Freedom

Laying Down the Torch

I adore Alanis Morissette, I have been a massive fan of hers since her first album. I know, I know, I am telling my age, but hey it’s all right. Jagged Little Pill was Alanis first album that was released on June 13, 1995. It’s funny how little things have huge meanings later. Recently I have done an honest elevation of myself, and I am glad that I did it. At times some of our biggest epiphanies come from our deepest pain. Sadly they sometimes come at a time when it’s too late to be able to change certain situations, but at least we grasp some real realizations. Alanis Morissette music holds a lot of significance for me because it’s part of my memories of my first love my true love. Love is a powerful feeling and beautiful too. Love is scary because it requires vulnerability. It requires not having any walls, how else would a person be able to feel it? People who have never experienced true love know nothing about why the people who do act the way that they do.

The other day I listened to the song called Torch, it is a fantastic song. Alanis wrote the song about her break up with Ryan Reynold. They had a serious relationship. Their relationship was five years long, and they got engaged. Talking about going from you oughta know to a torch mentality. Like Woah. The torch was written to help her get over their break up. Their breakup was mutual. She took the high road writing about everything that she loved and missed soldier yet on in such an elegant way. True love can get a person to reflect on the time that happened yet be able to wish the other person the best.

Afterall behaving negative wouldn’t bring back a relationship that ended. Does it hurt? Yes, it does. Letting a person go who you had all these dreams attached to like getting married and having children together, it’s a big jagged pill to swallow for sure. I was there myself before. Many couldn’t understand the reason why I did and felt the way that I did. I was in love with my first love, and I will always have a love for him. I have always wished him well and hoped that he received the love that he deserved. Sometimes true love can happen at the wrong time my mother was dying of cancer at the time. I had so much responsibility at the time.

Torch taught me that I was always on the right track even many years ago. Most people don’t realize what real love requires. I am just thankful that I experienced true love at least once in my life. If I never do, again, it’s alright. I have once carried a torch, have laid it down, and have no hope of relighting aka rekindling anything. Betty White turned 97 years old the other day, and she said something so profound she said, “Enjoy life,” Accentuate the positive, not the negative. It sounds so trite, but a lot of people will pick out something to complain about, rather than say, Hey, that was great! It’s not hard to find great stuff if you look.” The best advice about life ever!

Icky Racism

I saw something on You-Tube that was absolutely disgusting. There was a video from Jack White’s concert where Jack White sang Icky Trump instead of Icky Thump. Now if you have been following me long enough it’s no secret how much of a humongous fan that I am of Jack White. I love his music. Anyway, there was a commenter who made a icky comment that was very racist.

Jack White has been very vocal about his feelings towards Donald Trump. When Jack White did his lyrics it said “Who’s using who? What should we do? Well you can’t be a pimp and a prosititute too. Jack White Add That’s for you Trump. You can’t be a president and a prostitute too.” This is in response to America’s immigration policies.

So under the video an icky commenter made some foul comments besides the grammar being repulsive saying things like Black and Latinos aren’t into Jack White’s music!!!! Dude seriously?!

I am pretty sure that I am not the only black person in the world who appreciates the brilliance of Jack White’s music. I have Jack White t-shirts, listens to him just about every day and brought a ticket to see him play in Washington, D.C. If you ask my family and friends who’s my favorite musician they will say Jack White.

I am all for freedom of speech but I draw the line at stupidity. Racism is just plain Icky.

My top songs for 2017 and looks who’s number 1!!!

Happy Birthday! Be Lifted!

Yippee! Be Lifted turned two years old!

When I started my blog I wanted to be true to myself as well as inspire others. In two years I have done so many things wrote poems, talked about marriage, music and most importantly God.

Earlier I had one of my facebook friends message me and tell me to not allow anyone to place me in a box. Which is why I started a blog in the first place on social media it’s hard to express yourself without any drama happening. I have total freedom here on my blog and I love it.

I am excited about the future of my blog because there is more to come. Looking forward to many more years here on Be Lifted.

What a Joke

Recently, I lost a Facebook friend of five years over a post that I reposted. In a time where people should be tolerant of other people’s thoughts, many are not. The post was about a testimony of a Facebook friend of mine who says that she was delivered from homosexuality. This lady’s story is amazing her life has completely changed. Anyway, the Facebook friend that I lost doesn’t believe that people can be delivered from homosexuality and that’s her right. After all, she is bisexual which is the reason why she was so hot under the collar about the post.

The person who claims that people should be free to love who they choose apparently doesn’t feel it applies to people’s beliefs. Ahhhh, the hypocrisy!!! I am not bashing this formal facebook friend because there are a lot of people like this person.

