life is so much better than you think. It’s all about perspective and how you choose to see things.

I heard myself when I explained that part to her and I thought, so why am I choosing to see this year as such a crappy year then (okay it was a crappy year but still). I need to shift my perspective. Sometimes all we need is to be shown things in a different light. We need to have a mirror held up to us, not necessarily just to show us our flaws and imperfections and show us the lessons that we need to learn. Often times that mirror can also reflect just how much you still have to be grateful for. Sort of the glass half full type of mindset.

Yes, I may still technically be homeless, but I do have a roof over my head. Yes, I am having to live in a nightmare and literally staring my trauma in the face on a day-to-day basis, but I realize that I am stronger now than I was when I was younger. Yes, I am in the midst of a depression (which does terrify me) but I feel that I have tools now that I didn’t have at sixteen or even in my early twenties (when darker thoughts almost won) that I believe can help me make it though, and I am making a plan of action to actually get myself into therapy next year. Yes, I have had all of these obstacles tossed at me on the journey to my dreams, but I can choose to see it as a weakness, or I can see it for what it is. Strength.

There is strength in surviving the experiences that you think will break you. The one’s that you think that you’re not really strong enough to handle. There is strength in knowing that you can’t do everything alone and that sometimes you are going to have to reach out to the people around you for help. There is strength in knowing that there are toxic people that are just never going to be in your corner and coming to terms with that and cutting them out of your life.

So, as this year comes to a close, I am taking stock in a lot of things. I can choose to see it one of two ways. I can zero in on everything that’s not going my way and all the things that have gone wrong in the past year and a half (or over the course of my life in general lol). Or I can look at it from the perspective that after everything I’ve been through, all that I’ve endured, or the mental and physical battles I have struggled through, I’m still here. I’m still powering through. I haven’t given up and that says something. That means something.

I hope that you will find that no matter what you think is wrong with your life, you being here to still make things better, you surviving another day, you being someone else’s inspiration, it all matters. It is a Wonderful Life, if that’s how you choose to see it.

Until next time… #BeMindful #BeEmpowered #BeMotivated

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Jimmetta Carpenter

CEO/Writer/Editor

Write 2 Be Media/Write 2 Be Magazine

The Reality I’m Left With

November 25, 2024 jcladyluv

I’d like to think I’m someone who goes after all of my dreams, but the reality is that I’m not. I’ve had so many dreams that I never even tried to attain, all because I let the words of a woman who was supposed to be my biggest supporter in life halt me in my tracks. Growing up my mother used to tell me all of the things I would never be able to accomplish and somewhere along the way I started to believe her and it then became my own belief.

I can’t blame her completely because at a certain age one would think that I would have been able to tune her out, but I never did. Her words always lingered in the back of my mind and with every no, and every rejection that came my way, I started to think she must be right. That the dreams I had were pointless all along. I mean, you tend to think the people who are supposed to always believe in you and your abilities and tell you to shoot for the moon are your parents right? So, what they say must be true, right? I know I always make sure to tell my daughter that there isn’t anything she can’t do if she puts her mind to it. Because you aren’t supposed to run around crushing your child’s dreams. The world is already going to try and do that anyway.

The reality is I did not have that kind of parent who fostered and nurtured my creativity, and I don’t really know why that is. Only she can answer why she purposely tried to tear me down instead of build me up. I realize now, perhaps far too late for it to make a difference, that you should never let someone else’s opinions of you and what you can do alter what you know and believe for yourself. Even if it’s family. I could be so much more than I am right now if I had only let my own belief in me overshadow my mother’s disbelief in me.

The reality is that I am where I am in life because I lost faith, in myself and in the purpose that I believe God has for me in this world. Too many times I let what someone else said or thought I couldn’t do take away my power to even try. I am a big believer in the fact that once you have made yourself aware of where you need to improve things, that awareness will then provide you with the strength you need to take actions that will make things better. As much as I don’t like change, I know that one change I must make is to stop letting the hurtful words of others, family or not, linger in the back of my mind and dictate what I believe about myself.

