Heart Chronicles – Today’s Yesterday

I am constantly reminded that my yesterday must have been really dynamic and special. It never seems to take too long before those tasted the drug that is me find some way to return. Whether it’s the random pop up text, or the phone call out of the blue, or it’s the hey long time lets catch up. No matter what happens, there are those who just can’t seem to get enough of their fix. While on one hand I can appreciate that appetite and desire to feel that feeling, on the other hand, I have to wonder just why do they keep returning? What is really the driving force behind trying to recapture the magic that was lost.

Over the past week or so, I’ve been smacked with numerous reminders of my past and the people who have occupied time and space in it. From the fucked up ex, to the constant runner that could never fully commit. It’s been an interesting time in my world. Mixed in with the old, has obviously been the new. And what I’m realizing is that there is a reason why I say I keep the past buried. Within the past three days alone, I’ve had two people who really had a significant pull on me, back then, resurface and it didn’t go as they might have expected. In my mind today, I am not that same sweet, forgiving man that I was years ago. Life has hardened me, blackened my heart a bit, and made me far more skeptical of people than optimistic in them. It was nice having my old on again, off again flame back around for a bit. Ironically though, it was due to his return that I realized his time had truly expired in my life.

The first time he popped up, last month, it was a surprise and his question was an even bigger surprise on the surface, thinking about it now it makes perfect sense for how things kind of line up currently. No apology for the bullshit that caused the last rift that kept us from speaking for almost a year, no his question was would I be willing to fuck again. For me it wasn’t even much that I needed to think about, regardless of how I felt about his actions, his mental and emotional bullshit, the nigga had a dick that would make you melt and yo hole cream. Of course I said yes. It’s been almost a decade since I last felt all that meat and I just knew the stroke was better than it was then. I figured that the 31 year old version of him was far better. Right and wrong, the dick was good, but the stroke… ehhh left much to be desired. Couldn’t keep his dick hard after about 10 minutes and never busted a nut, though he claimed he had been close when we fucked that night before.

All par for the course if you ask me. The problem with him always centered around the truth and his allergy to being honest about shit. Our whole beginning started from a lie he told. The twisting plot that was the next 15 years revolved around his lies and bullshit. It was the moments of truth and openness that captured my heart and he seemed to know this, and throughout time, played on those strings to keep me at his fingertips. That was until 3 years ago, when I reached my breaking point with him. Tired of the lies, the hidden stories and niggas, all of it. The rose glasses were destroyed and along with it was any chance of a real Romeo and Juliet type romance. When he came back this time, it was different and I could feel it. There wasn’t talk of dating and romance, just fucking ohhhh and catching up. It was predictable what he did. He talked to me about his past, and confirmed the lie he told that last time we talked. He tried to say he wasn’t gay anymore. That he was living in North Carolina and going thru this rebirth of sorts. That he had given his life to God and he wasn’t focused on, or thinking about a relationship or men.

The biggest bunch of bullshit I had ever heard him spew from his lips. And it all turned out to be one BIG ass lie. How the fuck you gone lie like that and put it On God. Like really, how fucked up in your head do you have to be? How committed are you to holding on to someone that you’re willing to lie about your relationship, your life and your journey, just to hold on to someone. Too bad for him I didn’t believe none of the shit and I unloaded all the years of anger, hurt, frustration, sadness, and disappointment on him. The end result being the end of whatever type of relationship we had. Then August happened and we reconnected and had a good sex session, but I could tell my feelings about him were different. Instead of wanting him to stay past the overnight visit, like it was in the past, I was ready for his ass to go home. He hit me up this week to inquire about linking again. I told him we could and Friday afternoon he asked what I was doing that night. I told him nothing, he asked to fuck, I said when and he went zero dark 30 for four hours. At around 130am he hits me to say now, but I was already doing my thing and never responded til the next day.

When I responded to him and told him it’s his fault because he waited 4 hours to respond the mood changed and he began to spew more dumb ass lies that made no sense. Apparently, he’s been lying to lots of niggas out here because we’re all giving him the same responses to the lies he tries to tell. He finally realized his hold was gone and now we have no communication again. I think he would be wise to let, at least, a year pass before he opened his mouth to me again. If ever at all. The lies, disrespect and manipulative actions are dead and so is his time in my life. Reality hurts and I’m sure for him it smacked in his face, his crutch has been kicked out and away. Now he’s charming so I’m sure he will find another unsuspecting, gullible nigga to take him in and let him live with them and build a fake ass relationship, built on lies, deceit and bullshit. Sad as fuck man, a guy with so much potential, caught in his web of lies and deceitfulness. A waste of a genuine heart, due to a twisted soul and fucked up mind.