This is what I have come to believe about this formal Facebook friend if she accepted that people can be delivered from homosexuality it would mean that she would be admitting that what she is doing is wrong. She would be admitting that God is real and she would have to answer to someone other than herself. Which is why people don’t want to have a belief because they act like a bunch of out of control teenagers. I just turned 18 and ain’t nobody telling me what to do. Not even God! No one wants to believe that they are wrong. It just amazes me that the people who claim that people should be free from the bondage of religion can be the most hypocritical. We really have to watch out for people who are lovers of themselves because they will cross you quickly without a second thought.

I respect what others believe but I do wish that they would respect other’s beliefs. I am open-minded about other people’s thoughts. No one is above learning from someone else as long as they are opened to what others have to say. There are stories in the Bible about non-believers too Not just believers only. Heck, God used a donkey to reach people. Most people who don’t believe in anything are mean and very wicked people. These people are so angry with God and that’s okay…God loves you anyway. Yes, as much as a nonbeliever hates God, He still loves them.

Don’t Be Afraid

Over the last couple of days, some black people have been in a rage about what Ciara said about leveling up!!! I have seen women getting into arguments on social media. Ciara has been under attack. Quickly some people reminded her of her past relationship. Newsflash!!! Ciara is not her past. This is the reason why people don’t like to share their testimonies, out of fear that people will attempt to drag them back to where they came from. There is truth in her words.

I keep seeing some black people saying “Okay, We get it” but they haven’t done anything to change a lot of situations. It’s hard to do anything when you are not receptive to it, and you are bashing the messenger. As the old saying goes, don’t shoot the messenger. If Ciara message offends a person, they need to find out why it does. She is not a problem.

Sometimes people can’t win if you advise with no experience; it’s: “What do you know about my situation?” How can you relate? If people know about your past instead of them being inspired, they pick you apart and attempt to shame you into silence. I don’t follow celebrities a lot; I am just speaking on the backlash that she received. She is a celebrity, so she has zero privacy; the public knows her past. However, some women aren’t famous, who have experienced what she has too. I look at Ciara’s life as an inspiration. She overcame and endured, most importantly she’s happy!!! Happiness is the ultimate goal in relationships and marriages.

We can’t allow our past to keep us bondage. We are not our past. Everyone has a history. Everyone has parts of their lives that they don’t want to read aloud. Some people will receive what is said and some won’t. Some people agreed with Ciara, so what she said was not in vain. Even looking at stories from the Bible, Noah tried to warn people they laughed and called him crazy. Jonah did not want to warn the people of Nineveh. Jonah ran probably out of fear of how the people would receive the message. If a message is placed on your heart don’t be afraid, deliver it someone may need to hear it. It could be the message that they need to give them hope.

Love International

Bravo has a new show that I am interested in called To Rome for Love. The show is about African American women who travel to another country to find love. I find this so refreshing because we get to see how different cultures interact in the dating world. The show will be exciting but I hope that it won’t contain too many stereotypes or too much drama. Praying that the show uses this opportunity to show African American women in a positive light. We can do without the unnecessary drama in order to grab ratings. It needs to be understood that many people don’t look at television shows as being fake some believe that there is a little truth in everything. I’m excited to see what happens with the show positive things; here’s hoping!!!

Pink Metal Head

I have to start by saying that I am stoked!!! Here on be lifted I talk about the things that we think about, but they spoke about. I have shared about my love for heavy metal mind you that I listen to all music; however, rock/heavy metal is my favorite. Ever since I was young, I have loved heavy metal!!! I grew up in a time where a black girl listening to heavy metal was unheard of, and I’m thankful that my mother allowed me to be free to listen to what I wanted to. It was no secret about my love for heavy metal. The first song that had me hooked on rock music was AC/DC “You Shook Me All Night Long,” which came out in 1980, the video was very cool. When Nine Inch Nails first came out in 1989 with “Head Like a Hole” I was hooked, and I have been a fan of their’s ever since. Trent Reznor and I both share the same birthday, May 17th baby!! Type O Negative has made an impact on me, and I love the band so much.

The reason why I bring up my love for heavy metal/rock music is that recently I came across a young black lady who loves heavy metal as I do. The you tuber’s name is pink metal head, and she’s 21 years old. It’s so refreshing to see young black ladies owning their identity unapologetically. She did share that there have been people who try to match a person’s race to music. Example that black people listen to hip hop and r & b only and that white people listen to heavy metal/ rock music only. The stereotypes seriously have got to go. Things had gotten a lot better from when I was growing up. Seeing more and more young black ladies, as well as men, appreciate heavy metal chokes me up. I just had to blog about it.