I know me. I know who God created and what He created me for. I know that He did not bring me through everything that I have been through to just give up and because I know that there are people far older than I am who have pursued dreams that others also thought to be impossible, I know that what I want is not out of the realm of possibility. It doesn’t matter that one person tried their hardest to break me and break my spirit. I may bend but I will not break. I didn’t come this far to give up now.

For anyone who has let other people’s harmful words affect the way you feel about the visions you have for your life, it’s not too late to change that. Don’t give anyone else power over what you know your purpose is. They say that hurt people, hurt people, so maybe that is the excuse for those who have tried to diminish other’s ambitions, but you don’t have to let them succeed in their goal by believing a single thing they have to say. Misery loves company but you don’t have to be the company that misery is seeking to keep.

Until next time… #BeFearless #BeMindful #BeResilient

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Jimmetta Carpenter

CEO/Writer/Editor

Write 2 Be Media/Write 2 Be Magazine

I Am More Than the Battles I Didn’t Win

August 19, 2024 jcladyluv

It feels like it’s been so long since I’ve written here and updated you. I have been busy, or at least I’ve been trying to be as productive as I possibly can. I published a book at the end of July called ‘The Weight of HER’ (you can check it out on this link) and that was really exciting and I’m so happy that it’s out into the world for everyone to share in this story that has lived in my head for a very long time now. Some would say that I should still be reveling in celebratory bliss and taking in the accomplishment that is publishing a book (because it is definitely not for the faint of heart). I’m pretty sure if it was one of my friends, or hell, anyone else for that matter, I would say the same thing to them. Yet all I can think about is the books that I had planned to publish this year that I’m not going to be able to publish.

Now there’s still one more coming this year (come hell or high water) but in my plan I had envisioned myself publishing at the very least 4 this year. 2 novels, 1 non-fiction essay style book for writers, and a collection of poetry and essays (sort-of memoir-sh). I know that I should be thankful I was able to publish one book and will likely be able to get another one out there…and don’t get me wrong, I am! It’s just setbacks always make me feel like a failure.

Instinctively, I know that we can’t always plan for everything and honestly life would be pretty boring if there were no spontaneity. However, I am a planner to my core. I can envision a dream and believe that it’s possible all day long but if I don’t create a plan to make that vision happen and have a visual representation for the steps I need to take to see that plan through then I get stuck. Then to have that plan be thrown off track by life’s inevitable obstacles, oftentimes leaves me paralyzed. By the time I get unstuck and accomplish one of the things on my list (because y’all know I love my lists) the feeling of being a failure has already set in and it’s a hard feeling to shake.

I have a really wonderful friend who said that I should start making lists (because she knows how I am about my lists lol) of all of the accomplishments that I get done. The things that I manage to achieve despite the curve balls that life has continued to keep throwing me, or the physical limitations that I have developed over the last several years, or the pain that I now feel on an almost daily basis. She even started rattling off some of those things that, while I didn’t forget them, I just didn’t seem to count them. In essence she told me to stop selling myself short and she’s right. I underestimate myself a lot and I think it’s one of those things that if you’ve done it for so long, it is a behavior that is hard to unlearn. I am going to really try my hardest to remember ALL of who I am, and not just the things that I am not.

There are battles that we all face every day. One’s that people know all about and help pull us through. And the one’s that no one else ever sees and that we carry on our own. No matter what the obstacles are, whether you push through it, slide under it, go around it, or just step over it, the point is that you make it to the other side. It doesn’t matter how long it takes you to make it there. It’s the fact that you will have made it. That you accomplished the things you set out to do. Maybe not in the time that you wanted to, but you will eventually be able to add it to your growing list of things you achieved in life. Just remember in the journey to get to the reward that is our dreams, we are more than the battles that we have had to face to get there.