Guy number two, well he’s different in every way possible. A true sweet guy, a bottom with a fat ass, a larger than life personality and thickness that people love. The problem with him though is he’s a runner. He has been and still is afraid of commitment. For over 10 years we’ve done a delicate dance of on again, off again. After he moved away, it was always going to be difficult for us to be together because long distance has long stopped being my thing and inconsistency gets you removed from me these days. The patience I had has long since gone, and I felt it when he decided he was ready to pop up again. Pride weekend always seems to conjure up the ghosts of the past. Being with him last night wasn’t like it was in the past. I didn’t feel the romantic embers burn, there wasn’t a special moment that made me want him back. It was all circumspect. I realized that I was talking to someone who does the same dance, asks the same questions, plays the same songs and I was tired of it and him.

Sometimes, you have to let the past surface, if only to finally put it to bed. You have to see why you left it alone, and let it go away. Sure, there are exceptions to that, but most times you wind up seeing why you let it go in the first place. It doesn’t serve you in your now, and it won’t serve you in your future. If the past isn’t able to rise to the level of the present and show signs that it’s ready for the new future that your life arched towards, leave it where it belongs. In the mirror and down the road. He was never one to do anything bad to me. He never showed me dishonesty or deceit, he just has a commitment issue and that I can’t get past. I want better, deserve better and will not allow less to be my new best. While it was fun to catch up and remember the good times of days past, I felt myself empty with the whole experience. Glad in some ways he was here, so I could see that it was done and closure was within reach, and disappointed that I even allowed him to be here.

The past will always be active in one way or the other. It truly is about how you manage it and what you do with it that will determine how impactful it is in the present day and future days to come. Love yourself enough to let it go, listen to the feelings that you feel when the interactions come and pivot away from it when the time is right. Accountability, compassion, love, honesty, loyalty. These words are things that are the fabric of relationship building for me, no matter the type of relationship. Interactions with people have made these words harder to employ to all, but I’m trying. The past gets held to this standard and if they can’t be accountable for their actions, compassionate about how they treat you, love you genuinely, be honest about themselves and their lives, and be loyal to you in whatever capacity they hold, let asses go.

Heart Chronicles – Thoughts from the Soul

Sometimes in life you have to be alone with your thoughts, your mind, your heart and you have to find your way to understand what life has given to you. Often times I’ve sat and thought to myself why am I going through the things that I am and have? When I’m alone with my thoughts and feelings, I struggle to make sense of it all. Trying to get the understanding of why am I so often chosen to experience things more than I’m ready to handle? Is this really part of life, that you have to go through so many difficult times and situations, and often times alone? The variance of those you call family and the ones who show themselves to be your friends, is often times hard to comprehend as well. Life happens and paths diverge, and you see who was meant to travel on the next part of your journey with you.

See, one of things I’m struggling with at this time is why does it seem like no one wants me. I know that I don’t have it all. I’m not the wealthiest or most connected. I know that I’m no Adonis or the most gifted or talented individual, but I know that I am more than enough. I understand that I’m a damn good catch. I’m a sexy, chocolate, tall, fit, Black man. I’m highly intelligent and can mix and mingle in any environment, at any time. I work my ass off, have always taken care of home, made sure mines don’t know no lack, yet the shit still seems not to be enough. And don’t play yourself, I can fuck with the best of em. No matter if it’s slangin’ dick or being stuffed, I always make sure home is satisfied. I have a personality that is inviting, fun and a whole fuck vibe, but again people seem to only want to use that for their advantage. Yet, I see niggas that are out here doggin’ niggas and still got them on they nuts.

Even beyond the personal, professionally life isn’t where I thought it would be, and that’s mostly due to me. Because while I know that my ex really fucked up my set up, I decided to be with him, so I own part the of the responsibility as well. It’s a difficult thing not to wonder if you’re dooming yourself or if life just continues to offer situations where you don’t always make the right choices, and you have to start over again and again. Mixing in that with a suck ass personal life at times and it’s enough to make you question yourself more than once. Lies get told to you so you will let your guard down, only to be used to take from you and not give back. How many times should someone allow for these things to happen before they push back, enough being enough. Hearing enough times that it’s nothing wrong with you but niggas keep flaking, enough times that happens and it becomes about you mentally and emotionally. Top notch ass, fire dick, all around sex game lit, dynamic personality, smart ass brain and still the results circle around the same.

