Growth
“Life is change. Growth is optional. Choose wisely.” – Anon
Change
Throwback Thursday
Thinking about when I lived in Newark, NJ & worked @ UMDNJ (now Rutgers) & I went to lunch w/ some coworkers… we stopped at the post office & a homeless lady was opening the door for everyone. On the way out I gave her all the change I had… 2 quarters, some nickels, dimes & about 4 pennies. As we walked away I felt something hit the back of my shirt & then I heard a “ching”. I turned around to see the pennies at my feet. She threw them at me & with the only nasty attitude said, “I don’t need yo stinkin’ pennies.” I should’ve just taken back all my change but I just looked at her like she was crazy & we laughed it off, what else could you do? Talk about #TBT Lol
CHANGE
“We must all obey the great law of change. It is the most powerful law of nature.”
~Edmund Burke~
Let People Be
“One of the most loving things you can do for another person is let them make their own mistakes, learn their own lessons & endure in the contrast of a life they don’t really want. People only really change when they’ve hit rock bottom – sometimes the most loving thing you can do for a person is to let them & be there to help pick up the pieces. Permanent change comes from within, no one can give it to you.” – Jackson Kiddard
Right The Wrongs
“We should all do something to right the wrongs that we see & not just complain about them.” – Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
The Closest Thing to Fall in South Florida
By CJ
Smile, it’s good for you!
“Smiling is said to make you more attractive while also affecting an immediate lift to your spirits & mood. Smiling relieves stress while boosting your immune system & releasing natural pain-killers. And a smile is said to make you look younger, as it lifts the muscles in the face. Some studies suggest that smiling people appear more confident & successful while others say that a smile can actually help you to stay positive while relieving depression & stress. Like I said, turn that frown upside down today — you’ll be really happy you did.” – Ellen Whitehurst
No Complaining
“Most people do not realize that as they continue to find things to complain about, they disallow their own physical well-being. Many do not realize that before they were complaining about an aching body or a chronic disease, they were complaining about many other things first. It does not matter if the object of your complaint is about someone you are angry with, behavior in others that you believe is wrong, or something wrong with your own physical body. Complaining is complaining, and it disallows improvement.” – Esther Hicks
ACCOMMODATIONS
The other day a friend posted a link about Kowloon Walled City in Hong Kong, the most densely populated place on Earth. It was insane to see these pics up close & personal.
A Rare Insight Into Kowloon Walled City
The place has since been destroyed and replaced with more supportive structures, that another friend shared a few days later. Nicer on the outside, but similar on the inside, called Battery Cells, and still the most densely populated place on Earth.
Hong Kongs Claustrophobic Human Battery Hens
We sometimes take for granted all we have, the freedoms & luxuries.
Even here in our very own US of A. What, you thought we were that special?
The Jungle – Largest Homeless Camp in US
It inspired me to write this poem the other night.
ACCOMMODATIONS by CJ Mendez
Inspired by a small space
In another country
Where we can’t relate
If you told me that I had to accommodate my life
And have a little less
So that everyone can have equal lives of happiness & success
Then I’d give up a lot
And not under a dictatorship
But mutual & all due respect
Because all this excess is just ridiculous
The polarities are so complex
And we’re never gonna manifest our destiny’s
While robbing keys from the next man on the street
Taking his money
And giving him a tax receipt
Or a refund check
Laughing our way to the bank
When we’re the ones in jest!
Today, on the way to work the first song that came up was a throwback to 1990! Tracie Spencer’s “This House” from the album Make A Difference. Of all songs.
So I looked up the lyrics & it all came together, the links above regarding how people live, the poem & the song. No coincidences, just synchronicities.
Reasons for Change
“You change for two reasons: Either you learn enough that you want to, or you’ve been hurt enough that you have to.” – Anon
CJ's InSight 