Until next time… #BeFearless #BePersistent #BeVictorious

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Jimmetta Carpenter

CEO/Writer/Editor

Write 2 Be Media/Write 2 Be Magazine

Waiting Out the Storm Is Not Procrastination

July 15, 2024 jcladyluv

Writing can sometimes be seen as a mountain and the journey to become a successful writer can oftentimes be a treacherous climb. I procrastinate far more than I should but it is never for lack of ideas or lack of motivation so to speak. Sometimes I’m just trying to process where I’m at, get familiar with my new surroundings, catch my breath, and get up the nerve to keep on climbing.

It’s odd that I’m using a climbing metaphor here, given that I am deathly afraid of heights, but I got the inspiration for this post from a chat on a writer’s stream. It was a day when no one in the chat particularly felt like writing and usually when that happens it’s seen as one procrastinating. Someone very wise and motivating said that it is not procrastinating to wait out the storm. I love that and it made me feel mildly better about my act of doing nothing that evening, which I guess I needed that permission.

I think procrastinating is something that the world tells us that we’re doing if we are somehow not being busy enough and aren’t seen doing something that society deems as productive. The thing about being a writer, or a creative person in general, is that sometimes when we are seen to be doing nothing, we are actually at the height of our creativity. Words don’t just pour onto the page out of nowhere (okay sometimes they do but still, go with me here), they are typically formed in our minds first. We spend a lot of time thinking of what we want to say or how we want to say it before the words ever come out on a page.

Now I’m not an artist and I can’t draw worth anything, but I imagine that it’s somewhat that way for artists as well. So yes, we daydream, we stare out of windows, we lie down and stare at the ceiling, sometimes we just need a day to veg out on TV shows and movies but not to waste time and do nothing. These are things that fuel our creativity. They fill up or creative well so that we can create again because the well can run dry and that is exactly what we don’t want.

We encounter a lot of storms in life. I feel like it’s somehow meant to be that way. With no storm, comes no adversity, and with no adversity, comes no battles, and without any battles, there are no victories to be won. Does that mean that we’re always going to be in some kind of fight? Possibly? I mean if you’re a dreamer, you’re sort of always in a fight, aren’t you? One to make people see what you see or believe in you the way you believe in yourself. Sometimes the fight is quite literally within yourself.

But no matter what storm you are struggling with, know that it is okay to take a moment, find a safe spot to catch your breath, and just wait out the storm. It’s not being lazy. It’s not procrastinating. It’s not giving up. It is simply what it sounds like, waiting for the storm to pass so that you can finish making the climb all the way to the top, where your dreams are waiting for you.

Until next time… #BeDiligent #BeBold #BeFearless

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Jimmetta Carpenter

CEO/Writer/Editor

Write 2 Be Media/Write 2 Be Magazine

This Too Shall Pass…Or At Least That’s What I’m Told

June 3, 2024 jcladyluv

I was listening to a podcast earlier this morning and it was talking about adversities and about getting to that place in which, even in an anxious state, you can say okay, I’m here and it’s okay because this will not last. This place of endless obstacles and feeling like I’m being tested will not be a constant. This is only for right now and it is arguably preparing you for something far greater than you could have ever imagined. Notably, it won’t feel that way while you’re in that state but as the saying goes, this too shall pass.

What I struggle with is what to do while I am in the midst of those obstacles. What do I do with those feelings of hopelessness and despair. How do I get to that place where I can see the good of all that I’m going through and the inevitable betterment that it will provide me. The logical side of me knows that this is all happening to teach me something and to grow me into a better, stronger, more resilient person. But as I’ve said here before, I’m not always logical in my thinking. Particularly when I’m in a state of depression, I don’t think in the most rational terms, and everything seems like it’s going to get worse without ever getting better. I try to stay positive but some days it’s harder than others to see the purpose in all of this.

That being said, I am a person of faith, even in the instances where my faith starts to slide a little because I find myself wishing I could ask God why He thinks I’m strong enough to go through all of this. Even then, I still know that there is a reason that I am here, a reason for everything that I’ve been through. Maybe it’s to prepare me for greater things but maybe it’s just so I can be there for someone else getting ready to go through their own obstacle course in life so they can know they’re not alone and that they can get through it just like I will.

