A lot of people have experienced trauma early in life.

Trauma can affect individuals differently depending on the nature and the circumstances of the events taken place.

I give so much credit to those who have overcame, who are still working through, and who are in between.

No one’s journey is the same but we all have similarity and common threads that we can relate to while offering each other support granted the opportunity.

The Lord uses our battle scars to mark where we have been and to show us how far we have come.

We are as a result made stronger built on the solid foundation of God’s power.

It is not healthy to be around toxic people. Toxic people can be anyone.

Friends, family, coworkers, neighbors, and other members of society are candidates for poisonous interaction or relationship.

Whether they have a routine of playing head-games (gaslighting), manipulation, deceit, narcissism, violence or whatever else may be the case they need to be avoided with no turning back to the situation.

I am one who cannot entertain or tolerate any of the nonsense.

Back sometime in the nineties, I do not remember exactly what year, maybe around ninety-five or ninety-six.

A neighbor on my block had gotten a puppy. I did not know this neighbor personally just enough to say hello back to her and her adult son when they spoke to me and my mom.

The puppy was so little and adorable.

One particular day the puppy was running around loose on our block, playing and following around the young children that were playing in the street.

It was a nice sunny day. I had passed by, on my way to the store when the puppy spotted me and ran up to me.

She was so energetic, lively, and friendly. I had instant affection for her.

Hours had passed.

Later, by nightfall, a family associate and I departed from hanging out on my stoop. He left to go across the street to his home and I…

There are people who have plenty of soap and water but refuse to wash.

When they do wash it is not often.

There are people who would love to have the advantage of things that others take for granted.

We all go through things but it should not be so bad where one starts to neglect their health and personal hygiene.

If anything, a bath can be soothing and a shower therapeutic.

The body feels good to be clean and refreshed.

It is not healthy to lay around in funk and poisoning oneself with unhealthy substances.

I never understood people who criticized or made fun of others because they wore glasses, had speech difficulties, skin hypopigmentation, or other skin conditions, weight gain, and so on.

When I was a child, I never did any of those things. Not because I did not want to hurt anyone’s feelings, but I honestly did not see anything wrong with them.

There are people with ailments, conditions, and issues that cause alarm and caution but not these particular circumstances.

Self-love is very important.

We can sometimes discern what people are like by their outward form.

Some people judge and treat people according to how they look or appear on the outside.

They do not bother to inspect or examine what is in the inside.

If they explored more often illusion would reveal itself true by acknowledging what is put into view.

We are not our face, arms, legs, stomach, feet, buttocks, or hair.

We…

Nineteen years ago, when the veterinarian suggested to put my beloved dog of seventeen years to sleep due to her legs giving out to arthritis, I did not want to go through with it.

When the “baby of the family” as my mother called her was put to sleep, we were not present. Even though I should have been there with her by her side I could not have stood anywhere next to her while someone ended her life.

I was her caretaker, her protector.

She was a significant part of our family. How could I be there and allow someone to take her life even if it were the thing to do to put animals out of their pain, misery, or medical discontent. It just was not right to me.

Days after I would wonder if she felt any pain during the situation and what she may have gone through. I wondered how she was put to sleep, what…

People kill themselves for various reasons. One never knows what is going on within another person’s mind or what they are going through.

I never looked at people who commit suicide as being cowards. If anything, it is the opposite. I am in no way condoning the act but it takes a lot of strength and courage to put an end to one’s life.

Once the act is committed there is no turning back from it and the ones who embark on that journey are diving into the unknown not knowing exactly where they are headed or what to expect.

I do not like it when or agree with people who declare that all people who kill themselves are headed straight to hell.

Only God knows where their souls/spirits will reside or rest. No one has the right to determine the destiny of everyone who commits suicide.

God knows all of us inside out. He…

Just to clarify: There are people who drink their coffee every morning or maybe three or four times a week and there is absolutely nothing out of the ordinary or wrong with that.

On the other hand, there are those who rely on numerous cups of coffee at a continuous pace or rate and use the beverage as a crutch.

A lot of people are hooked on coffee.

Whereas some people like and drink the different varieties of coffee for the taste, some claim they need the beverage to help wake them up in the morning, and some claim they need the beverage to help keep them up during the late hours of the night.

Tea also contains a significant amount of caffeine which definitely will keep one alert and up all night if they drink enough of it.

Tea is also a lighter and healthier beverage to consume in…