Hindsight is the minds plight
Stuck in reflective retrospection keeps you going in the wrong direction
Retracing footsteps walking backwards through life
No forward progress causes stagnation and strife
There is power in the here and now, the present, accept the gift
Choose foresight to plan your future path
Set the shadow of the past adrift
Happy birthday to me! Today I turn 51 and the past year has been a mental, emotional and spiritual roller coaster ride.
For starters I had to celebrate my milestone birthday during a public health emergency and was unable to have the event I envisioned for my 50th birthday.
The truth is even without the mandated lockdown I probably wouldn’t have done anything more than what I actually did for my birthday.
This year I planned outings and outfits to go with them. I’m making up for what I was unable to do for my 50th birthday and also trying to establish how I want to show up in the world going forward.
The past year I have had some revelations and breakthroughs. I have also come to terms with how the choices I’ve made and continue to make have stunted my growth in many areas of my life.
I no longer want to waste time doing what I think I’m “supposed” to do. I want to live authenticity and do what truly brings me joy in all aspects of my life.
I want to pursue my passion and use the gifts God has blessed me with to make a living for myself.
The one thing that I don’t want to admit that I want is to be married. I never thought I would be single in my 50’s. I always envisioned me and my husband becoming empty nesters and traveling the world.
I no longer want to live small. I want to dream big, live big and do big things with my life. I only have one and I should live it to the fullest.
I’m still a work in progress but will enjoy my life through the process
This is one week progress after starting my hair growth journey with Donna’s Recipe biotin and hair growth oil. I decided to include pictures of my hair picked out and styled to give a better perspective .
Week two. I don’t see much growth from week one, but it’s not always easy to tell because my hair is tightly coiled.
I think my hairline is looking more filled in which is the main reason why I am using this product. I may blow it out in the next two updates to really get a better perspective on my progress.
The back is definitely growing, but the back of my hair always grows faster than the front. My fro looks fuller than my week two pictures.
I decided not to blow my hair out. Heat can be damaging and I didn’t want to take the risk.
I do see continuous improvement in my hairline.
My hair and hairline look thicker. I’m debating whether I’m going to do another month of the biotin supplements. I’ll have enough oil to last me the next 30 days. I may want to monitor my progress without the supplement to see what my hair growth is without assistance.
I have completed the 30 day supply of Donna’s Recipe biotin gummies. I still have some of the growth oil that I plan to continue to use.
My final thoughts. I feel that Donna’s Recipe has helped my hairline grow faster and thicker. The gummies taste like strawberry candy and the oil is light, penetrates the scalp well and leaves it tingling.
Would I recommend trying this product, yes. Will I continue to use this product, yes I plan to continue using the oil and will purchase the biotin gummies again.
If you have used this product I would like to know what your experience has been.
If you are interested in trying Donna’s Recipe click here
To continue celebrating National Poetry Month, I would like to introduce my poetry book, This is my brain on emotion.
This book is a collection of poetry I’ve written over the years. Writing poetry has always been cathartic for me, it’s an artistic way for me to express my feelings.
To purchase your copy, click here
Nothing is worth your peace of mind
So I’m going to give you a piece of mine
Serenity solace and sanity are all you need to truly be free
Money may be able to buy you things
But not the contentment that happiness brings
Joy is something that can’t be bought, it can’t be given, it can’t be taught
It is not in a person, place or thing
It is a state of mind, a state of being
The connection with your higher power and divine entity
Having gratitude for the good in your life and not giving the bad your energy
If you are on your search for paradise, I’ll give you a clue
Everything you are seeking is already inside of you
To celebrate National Poetry Month, I would like to introduce my children’s book, Rich Man’s Song
The book is a delightful tale with a positive message and features characters of color. The story is told in rhyme and has a catchy refrain that will have readers singing it aloud.
To purchase your copy click here
So I’m growing my hair out. Why? I don’t know, but I want to see what happens if I avoid the clippers for a while.
To assist me in my hair growth journey I decided to try vegan influencer Tabitha Brown’s biotin and growth oil line Donna’s Recipe. Donna is the name of Tabitha Brown’s glorious afro.
I don’t have a problem with hair growth, but I’ve noticed my hair is thinner and weaker in the front than in the back, especially along my temples and hairline. So my goals are to see if my hair grows faster and thicker by using this product.
