These are trying times we live in. however, it’s a time to grow and expand our lives in a greater measure than ever before. What will we choose? Ultimately, it’s up to us. We have an opportunity here to grow into everything God has provided and made available for us to grow into. All we have to do is make space for Him to come into our lives and allow Him to work through us in such a way that its not us that bring joy and peace into the world, but conduits that allow God to use us to accomplish His purpose.
How you might ask? Simply by being who we are, who He made us to be. I am talking to God’s children. We are all His children if we receive Him as our Father. What a joy to know and understand that there is a power greater than us humans that can see us through anything we are confronted with.
We would do well to get through this corona virus by continuing to speak positivity into every situation. What can we lose with that attitude? We have heard so much about how bad this virus is and what it has and can do. That’s the problem or situation we find ourselves, at the moment. Now, how about we turn our attention to being solution focused, preventive, proactive minded. In other words, magnify the solution, not the problem, or situation. Which is what this is, something that require us to deal with, respond to; not panic over.
The more of the problem we focus on; prevents, paralyzes us and makes us vulnerable to not only corona but other diseases.
Solutions could be we can build ourselves and others up by becoming healthy, spiritually, mentally and physically. Is that difficult? Of course it is right now. However, there is a pay off if we continue and persevere through the positive process in these areas in our lives. At the end is victory. Then if or when some other situation comes presents it’s self, we are stronger and able to deal with it.
Words of encouragement. Much Love,
Les

Relationships

Who, What, How and Why are relationships in your life? Relationships can be progressive, toxic or rewarding. They determine who we become as human beings on this planet. How we manage relationships, When and if we should end them. Why are we in them. What we do and bring to relationships determine our outcome as well as the outcome of the person, thing we are having a relationship with.

Let’s dabble in the GOD human relationship. We are going to say the GOD relationship is essential for human relationships to thrive. Some may or may not agree or believe in GOD. In either case examine your human relationships to see if it’s working for or against you. if there is contention, more than likely an intervention is necessary and its not the other person who needs it. Get to know you in the deepest and most intimate way. Don’t be deceived or lie to yourself. Really sit down and take inventory. We often do not take that time to examine aspects of our life regarding relationship because we get comfortable with the way things are happening. We believe its normal. I would suspect that our hurry up instant gratification lifestyle blinds us and leave us unconscious to reality. Which can be just a lot of noise in our head. I will venture also to say that there is a power greater than us. we would greatly benefit from silencing the noise and listen to that power.

In conclusion, lets be mindful and present and deliberate when it comes to our relationships. Not so much of what’s going on outside of us but concentrating on what’s going on the inside us.

Veterans Focus Group

This group I attend every Friday at 11:30 to 12:30 is nothing like any group I’ve ever attended at the V.A. It’s not AA (Alcohol Anonymous) NA ( Narcotic Anonymous) neither is it CA (Church Anonymous). In fact it’s not Anonymous. It was started as an African American group in an effort to engage, dialog concerns of African Americans receiving service and support at the V.A. (Veterans Administration) in an effort to resolve and respond to issues that African Americans face when interacting with the V.A. system. Since I been going to this group it’s been a safe place to discuss personal issues I deal with without feeling judged. It’s given me a clear picture of who I am, not just as a Veteran, but as a human being. I think this is true for other Veterans as well. The group has evolved; other Non- African Americans have been invited by African Americans to the group for support as well. As Veterans we all have something in common. We are all Veterans with everyday life situations and circumstances. We get it done in this group day by day in our personal lives. We are doing something about our situation. There are no quick fixes here. We as veterans presenting problems and solutions; rather it’s through our faith or personal experiences. In addition, we have the support of facilitators, Social Workers, Megan and Johnathan. Megan and Johnathan do not take the position as experts or superior professionals in the group. Neither are they condescending in any way in their approach as facilitators. Their attitude is conducive to real genuine engaging dialog from the group. By the same token they won’t hesitate to give constructive criticism, not allowing you to deceive yourself. When they give feedback there is an opportunity to realistically look at what’s real and how to respond to any given situation we face, not just at the V. A. but in life in general. This attitude is an essential part of what makes the group work. The other part is group member participation, feedback from and to other members of the group. The group members come to group voluntarily seeking comradery and support. Some just want to talk, others listen. The whole set up is a team effort that challenges all of us toward living a better quality of life as veterans. There are some awesome things happening in this group. Its not easy to get men voluntarily to come to a group on their own accord religiously every Friday. I expect this group to grow and become an enormous support for veterans in the future across the country. I am so thankful to be a part of this group.
Do we all agree? Certainly not. We accept other points of view, become more conscious of the big picture, learn how to resolve conflict and find answers to situations and circumstances for the greater good, everyone involved. What do we take away from the group? Laughter, Knowledge, Support, Comfort, Encouragement, Humility Empowerment, Direction, Courage, Clarity and most of all Focus and Connection with each other and the environment, community we interact with. If there are other Veterans reading this post who want to find hope, have exhausted other groups, frustrated in life and want their voice heard. This could be the place for you. We meet every Friday at 11:30-12:30 at the Veterans Hospital as you go into the cafeteria. Come join us.

Hey Ya’ll lets be real about this living a balanced life. First of all we cannot do anything without God. You must know that from the start. The breath you are breathing is not yours, its on loan. Secondly, you are not what you see in the mirror. At best its a house you live in that was built by your mother and father in a natural sense. Thirdly, the way we behave is a product of what we have experienced in life and what we think we know. Which ain’t a whole lot in the scheme of life. I am a reader. Sometime I just want to consume know and understand everything from all the books I read. it’s not going to happen.

I said that to say that life is a journey and process that feels slow. I am going to use myself to demonstrate how this works. Ok, right now I am in my sixties and decided to really pay attention to how I am spending my life and everything that pertains to life. Lets examine my physical health as an example. In my formative years I was not so present or aware of how I ate and the lack of exercise effected my life. Now I am trying to get it together. I am present; believe me when it comes to how I feel when I eat and move this aged body. Looking at my body sometimes expecting it to whip in shape just cause I eat right and exercise. It does not work like that I am finding. It takes time to get a solid foot hold on putting your body in shape; especially if it has not been a practice through out your life. Those fat cell are resistant to change.  Discipline and diligence will be needed to notice lasting change. You never arrive. Meaning you do life day by day. Stay in today, do the best you can and get up and do it again tomorrow if you get the opportunity (wake up). sound simple. It really is that simple.