More than you know I want to hear I love you; I appreciate you, I’m proud of you, I support you. I want the right one for the moment, be it a minute, a month or eternity, to hold me and just make me feel the physical support I mentally need to hear. I don’t just want to share the intimate nature of holding and being held, by another man with just anyone. I know to some they may not understand, but for me sex has devolved into something that I know how to separate feelings from just sex, and I still feel this strong urge to fuck or get fuck. LOL, but being intimate, passionate and so wrapped up in someone is something that I miss and want to share with just one. Yet, it seems the one I want to share it with never seems to want to share it back. And I don’t dwell on it or wait for them to show, I move forward and live life as it comes. Hoping and yearning for that feeling sooner than later.

Even the greatest warrior needed help along the way. And there are times where I feel like it’s been forgotten that I’m not superhuman. I’m not above the need to be loved on and feel the love and appreciation of those who matter to me. Another day passes, another day spent alone, without someone to really enjoy it with. Without my best of friends and my closest of confidants to do something with. I believe it’s all for a purpose and the journey I’m taking will be for the better, but damn I would love to have an amen corner right now.

Heart Chronicles – Survival Is a Bitch

So many people don’t really understand that it means to have to survive being Black. More than that, being Black and gay, or Black and trans. Now this is not to minimize the plight of White people, because there are groups of Whites who struggle as well, but this is America and Black survival is so complex and stressful that adding the additional complexity of being gay makes it ten-fold more difficult. Most people don’t realize that once most Black men or women come out to their families they are disowned in many ways. Sometimes mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, grandparents disown them, leaving them to fight for survival on their own. Often times at ages that most of us are not really prepared to be out here on our own in this world, and you wonder why there are so many gay and trans men and women who are having sex for money. Often times it becomes an early means of survival that can become addicting if you have the right look, a big dick or a fat ass.

The truth of the matter is that we do what we have to do in order to survive because you never know who you can really trust. You don’t know who will help you because they have a genuine good spirit, versus someone who helps you because they now have power in some rights over you, they can get something out of you because they helped you. And if you’re thinking that I’m being negative or pessimistic, live in this community and you will understand that it happens more often than not. That’s a part of what causes so much distrust among the gay community. So many niggas prey on vulnerable and unexperienced gay, lesbian and trans people to the point that everyone looks sideways at each other, until proven otherwise.

I know that life and while I’m not proud of the things that I had to do, I did them in order to survive. I’ve slept with guys so I could have a roof over my head to sleep under, because I was living out of my car for a period of time. I’ve slept with men for money in order to get things that I needed. I entertained the idea of having a sugar daddy, but I could never bring myself to do it because, I didn’t want to feel like I was owned by someone else. There were many times I slept with a guy and had a fuckuationship because I needed to secure a safe place to sleep. And I’ve this same story so many times from other people I’ve talked to. I had one friend tell me that he was put out of his momma’s house when he was 18 because the man she married didn’t approve his lifestyle. Do you understand what that does mentally and emotionally to us? To tell your child you have to get out of my house because some basic ass man said they can’t accept who you are. You put a man over your own blood.

And to those parents who put their kids out of their house because of the bible, you deserve to have your ass whipped. Please read in the bible to me where it says that you should disown your child because of their sexual orientation? So, you force a child, who is not ready for the world, to have to figure out how to survive with no preparation. And we wonder why so gay LGBTQ+ people struggle with mental health and acceptance and love. You wonder why we do anything we need to so we can survive. It is directly linked to the fact that once critical members of our family turned their backs on us, we had to do whatever necessary to survive until we could establish a more “traditional” way to handling life’s challenges. So, before you judge that gay person who keeps fucking for money or whatever they do, understand that the root cause of that, most times not all, is that they were forced to figure out their survival at an age that they weren’t prepared for it. Or life hit them in a way that they had no resources to pull from, so they used what they did have, their body, to make a living.

Heart Chronicles – Alone in the Chaos

To be clear, I know that I am never truly alone, yet I feel alone so many times as the chaos of life swirls around me. As the realities of a world impacted daily by Covid continue to be felt, the loneliness felt after unexpected and unexplained disappearances by people bothers me. Sometimes I wish I could just call any of my three best friends and just vent. Expressing all the anger, frustration and hurt I feel, but feeling unable to do so for various reasons with each person. I understand that life happens, and we all have things that we must handle, but why does it always feel like when I really am at my point of needing that outlet no one is ever there. When the events are fresh and eroding at my mental the most, I can’t call anyone I need to and talk to them because they won’t answer their phones. And yes, I understand that I don’t know exactly what they’re doing, so they may have a very legitimate reason as to why they can’t be here for me, but it feels like all the time when it’s my time to lean on my support, they’re not there.