Both of my sons listens to heavy metal/rock music; my youngest listens to everything that I do. My youngest son’s favorite bands are Metallica and Danzig. His favorite song by Metallica is “One,” and his favorite song by Danzig is “Mother.” Today my youngest and I was jamming to Pantera, Megadeath, White Zombie, Type O Negative, Metallica and the list goes on and on. With the younger generations tastes in music becoming more diverse, it’s the best feeling on Earth. I want to tell the youth of today that music transcends racial boundaries if you want to listen to country music go ahead I love Darius Rucker. I have been a fan of Darius Rucker every since he was the lead singer of Hootie and the Blowfish. If you love hip hop and R & B, listen to it and if you love heavy metal/rock music, then jam on. If you love all music as I do, that’s great too. Whatever music that you choose to listen to, please do as long as you are you. Even our choices of music say a lot about who we are so doing what makes you happy as long as it isn’t hurting anybody. I’m proud of the upcoming heavy metal generation; it’s becoming more colorful; which is excellent.

Whose Philosophy was Better?

I had an amazing conversation with one of my friends who is white. He is really concerned about the frequency of hate that is going on. I assured him that everything would be okay because things will be. He asked a interesting question it was whose philosophy did I agree with the most Martin Luther King Jr. or Malcolm X? I respect Malcolm X but I choose Martin Luther King Jr. it’s all about peace and love. The way that I think isn’t received well by some of the people of my race however there are some black people who think the same way as I do. A lot of the way that I think comes from the way that I was raised and my education too.

First off what happened in Charlottesville, Virginia was absolutely terrible everyone at least agrees on that. From my understanding the protest that was took place was pertaining to a confederate statue being removed forgive me if I am wrong. I have already written my views on the confederate flag. There are people who view the confederate flag as their heritage both blacks and whites. No,I do Not support hate I find it repulsive however everyone has the right to exercise their first amendment rights. Problems arise when things become violent which is never good.

Here’s the thing yes slavery took place and there was segregation years ago. Even though my mother grew up during the time of segregation; she was not racist. My mother did not raise me to hate anyone but to love everyone. I once went for classes to be able to volunteer at the YWCA one thing that stuck out during the classes was meeting people where they are. Positive things can happen when we meet people where they are. There are people my age bring up slavery and segregation we never encounter that; our ancestors did. There are white people my age and younger who feel like there have to pay for what their ancestors did. I will never forget how one of my Facebook friends apologized for what her ancestors did; it was heartbreaking. No one should have to feel like they have to pay for a debt of someone else’s wrongdoings, ancestors or not.

It is time for our country to start healing together. All white people aren’t racist. All black people aren’t criminals. Healing cannot be done if salt continues to be applied to a wound. When we cut ourselves from a fall or a paper cut the body immediately begins the healing process. I have two sons and I want them to live in a world that is better than what’s going on now. Going into the past doesn’t solve anything if nothing positive is being done about it. Answering hate with hate does not solve anything. As the great Martin Luther King Jr. once said “Darkness cannot drive out darkness;only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.

Skeletons in Your Closet

My mother loved music one song that she used to play a lot was called Skeletons by Stevie Wonder. The beat to that song Skeletons was everything!! Anyway the lyrics went:

Skeletons in your closest

Itchin’ to come outside

Messin’ with your conscience

In a way your face can’t hide

Well you see where I am going with this. We all have skeletons in our closet still God has forgiven us. No one should be walking around with a heavy heart behind past events that God has already forgiven us for. Don’t allow anyone to make you feel guilty about your past because that isn’t cool. Especially when people don’t know you or your story. We have to get rid of people who are quick to judge and slow to love.

In my opinion when we can’t move on from past mistakes it robs us of our present. Our present is a gift. I don’t care how many bones a person has in their closet whether it’s enough to make a human skeleton or a dinosaur museum. Who are we to judge? A person of the world reminds a person of their past a real Christian knows better than to do that. Everyone has skeletons and everyone has a story that they don’t want to read aloud.

So don’t allow the devil, your guilt, your enemies, or anybody to make you feel guilty about what you and God has already worked out. Life is too short to worry about unpaid critics that feel that they have a right to judge your life. What did Jesus tell the woman who was caught in adultery? What did Jesus say to the Pharisees who was about to stone her? Alright enjoy the life that God has given you and be blessed!

2 Corinthians 5:17

¹⁷Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

Happy Veterans Day

Thank you for choosing to serve

For our country

It’s something that I

Do not take lightly

Because of your choice

Freedom continues to ring

That means everything

You are a blessing

Coast Guard

Marine Corps

Air Force

Army

Navy

Different branches of the same tree

Our awesome military

You choose to serve knowing

What was at stake

Did not hesitate

You are the reason why

America is great

What you did goes beyond

Being recognized for one day

You made sacrifices everyday

Next to your life

Your family

Who loves you

They made sacrifices

Being away for many months and years

Far way

Relying on phone calls and letters

To help make the situation better

For all of those reasons alone

I just want to thank

Each and every one of you

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