That’s the interesting thing that I’m realizing about adversity. Sometimes it has nothing to do with you necessarily, as much as it has to do with those you are meant to guide through their own dark tunnel. Now I don’t know if I’m the right guide for anyone honestly but if that’s the purpose God has for me, I will gladly take on that role. Now do I wish I had a little less adversity of my own to deal with? Sure. But do I think that whatever God is up there planning is far better than any plans that I have of my own? Absolutely! I guess I’ll just have to wait for this storm to pass to see clearly what God has in store once I make it through. For now, I’ll just keep pushing forward and walking towards the light at the end of this very long, winding, dark tunnel. If you’re going through your own dark tunnel, just know that you aren’t alone in your struggle.

Until next time… #BeDiligent #BeBrave #BeDetermined

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Jimmetta Carpenter

CEO/Writer/Editor

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The Training Ground That is Adversity

May 13, 2024 jcladyluv

If adversity is a training ground for eventual success, then I have been in intense preparation for years and once I reach whatever success actually is I am going to be the most prepared a person could ever be. At least that is how it feels when it seems like there is an obstacle or stumbling block around every corner. I’m coming up on a year since the bottom was essentially ripped out from underneath my life and I lost my home and more than 20 years’ worth of memories. To say that I am not looking forward to May 19^th would be an understatement. I’ve had a lot of times in my life where I have felt like a failure but never more than that day when I literally lost everything. Or at least it felt as if I lost everything.

However, looking back, I see clearly that I didn’t lose everything, at least not the things that truly count anyway. I lost material possessions sure, but the things that I have always held within, strength, tenacity, courage, passion for my writing (which okay, it slowed a lot because, you know, trauma), and my faith; those things never went anywhere. While sure some days my faith has definitely been tested, and I’ve had days where I look to God and ask why He thinks I can handle this level of adversity because I don’t believe I’m THAT strong, it is mostly still intact.

I know that everything you go through in life is supposed to teach you something and we should never be at a point where we stop learning. If I had to guess what this period in my life was meant to teach me (which one could argue I’m still resisting the lesson lol), it would be that change is inevitable and that you can’t fight against it because it is ultimately for your betterment. If you have been following along with my journey and this blog for years then you know, I HATE CHANGE. I’m a very routine person and I am very averse to things around me changing, even if I know the change is good. I like to know what to expect, and I like things to be the way I believe they will work best for me. No variation, no room for even a slight difference in what I’ve grown accustomed to. The problem is (and logically I’m aware of this) that life doesn’t work best when things stay the same all the time.

Not to say routine isn’t good but you should allow for changes because change can be good too. Instinctively I know this. Some of the best things I’ve had happen in my life have been due to drastic changes and yet still, I don’t like for things to change. I’ve heard people often say that when you’re not making the changes that God wants you to make so that you can fulfill the purpose, he has for you then He will find a way (or the Universe will) to make you have to move in the direction you need to go. I’m starting to feel like what happened to me last year was a way to make the changes in my life happen whether I wanted them to or not.

There are specific things that have already shifted, most likely for the better, that I had been resistant to changing until the situation that happened changed things for me. Would certain realizations have happened if this situation hadn’t forced things to change? Probably not. Simple changes that needed to be made, that I had been refusing to make on my own (I won’t get into all of it because the list is long lol), some beliefs that I had been holding onto about myself that simply weren’t true. I kept resisting certain changes that were necessary and the Universe found the most dramatic way to tell me that you may not like change but you’re going to have no choice now. I feel like the Universe was a little overly dramatic here, but the message has been received.

I am trying to grow more, in many ways. I am trying to not see change as the enemy and adapt to it more. Mostly because now I simply have no choice as there are changes happening all the time now that I can’t avoid. I am trying to understand that while having a routine is certainly not a bad thing, neither is changing things on a whim. I am trying to see the good things that change can bring and embrace them instead of ward them off and rebelling against them.