There is a trend that has been happening lately that is very disturbing to me and I’m really trying to understand why it’s happening to me at this point. Within the past couple months, four different men have engaged me in conversation towards something more than just a fuck type thing. Of these four all of them have done something of the same thing and I really have no understanding as to why. We talked daily, had good, substantive, engaging, fun conversation, or so I thought, only for them to disappear with no warning, with no explanation, with no reason as to why. All at different times within the conversation points. As I sit here today, I still don’t get it. I don’t come at anyone any way other than authentic. Yet it seems like niggas like to get a taste of that energy then disappear. I guess it’s too much? Maybe people can’t handle someone who is truly authentic and real with them. And I get it, you might say well I may think I’m being honest and real and maybe those people are seeing or sensing something else. You know that may very well be true, the only problem is because they were bitches and didn’t tell me, only they will ever know.

Despite these things happening I haven’t been able to tell my best friends what’s been happening and how I really feel. One of them is never really able to talk to me now because life has made her extremely busy. One of them, he likes to be in and out now. That is new that I’m not used to but I’m trying to have understanding for him and what he has going on with his life. Someone who has been there for me and I’ve been there for him for the past 14 years. I call and get no answer, I call again later and get no answer, I text with no response, so I let it go and deal with these thoughts and feelings on my own. My other best friend is trying to find his closure with a man who has been fucking him over for the past 4 to 5 years. Because I am a good friend and I love him dearly, I sit back and support him, but his availability isn’t the same either, so I handle my issues by myself. I am very capable of doing this, by the way, but having the ones you count on for support there to talk you through it helps so much. being alone is a feeling I don’t really enjoy, but it’s one I’ve gotten used to. Alone in the chaos.

Heart Chronicles – Unnecessary Lying

What I cannot understand for the life of me is why niggas spend so much time lying about what you want, what you looking for, and what your intentions are. It’s not really a difficult concept to understand, but it seems like people would rather lie, waste peoples time and create unnecessary mental and emotional uncertainty, all because you won’t be real with what you want. The simple solution to this is for people to be honest with themselves first, which should allow them to be honest with the people they talk to after that. If you find trouble being real, then at the very least just keep things on a low stress level situation. If you know you not ready for something real, keep it at a friend level or a fuck friend level, if you wanna know what you getting before you commit. Another thing you could do, if you’re not comfortable doing that, just stop blowing bullshit and then disappearing after. Be the man that you are and just let it be known the whole situation.

All of these options to me present opportunity for situations to end without burning a bridge that you may want to revisit one day. One life lesson I learned is that you never know when someone from your past may come back to be present in your future. And in those cases, often times you find yourself wanting to revisit things because maybe you’re in a better place with life, but you forgot how you wronged them in the past and so you don’t get that chance in the future. The main thing is, and maybe some really don’t care, you never know who could be meant for you, but you spend too much time trying to be slick or have it all your way and you lose something that could be special. Even bigger than that common respect says you should at least be upfront with someone that’s not just a fuck. One thing I respect someone for is the ability to be honest and say they just wanna fuck, nothing more and nothing less. That establishes the dynamic from the jump, leaving no room for false pretense.

Part of the reason lies are unnecessary is because you never know if the person you’re lying to feels the same way you do. In creating situations where you lie or just flat out disappear without giving any reason for what’s going on, you rob the person of knowing why you left and again create unnecessary mental pauses within the mind of someone. One of the biggest lies I hear all the time when someone wants to tell me why they’re single is because they were mistreated, abused, misused, unappreciated and fill in the blank with every negative that you can think of. Meanwhile, in your dealings with that person they’re showing you all the traits that they claim someone gave to them. And isn’t that part of the problem with lies. When you’re the one that is displaying the actions that you claim were given to you, it creates this schism that you were the one who fucked up, but you had to blame it on the others because they’re not present to refute what you said. Again, unnecessary lies, wasting time.

When you sit and spend weeks having conversation and building and bond, then you erase yourself as quickly as you showed up, it makes everything you said in those weeks feel like a lie. Because the truth is if you were true to the things you said about yourself prior, you wouldn’t have removed yourself randomly and sneakily without expressing why. I am a big believer that you should be willing to face someone when you decide you want to walk away from something that isn’t just a physical connection. The same way that you take the time and energy to start engaging with someone, is the same way you should be eager to face them and explain why you are walking away. If it’s because you’re not ready say so, if it’s because you found a better connection with someone else say so, if it’s because you got overwhelmed say so. Whatever the reason be willing to say it, because then you make someone have a feeling that they’re not worth the truth.

