You CAN do something
Be a light for others.
It’s all good and well to post memes and quotes about right action and helping others less fortunate or capable…
But it’s another thing to take action and actually help.
No dollar is too small, only the one not given.
No kind word is useless except for the one not spoken.
No donation of clothing, socks or blankets goes unnoticed except for those shivering on the streets or in poverty without receiving them.
Anything you give matters to the one in desperate need of it.
Memes alone don’t keep people warm, they don’t protect children or donate on your behalf.
Please take the small amount of time it takes to ACT on the topics you talk and post about.
There are so many ways you CAN make a real difference, right now.
BE for others the hands you’d want most in your life if it were your time in need.
There is no separation, no “other people’s children” or “other people’s struggle”
You can’t do it all but you can do something.
Do that something now.
Together, giving what we can, where we can, we stand for all.
Be your integrity not a meme of it.
Forward we go,
Dr Lynika
#liveyourlife #blogger #newblogpost
Roll the dice a hundred and one
It’s ultimately not about losing or winning, it’s casting your roll again and again.
That’s where you’ll find yourself breathing the fullest, that’s where you find yourself living out loud.
No matter what happens, get up and roll again…
As Rumi said – “Your life has been a mad gamble. Make it more so. You have lost now a hundred times running. Roll the dice a hundred and one.”
You’re not broken, you’re wounded and therein lies your key.
Being ‘broken’ is a sadly common phrase, too easily picked up and worn like a final statement.
The truth is you’re not broken. You’re wounded. And realising this makes for more self compassion, more recognition of the places that need healing.
And ultimately realising you’re wounded instead of broken, gives you the key to knowing what you need right now, right here, this moment and then the next.
Being wounded offers a trail instead of a dead end.
It offers hope instead of finality.
And most of all it offers validation for the things you have faced and are facing.
When something is ‘broken’ it’s no longer of use, it usually means discarding and finality.
When something is wounded, it warrants care and tending.
It invites understanding, support, hope and patience. Most importantly from yourself to yourself.
The key is in owning the wounded self, it’s in hearing what that self needs and where it needs it most.
In time the wound becomes the key that leads you out.
I see you.
Keep going.
You matter.
Your Story Matters
Stories are bridges where we can meet, a light for those walking behind us on the path, and our legacy to the world. Your story matters. Dr Lynika Cruz
Sometimes life calls us to take unplanned yet vital journeys into necessary self care. Shock and bereavement from sudden, multiple losses in my family took me into one of these journeys over the past months.
Those who know me personally or through my work, know I advocate, validate and honour the need for grief, privacy and space for all. Self care is imperative, it is no different when that grief is my own.
Most recently (a few short weeks ago) I lost one of the most beloved people in my life. He mirrored very much the heart I have for this world. We were twin like in that way. Having a birthday (both his, and mine soon) without him, highlights the great space he held in my life and I want to honour that space for a moment here.
He was a gifted singer/musician and incredibly intelligent, loving man, his songs and conversation, his great love for me and this world live limitlessly in my heart and thoughts.
I am blessed to call him my brother, he was my first hero and remains a hero. For all he endured he continued to love deeply and give to others however he could throughout his pain and illness, he was one of the most selfless people I have met.
I have always said life is here and now, this moment right here is our life. More than anything loss is a reminder to live wide and deep in each moment we have. I’ve spoken often on how each moment is also a new years eve. Again loss reminds us to claim and own ourselves, our moments, our lives.
My brother was young, the moments we had together too brief, I cherish each moment and rise with grace and dignity in honour of those who didn’t get the chance to be here long or long enough.
This moment right here, right now, this is your moment, the most precious one you have, love and own them all, stay as present as you can and relish any you get to share with another. There are no time guarantees.
Live out loud.
Live while you’re alive.
Love to you all.