Strength and Belief

 

 

Strength and Belief
 

In life we all as humans encounter problems and hurtful times. The issues of life can often times get us down, to the point we’re unsure if it’s possible to rise back up. Many times we hear “only the strong survive” which has some truth in it, in battle the weak one often times loses and the stronger one wins. In life the issues become our battle so if we choose to be weak the issue will get the best of us, but if we remain strong we will overcome. I myself have been in many battles spiritually, mentally, and physically.

My physical battles have come from fights in early childhood. Growing up in my neighborhood you had to be strong, ready to fight, and you better win. Every corner I turned it was a potential problem that would end in fighting. Those that where the weaker links got treated like peasants. I got respect growing up because I could fight. I have fought and still fight a lot of mental battles because of the neighborhood I grew up in. age seven I saw drug dealing, fights, prostitution, car jacking’s, killings, and  literally remember ducking in my on home while bullets rip through the walls and refrigerator.

Being in prison from the years of 19 until I was 22 made me mentally stronger in numerous of ways. Don’t think just because someone is in prison that their mind wants to be. I had to check my emotions mentally and cause them to go on chill. What I mean by that is I had to teach my emotions how to feel in order to maintain my peace of mind. Naturally a human will miss their natural habitat of having freedom. When you miss something and can’t have it, you will start to stress and get frustrated. I missed being free, missed my family, and missed control over my life. I had to be mentally tough and focused on day to day activities like working out, reading, learning from my surroundings in order to not focus on the missed feeling of being free. I was forced to deal with the fact I will be free again someday and no matter how bad I wanted to be free in that moment it wasn’t going to happen. I had to be mentally tough and learn how to look at the bright side of things. I have seen many people behind that 100 foot wall in Atlanta federal penitentiary not remain strong mentally and crack. Those who have known of that done so hung themselves, fought guards, end up in mental institutions, and just give up their sense of self.

Spiritually I fight battles daily because the enemy doesn’t want to see someone like me coming from the hood and a life of crime make it out. The enemy would rather me stay trapped doing his work instead of the work of God. I am grateful to admit that God has blessed me with the opportunity to motivate and inspire others to live a more positive lifestyle. If more people in the city of South Bend are putting the guns down and picking up an educational book instead; than the enemy is upset about a soulja joining the army of positivity rather than being in an army of negativity. So the enemy sends all his tricks and tactics at me daily. Some of the tricks work and I sometime slip but I choose to reach for more and keep reaching higher no matter what. The reason I picked this picture because at one point of time in my life I didn’t believe I could be more than my horrible environment.

I know Strength doesn’t come from what you can do. It comes from overcoming the things you once thought you couldn’t.
Credit Giving to "50 inspirational images"
http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=50+inspirational+images&qpvt=50+inspirational+images&FORM=IGRE 



My Early Stages

Growing up at age 7 i witnessed sitting on my front steps a man get shot and killed for his Phoenix Suns Starter jacket pullover. I truly set there stunned until my older brother came outside picked me up and brought me in the house. That moment always replayed in my mental to never get caught off guard and always stay ready in this violent community. Having guns,drugs,sex,crime,and pain at my finger tips daily gave me rightful reasons to become a product of my environment. At the age of 29 I have spent my last 7years of my life dedicated to motivating others to come out of a "deathstyle" and  into enjoying a real lifestyle.

The Spread

 The Four Bad's causes people to develop a mentality that leads them to ultimate destruction.
Bad Examples
Bad Advice
Bad Information
Bad Instructions
The four "bad's" collectively lay down a pattern for kids to follow after that causes them to have a very destructive attitude and negative outlook on life. A 6 year old being shown how to cuss people out with slang phrases like "shut the F-up you not my daddy trick" will think that's how one is supposed to talk. Picture a child running home from the park to his older brother saying "I just got pushed off the swings by this other kid" the big brother says "you should of got up and hit him in the mouth but here, take this rock, go back up there, and bust him in his head. You don't let nobody punk you for nothing at all, ok?" Now the kid knows its ok to cause harm to anyone that try's to "punk" him and its all fair to use a weapon that could possibly kill him.
So right there this kid is receiving bad advice, bad information, and bad instructions that develops a destructive mindset. This is killing our kids daily and keeping our society infected by this fast spreading disease called HIV which is Hood Infectious Virus. My position in the community and as a leader is to take action in bringing awareness of this illness and a solution/treatment to the problem.

Violent Side Affects

Input Thursdays


We all in this Nation in some way are affected by the violence in our community. Rather what we continuously see on the news, what  we hear in music, see on television, what our kids get exposed to, and what some of us see daily. Violence will cause some to not feel safe driving to the grocery store, some to be addicted to the violence in the community, and some just truly not care about it and are numb to it. This issue of violence is at an all time high, its because we go about it the wrong way. We must approach the issue like a Doctor would a sick patient. It is a highly contagious disease that is spread easily like a common cold. I myself was once infected with this disease that almost caused me to lose my life either to a long term prison sentence or a life time commitment to a casket. The following link is a prime example of how this epidemic disease is spread.
I

http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/police-woman-shot-killed-by-man-she-rejected-at-detroit-hall/28976620

To summarize the link above, a man gets rejected by a woman he attempts to talk to in the mall. He tried to talk her into issuing out her number to possibly meet for a date. The Man got so angry, hurt, and felt disrespected that he chose to respond with violence. People are sick and have a hard time dealing with pain. This is what I consider to be emotional residue which is anger, fear, and pain. If not dealt with properly pain mask itself in Fear which leads to alcohol, drugs, sex, depression and the list goes on, Pain also mask itself in Anger which leads to violence and murder. This something we must teach people how to deal with because majority don't know. In the movement I belong to called MadeMen we teach our youth to immediately separate yourselves from everyone and go to your room and Blezz up which is have a talk with God in other words pray. Then call someone like mind in quality or one of our mentors. We personally go deal with them whenever they call in person or over the phone. That's one step that we teach them that to my knowledge works because it keeps me very busy with phone calls and house visits and not from the same teens. Not just teens but everyone needs to learn that violence is not the answer to your problems because it causes more issues. Based on what we consider the 4 Bads like Bad Advice, Bad Example, Bad Instructions, and Bad Information our people remain lost until they can become aware of the illness of violence, be healed from the illness, and adopt a new way of dealing with issues.

http://stayaliveandfree.org/
Alive and Free movement is originated out of California and it is geared toward treating this Illness of violence. Check this link out as well if you desire to see a positive movement in place to motivate and encourage others to do better.

http://www.thehotline.org/2014/10/how-i-seedv-crayton-webb/ This is another blog site that speaks about the Illness of violence in men against women.