The worst is when you have someone speaking out both sides of their necks because the outside influences have infiltrated inside their mind. When you make a decision that you want to deal with someone, it’s not about what anyone outside y’all relationship that should be impacting what you do, it should be the two people. But, when lies are involved, you see why people keep their business to themselves. The lies can go both ways, and I’m very well aware of that, but again I believe that when you confront someone with the truth you have a much easier ability to remove yourself quickly when the truth gets exposed in the light. I don’t understand why people claim to want something, but then run the lies that waste time. If you want a person then embrace it, stop running or looking for other people give you dirt to allow you to run to your insecurities.

Lies hurt and then impact of the lies can hurt even more. Just be real with yourself at all times, and therefore, you will be real with others as well. Stop the cycle of hurt, by not contributing to someone else’s pain.

Heart Chronicles – One Sided relationships hurt

I honestly can’t explain why I feel like this all the time, but with so many friendships, relationships, situationships, people love to wait for me to do everything and then bitch or complain when I put some responsibility on them. Who the fuck really thinks that any real relationship is healthy if you don’t have consistent, equal communication? I will understand why people want to deal with folks, but you don’t want to be responsible for playing your part in the relationship. I do not accept the excuses of living a busy life, because believe me, my life isn’t just a piece of cake, but I know how to make time for the friends and important people in my life. It’s really not a hard thing to do, if you ask me. It’s something that if you really care for someone, you will make sure you make the effort necessary to let them know you care.

I’m also going to honestly say that the shit hurts too. It feels like I’m living in a time period that I don’t fit in when it comes to talking and communicating. Most people want to just do their own thing and come and go out of people’s lives whenever they feel it’s convenient for them, when in reality, the truth is it’s a fuck ass way out of having to be a real and responsible friend or lover. It makes me feel very unappreciated and that’s such an awful feeling to have. For me, I feel like if I chose to be part of your life, I owe it to you to make sure we have regular conversations. That doesn’t mean that we gotta talk every day or every other day for that much, but it does mean that we should be talking regularly enough that I’m not wondering why the fuck do I have your number in the first place.

These feelings take on even more significance when you’re a best friend or lover and the only time I can talk to you is if I text or call you first. Again, understanding that if you have kids your time is limited. If you take care of family or you have a career that demands your time, you may not be able to have routine conversation, but again that should not prevent you from communicating. I will never understand someone who says they want you, but you don’t have time to talk regularly if I’m not initiating the conversations. How can you want someone, but you can’t make time for them? Talking and making time for the people you care for are the things that are free in life to do. It’s also something allows for them to know that you are interested in them.

The worst thing that you can do is to let someone feel like they’re in it alone. It has a tendency to make that person feel smart or not important to you. The second worst thing that you can do, is to give a bunch of bullshit ass excuses and make it seem like they should always be understanding, while you take no responsibility for your lack of actions. The third worst thing you can do is ignore the concern they are expressing to you. When you do that, you’re setting yourself up for things to end on a sour note. People don’t seem to understand that most times, when someone is telling you about something they don’t like that you’re doing, or they’re telling you how what you’re doing, or not doing, is making them feel, that is their way of showing they still care about what you do. Which also means that they still care about you as well. Once that person stops talking and telling you about the situation, that usually means they’ve come to their own conclusion about things, and you might not like how it ends up.

I’m not sure who told people to start acting like they don’t have to do their part, and do it consistently, but it’s causing so many relationships and friendships to come to an end. No one likes to feel like they’re being fucked around with. So, stop the fuck shit and act like you want the friendship or relationship that you claim you do.

Heart Chronicles – Closure is like a drug

You know one of the most difficult things to do is move on from someone without having “closure.” And when you ask people what does that word really mean, you get so many different answers. That is because everyone takes closure to mean something different. You see a lot of times when someone feels a situation hasn’t had its proper ending, they will continue going back to date someone until they reach their hearts content. In my mind I feel like that means until they get their hearts broke, in one way or another. It is the thing that people chase almost as much as they chase love. Wanting to have a definitive answer as to why a relationship didn’t work out, when all signs seemed to point to the match being a long lasting one.

