Leaving the religion of Suffering and A Glimpse of What is Possible

This past weekend weekend I went to a Geneen Roth workshop.  

Geneen Roth specializes in having the hard conversation about Emotional eating and body image amongst women.  She is the New York Times #1 Best Selling author of Feeding the Hungry Heart and Women Food and God.  These are all resources I use in my coaching practice and teachings.  

It was a great weekend of personal development.

When she asked what we knew now that we didn't before, I stood up and said:  Many of us have made a religion out of suffering and I'm leaving the church.

I'm always looking for problems to fix and I suppose I believe there is something noble about suffering.  I know that self imposed suffering that leads to nowhere is unproductive and will lead to a life of meaningless misery.  I've seen that story and I don't want it to become my life but yet here I am.  

I thought of a silly example:  Sometimes I go on social media to ACTIVELY find reasons to be discouraged about this , that,or the other.  I'll look for posts to confirm that I'm missing out in some way. What is the point of this?  Especially when we don't know if what people post on Facebook and other social media is even true.  

So that is my declaration:  I am losing my religion of suffering

Sidenote:  I've been on some threads on Facebook where this has even been said and the author of Ebony Exodus project even alluded to this.  

Black women have had it beaten into their consciousness that they must suffer and suffering is their birthright.  Religion and Church seems to make this even worse by focusing on all that is wrong instead of empowering women to see that they can have what God has called them to if they trust him.  They don't HAVE to suffer their entire lives and hang on til glory.  

A big part of this is not facing the truth and reality of their situation but that's another post.  

I guess that's why they need me to come out and teach them about that right?

40 Day Prayer Challenge:  Shameless Audacity

I don't think that any of this is a coincidence with the fact that during my 40 Day Prayer Challenge, we were talking about having Shameless Audacity when speaking with God.  

I believe God allows us  glimpses of what's possible so that we will keep moving forward and not let people or circumstances turn us around.

I don't think it's any accident that professionally and personally I am seeing glimpses of what I would like my life to look like.  These glimpses are NOT a discouragement.  No....they've been nothing but encouragement.

I even messaged my coach on Saturday from the workshop and told her about how it was always my dream to teach live workshops (I didn't know that's what it was called or looked like) but that's what I want to do and when I met her I put a name and a face on what it was that I wanted.  I've seen a glimpse into how it works and now I know it's possible for me.

That's why I am volunteering with her at her live events so I can learn how to prepare and run these things!

The Shameless Audacity Question

When I first started This Sacred Journey in 2013, I think I had a lot more shameless audacity than I do now.  Maybe then I was more of a "prove it to me" type so I had nothing to lose and now that God HAS proved a number of things, I'm scared of actually getting an answer..but nevertheless in this season I've decided to ask a question with shameless audacity throughout this challenge.

We will see what happens.

Still circling the prayers for my Husband that's somewhere out there beneath the pale moonlight.  Praying that he becomes the man, husband, and father he desires to be and that God has CALLED him to be. 

A Glimpse of What's Possible

At the workshop Geneen encouraged us to acknowledge the glimpse of what is possible in our lives.

I've told y'all that a few years ago I saw a glimpse of what was possible for me in my personal life and it encouraged me to stay the course of this single journey.  I said if THAT is what we are holding out for, then yaaaaas!!!  I'm here for it.

I saw the glimpse and it encouraged me to say, "Wow.  So maybe it IS possible for me!"  

In my professional life as I work with my coach and learn more from teachers like Geneen, I am starting to believe that what I want is possible.

A woman made an interesting observation during one of our eating exercises.  She said:  "[This chocolate] tastes artificial but it's better than nothing.

"It's better than nothing.  That's what we call settling," said Geneen.  "We settle for better than nothing because we don't believe we can have what we want.  We don't believe it's possible for us to have what we want."

She is so right.

How many times have I wanted to give up and quit because I just didn't think it was possible for me to really have the life that I want?  Even though I have confirmations and doors opening, I get in my own way and start over thinking everything.

I can say with shameless audacity that I do believe it is POSSIBLE for me to have what I want.  Even that glimpse?  YEP.

We are on Team Never Settle!!  In my Opinion Settling IS worse than NOTHING.

We won't settle and it will end up paying off in the end!