This is my hair as of March 24, 2021 when I started taking the biotin and doing scalp massages with the growth oil daily. I’m going to take a picture every week on Wednesday to monitor my progress. After 30 days I will do a follow up post with progress pictures.
If you are interested in trying Donna’s Recipe you can go to www.donnasrecipe.com
Happy New Year!
I know it’s months later than the calendar new year, but my new year starts in spring. The time change, longer days and more sunshine, spring brings a renewed energy and mood for me that feels more like the new year.
Anyway on to the subject of this post. I’m still in pursuit of a romantic relationship (more on that in an upcoming blog) but I have been looking at all my relationships in total and I’ve noticed a pattern.
I gravitate towards relationships where I’m validated by what I do for others instead of just being who I am.
The relationships where I don’t have to do anything to be validated, I shy away from and more times than not I tend to reject those relationships.
Digging deeper I realize my relationships reflect how I truly feel about myself. I don’t feel worthy of love, validation or acceptance unless I’m doing something for someone. I don’t feel like I’m enough to be accepted for who I am.
This self concept translates into how I pursue romantic relationships and has made dating a bit of a nightmare for me, but I digress.
In order for me to dismantle this concept I have of myself, I have to surround myself with people who validate me as I am.
I have some amazing, dynamic, thoughtful, intelligent, powerful woman in my life who have been my friends for years and have seen me through some of the lowest points in my life.
Because they have shown up for me without asking for anything in return, I have isolated myself from them and caused a strain in our friendships.
One day I decided that I didn’t want to lose my friends and wrote each one of them a letter.
In the letter I told them how much I missed them, that I valued our friendship. I told them what I admired about them, how I desired to stay connected to them what I wanted our friendship to look like going forward, and I closed the letter by letting them know how much I loved them.
This was such a cleansing process for me. I cried as I wrote each letter. I realized how blessed I was to have friends like them in my life and that they chose to be my friends and I didn’t have do anything outside of just being me to be worthy of their friendship.
It was empowering as it was emotional. I validated myself by reaching out, being vulnerable and asking for what I wanted and needed.
As my friends received their letters, I received messages back that they too wanted to stay connected and how my words brought them to tears.
Now that the door has been reopened, the real work begins. I have to say vigilant in maintaining my friendships and not allow my bouts of feeling unworthy get in the way of reconnecting with them.
In those quiet moments of self reflection
Your mind starts to wander and change direction
As you compare your past self to who you are today
Reflecting on the things you’ve done that got in your way
To becoming your best self to shining your brightest light
Those dreams that you gave up on because the timing wasn’t right
The state of fear that you’ve remained in for far too long
You can overcome it to get to the place where you belong
You woke up today, that’s all the confirmation you need
Gather your strength take a step a deep breath and proceed
Start your garden and plant the seed
Let your greatness grow and your purpose be freed
This is a late post. I was supposed to release it on September 16, 2020.
A few weeks ago my niece asked me to come to California to watch her 6 month old son over the Labor Day weekend so she and her boyfriend could celebrate his birthday.
They offered to pay for my flight, food and accommodations.
My initial reaction was to decline the offer. I hadn’t flown in an airplane since I was 7 years old (that’s really sad).
I decided to go because I really didn’t have an excuse not to, and traveling is something that I definitely want to do more of .
I’ve always wanted to go to California, it’s a place I would one day want to live.
Surprisingly I wasn’t nervous about the plane ride. My travel time was about six hours and I had to board two planes with a one hour layover.
The first plane I boarded was small and I could feel some turbulence but I was so mesmerized by the view of being above the clouds I rarely noticed. The second plane was a huge airbus. The flight was so smooth the only thing I felt was the landing.
During my stay, I was in the North Hollywood area a few blocks from the walk of fame. It was nothing like I expected.
The area was a hodgepodge of architecture and aesthetics from modern state of the art buildings to colorful stucco Spanish style houses.
One thing that took me aback was seeing homeless tent communities on sidewalks, street dividers, under bridges and in parking lots of closed businesses.
I attributed what I saw mostly to the COVID-19 pandemic but when you think of Hollywood, you think celebrities, luxury cars, glitz and glamor.
During my visit I got to see the Hollywood sign, walk of fame, Rodeo Drive and the Santa Monica Pier. I didn’t take many pictures but you can follow me on Instagram @lisamevansceo and see footage from my trip in my story highlights.
I’m glad I took the chance to take this trip and I can’t wait to plan my next.
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