One of the hardest things for us to realize is that chasing closure can be like waiting to get a hit. It can be debilitating; it can be addicting and suffocating at the same time. Someone you had invested your time, energy and resources into turns you away or leaves you without much explanation and you don’t know yourself why it happened. That’s enough to make the most sane person itch for a conclusion so bad that they can’t leave the person alone until they reach the end. Also, I’ve seen the other way play to be true: the person feels that they’ve never gotten the best out of someone, and they refuse to let the relationship die until they have the relationship end on their time and in the manner they see fit. I’ve seen this scenario in action too, one of my closest friends will not quit dealing with a man who has fucked him over time and time again, rekindling the situation under the name of closure.

Closure makes people hold on to an old flame longer than they really should, because they believe that there is still something to resolve. You trick yourself into believing that you didn’t get the ending that was needed to close the book on that person, so you let yourself give them power to tear at the strings of your heart. The addiction of the desire to know that things are over and there is no hope to fix it, overpowers the rationale of looking being present in a relationship and seeing that it’s not going to work. It leaves you looking for the one thing that is a deal breaker, instead of seeing that the totality of things happening means it’s time to walk away.

The truth about closure is that you have to define what that looks like before you go seeking it from a situation. You need to know what it is that you need from that person in order to say goodbye. Or, you need to know what you need to be said to you or feel so you can peacefully walk away. I’ve had a couple of relationships where that closure was never reached, and I’ve handled each one differently trying to obtain that final chapter. In one situation, I kept that door to my heart open for him. I would never allow for the ties to be severed because I never felt that we had the time needed to decide if we could make a future together. All the while, I was missing the signs that were flashing in my face, that this was something being held onto from the past. That he knew that I was still in love with him. Time, energy and emotions went into someone who was never going to give me what I wanted and I chased closure with him for years. Feeling the high of highs when we were together, and the low of lows when he toyed with my emotions.

Finally, I had come into the present moment and realized he was taking advantage of knowing my heart still wanted him. I found my closure in thinking about all the things that had happened, and all the things that never happened. I allowed myself to make peace with the fact that he was not the one for me, and not as real as he pretended to be. The second situation I handled the complete opposite, but it’s left me with the same hole, craving for answers. He walked away from me, no reason given, no warning either. Just waited for me to leave the house and by the time I came home, just a note on my door, claiming that he was moving across the country. To this day I haven’t heard from or seen him again. I have no idea why it ended and no clues to point me in the direction of finality. And while I have not and will not search for him, it really fucks with my mental that I don’t know why he did what he did.

To someone who reads this and says what the point.. when you hung on too long you got hurt, when you let it go without trying to reach closure, you still are hurt. The point is that you have to allow yourself to be okay with not knowing why, not getting that closure and when you feel yourself thinking about the past, remember that they don’t deserve to occupy space in your mind, find the lesson from the failed relationship and move forward. Don’t let the drug of closure bog you down, keep you stuck and let you miss out on who could be waiting for you.

Accountability Compassion Honesty

Simple and direct, I apply these three words to every part of life for me and that’s how I would hope others would engage with me, but I learn every day that I can only make that the standard for admission, I can’t make people believe and live these words like I do. Now yes, from time to time there may be a need for a slight bend of the truth. Mostly when I’ve wanted to get out of work, LOL, or get out of doing something that I really did not want to do. But on the whole, the baseline practice is to be accountable to myself and others, to have compassion for the situations that happen in life, and to be honest in my efforts, my deeds, words and actions when interacting with people and myself.

All three of these traits seem to be very difficult for people to develop with consistency. It’s as if they’re allergic to practicing developing traits that would make daily interactions mostly humane and enjoyable. No matter it be relationships, friendships, or any other type of ship, being able to say that you are accountable to yourself and those people, that you have compassion for the challenges life presents to you and others, and to say that you are honest about your intentions and the words that you speak. And then we wonder why there is so much hate and anger in the country today. We wonder why people aren’t willing to extend grace and mercy to each other. You don’t understand why there is so much killing and disrespect going around. While all the answers will not lie in the practice of these three traits, I can promise you if we all practiced these things consistently and with intent, the world we live in, the country we occupy, the state we call home, the communities we inhabit would be better off, would be more pleasant to travel through.