I was reminded yesterday of a quote from a young lady who auditioned for America’s Got Talent. Her name was Jane, but she went by the name Nightbirde and she was there going for her dreams even though she was diagnosed with a terminal brain cancer that only gave her a 2% chance to live. She said that you can’t wait until life isn’t hard anymore before you decide to be happy. These words brought me to tears the first time I heard her say them and even more so yesterday when I was reminded of them.

Times are hard right now for me. Even though I am in what some people will see as a more stable situation because I’m not still in a hotel room waiting for a knock at the door. Things are still hard right now and there are some days where better just seems so far off. But I don’t want to wait for that far off better day in order to find things that make me happy. I can’t wait for a better that may be further away than I care to admit because that’s a long time to not be happy. So, I’m taking in stride this training ground that is my adversity and I’m just going to find some small thing that makes me happy each day to get through each battle as they come. I want you to know that while the battles may keep coming your way, the choice in how you face them is yours. Choose to be happy now, especially when life is hard. Just remember, hard times don’t last always. Remember to take care of yourselves.

Until Next Time… #BeDiligent #BeMindful #BeCourageous

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Jimmetta Carpenter

CEO/Writer/Editor

Write 2 Be Media/Write 2 Be Magazine

Sometimes There’s Beauty in Being Broken

March 25, 2024 jcladyluv

“There’s a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.” ~ Leonard Cohen

I saw this trailer for a television show that mentioned this Japanese phrase “Kintsugi” which translates to the belief that something broken is stronger and more beautiful because of its imperfections, the history attached to it, and its altered state. It was mentioned initially in the context of talking about the Japanese art form of using liquid gold to join broken pieces of pottery together. It was also used in talking about people and how they see imperfections, both in others and in themselves.

It got me to thinking about all the things we think of as our breaking points. Things that we see as the worst moments in our lives. That leave us feeling shattered into a million tiny pieces. We spend a lot of time trying to fix the things that are broken. To put back together the pieces of all the things that keep falling apart around us. Trying to make them as close to ‘perfect’ as they once were. We never seem to take stock in the beauty that presents itself after the breaking has been done.

What makes us, as human beings, truly beautiful is our uniqueness and the imperfect parts of ourselves. We as a society tend to think we want the perfect life, the perfect friend, the perfect partner, or even the perfect career, but is that what we really want? Would we work as hard at our relationships and friendships and the careers that we are so passionate about if it all remained so perfectly in tact and unbroken?

There’s no uniqueness in that. No excitement. There’s nothing extraordinary about things that are perfect. There’s a reason why we oftentimes seek out the unique and odd things. Why we’re so enticed by things that are rare. Why the imperfect moments in our lives stand out so much. Yeah, a part of it is because of how much those moments may break us down. But the other part of that is in the strength that we gather within ourselves to build things back up. Not just build to make us whole again but also to make us better.

Sometimes the things that were meant to break us turn into blessings that we never realized we needed. It never quite feels that way at the time but after reflection you start to realize that oftentimes the changes that we needed to make in our lives, both for ourselves and the people around us, wouldn’t have happened had our hand not been forced. There are even times that, had our walls not crumbled around us, we may not have even realized just how much we needed to change to begin with. In some instances, it is those walls that needed to come down to begin with in order to give us the best possible chance at true growth and development.

Broken does not mean worthless. Broken does not mean there is no longer any purpose. Broken does not mean things are not repairable. Broken just means a little bruised or a little damaged and aren’t we all in some way a little bit damaged? Things that have been broken still hold value. We, who have been broken, still hold value. So, the next time you break something, and you think that it’s just no longer any good, the next time you yourself feel like you’ve been broken beyond repair and are of no use, take a step back. Look at the pieces and how they fit now and treasure the new pattern that those pieces now make. Cherish the beauty that now presents itself, not the same as before, but now more unique than it ever was.

Until next time… #BeImperfect #BeUnique #BeResilient

Link to my Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/authorjccarpenter

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Link to my Amazon Wish List: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/3FHOYNA8LFMHG?ref_=list_d_wl_lfu_nav_4

Jimmetta Carpenter

CEO/Writer/Editor

Write 2 Be Media/Write 2 Be Magazine