I’ve never come across so many guys who seem to want to be part of your life but be so unwilling to be accountable to the equality needed for that to be a reality. What makes you think that you can just take and take and take, but not be willing to give back when the time calls for it. And what makes you think that lying about what you already know would make the situation any better. Accountability is something that gays struggle with mightily. Too many are worried about who can get the upper hand on who. Who can make who look more foolish than they look? Worrying about all the wrong shit, not concerned enough with how their actions make them appear in the eyes of the ones they seek partnership from. How can you be so grown, and yet so unwilling to accept the fact that part of the problem is your unwillingness to be honest, which means you will not hold yourself accountable for what you do, nor will you allow anyone else to hold you to account because you won’t accept the truth?

Then to me the biggest part that’s missing from folks is the ability to have compassion. When you know that someone is going through something that is legit, no matter how big or small it may seem to you, extending the compassion that they may not be the same person you’re use to while they figure it out is so important. Compassion takes three seconds really; it means just taking a breath before you speak. It means allowing yourself to imagine yourself in the other persons place and give the grace needed to come through it. Often times we expect people to react to things the way that we would, or to have the poise and resiliency that you may have, forgetting that life hits everyone different and if you really care about the person, you will let them handle life their way. Giving your true and honest opinion when asked, not trying to overrun their lives. And the honest part seems to really not need much explanation. Stop bullshittin people and just be authentic. Don’t lie about shit you don’t have because you want to impress someone. Don’t pretend to be what you’re not because you don’t like where you are. Trying to be real, you might find out that people are more willing to help you, or grow with you when you’re real, let them see that you might not have it all together, but you’re making efforts to try and need help. And if you think about that example, it provides an opportunity for all three dynamics to be presented. Your honesty gives the accountability, compassion and honesty that needs to be on display.

Body My Way

Most time I read health conscious blogs and articles and they’re usually trying too hard to get you to change the way you live your life. This will not be one of those types of blogs. I simply want to give you some tips and insights that may help you if you want to try to naturally have a good shape and healthier lifestyle. So don’t worry as you keep reading you won’t get brainwashed.. LOL.

One of the things that makes me happy about myself, is that I’ve maintained a relatively healthy body, especially in comparison to some of the friends I have. I’ve never really tried to be the health nut freak. I don’t avoid eating things that I like, nor do I avoid having a drink or two if I want, when I want. I haven’t stopped smoking my trees either. What I did learn to do was eat and drink the things that detox my body and keep my body healthy. Now, this will not be the perfect elixir, but I promise you when you decide that you wanna have a healthy life, you find the things that will make your body have the balance that you need to. You also will put the nutrients and necessary things in your system to keep you healthy and feeling good.

For me, I’ve always tried to make sure I get my green vegetables in my diet all the time. I was once told by my doctor to make sure to have dark green leafy veggies with all your meals. Now I’m not gone tell you that I accomplish that goal all the time, but I definitely try to make sure I hit that mark when I cook, which is usually 3 to 4 times a week. So I make sure to get close to hitting that mark. Why them greens is important is because you get the health value you need. The iron and shit that keeps your body running smoothly. It also helps to turn your insides so you have regular bowel movements. We all know how important it is to be regular. Not only from a comfort point of view, but health wise when you are regular then you’re releasing the toxins in your body. For those who may not know, a majority of your illnesses come from your body not consistently releasing those harmful substances in your body and they build up, mixing with other chemicals ingested and there you have it.

Another thing that I do, and it helps for multiple purposes, is I drink high protein smoothies mixed with berries. I learned just how important berries are to the health of the body, especially blueberries. Knowing that blueberries are superfoods, you get soo much value from having a regular helping in your diet. I make every smoothie with a nice helping of blueberries, raspberries and blackberries. They clean you out, give you healthy skin, healthy heart and plenty of energy. I also don’t eat beef or pork. Now let me be fully transparent, I’m not recommending that you stop eating the cow and the pig. I made the decision and it was the best choice I could’ve made. I felt the changes to my body once I stopped and I haven’t went through many of the physical aches and pains lots of my friends have, who do still eat beef and pork. Am I saying it’s all correlated? No, I’m really not, but I do think there is some symmetry between the two.

Ironically, for years I use to try figure out how to gain weight within my old eating habits, when I ate beef and pork and had much more carefree diet, LOL. Nothing really worked, even though my grandma use to always say she was gone fatten me up one way or the other. Truth is she couldn’t do it either. My eating habit changes, and inclusion of protein drinks and bars and eating healthier actually made the difference for me. I still eat whatever I want, when I want, but my healthy weight gains happened after I stopped eating beef and pork. After I started to have healthy green veggies on a regular basis. After I started drinking my protein shakes and after I included a high fiber, high natural berries diet. I also make sure to drink plenty of water every day. That too has been one of the biggest changes over the years. I don’t like to drink cold water either, I drink room temperature water. I learned that it helps the digestive system process better. Try it out for yourself and see how you like the difference.

Now reading this blog, you shouldn’t come away with me doing anything other than giving you some tips, advice and suggestions of what to do. I just want to make sure people understand just how changing the little things, and some big things, about how you eat can change how your body breaks down food, gets rid of wastes and ultimately, may save your life. The choice is yours and the decisions are for your mind and heart to make. Ohhhh, and a quick aside, sometimes you should meet in fresh nuts. LOL, not those kind, but walnuts, sliced and whole.

Unleashed, Unhinged, Uncontrolled

Something that I have always prided myself on being able to do was controlling my urges, and the different personalities that roamed within me. I always knew that there were different versions of me that could come out and be active, but I was pretty disciplined enough to keep them in check, until I was ready for one of them to show themselves. You know there are always different situations that happen that makes you feel as though you have to show people a different side of you. It lets them know that you ain’t the bitch they think you are. Or maybe you it to be known that you won’t be taken advantage of any longer. It could also be the case that you want your sexual freak to have his moment in the sun. All of these different personalities, and more, exist and for the longest I’ve been able to control them. Well, that’s all changed and I don’t think I have that control anymore. If I’m being honest, I don’t think I like it anymore, but I also don’t think I can control them anymore either.

As one person who has seen a lot of things, I understand that often times the personalities in our heads are created out of necessity. In order to survive, we find ways to protect our vulnerable selves or personalities from the wolves that are attacking us. Then, once those attacks are neutralized we can allow our “normal self ” to reappear. Only there are times that I feel like we never really let that person show back up. We tease it’s existence back out most times. That’s when you start seeing the representative of yourself show it’s personality more and more. You give what you want people to see and keep hidden what you don’t want people to take advantage of. I will take it multiple steps further. Once you have been exposed and hurt enough, not only do you not let the original version of you exist, you never let that person come back out. You create these different personalities of yourself to cope with the hurt, pain and anger of life and you switch from one to the next depending on the day, time and situation. Some call it losing yourself. I call it becoming unleashed. You ask me why do I use that word, because most times, the other characters you create are more sinister, devious versions of the real you.

Once the harsh realities of life start to claw away at your heart, you have to create personalities in your head in order to deal with the damage done to your mind, soul or spirit. Lose a child and see how you find ways to manage with that pain. Get your heart broken and watch how you mentally find ways to adjust to the new reality. Let someone abuse you and see the mindset you create in order to survive that ordeal and get away. Have things you worked hard to obtain taken away from you because of someone you trusted and watch how you make changes to avoid a repeat of that situation. It is the events of life that force you to create these alternate personalities to be able to handle those dark, painful moments in life. Well, what happens when you’re pushed too far or things happen too frequently and you decide that you can no longer be who you once were? Or maybe you decide that you don’t want to restrict the people who live in your head. Then maybe it’s not even a choice you consciously make. It could be that your subconscious makes the choice for you. All those thoughts and actions that you just use to think about and wonder what it would be like if you behaved in such a fashion now become reality. You are now living it out in real time. The chains that you put on the more unhinged versions of yourself are now off.

I think about how effective it has been for me to have all these personalities free roaming around now in my head. And the truth is I’m not happy with it now. There are a lot of things that have happened that have shocked me, but there are times where I feel like I’m looking down at myself and wondering what the fuck am I doing? I’m trying to figure out how the fuck did I become this reckless and disconnected from things I use to hold so true to my core? I’ve always had a high sex drive and been a freak, but damn that shit been blown of the water now. I don’t have the consistent pattern with my routine that I had before and I can’t really see why, until I think about when I was fucked over. It’s hard when the personalities are moving at once, because I feel myself thinking from those different personality points it my decisions are always so scattered as a result. And I can hear the opposing view speaking up, why don’t you get therapy or counseling? Good question, are you going to give me money to pay for that shit? Cuz them sessions are expensive as fuck and I don’t have the bank built up for that at this moment in time.

I used to think that I was just coping with life and I would get through it and allow myself to shine back through. The more time that has passed, I’m realizing that this iteration of me seems to be here to stay, and I’m actively working to find a way to change that. To control what I have unleashed is a difficult thing. Part of me wants to the genie back in the bottle, while other parts want to just continue roaring uncontrolled. I miss some of things that I now don’t seem capable of doing anymore. Finding my way back to me is tough, and the truth is, it really may never happen again.

Tell me what you think….