The Reason for the Season

The holiday time is in full swing. Shopping, company parties, Christmas songs playing, holiday movies, etc. are bringing in the holiday spirit. But in the midst of the shuffle, we lose focus on the true reason for the season. Love and forgiveness is the true meaning of Christmas. The birth of Jesus showed just how much God loved us. Each year during this time, we must emulate love and forgiveness to everyone. Without love and forgiveness we would have no reason for the holiday season. Happy Holidays!

Happiness: Choice or Option

Is happiness a choice or an option? To me, its merely a choice we have to make no matter how hard  the sacrifice is of achieving it. Every day we make choices about our lives that have the potential to change its course at any given time. Happiness is no exception. If we chose to be happy, then we are willing to make the adjustments needed to accomplish happiness at its fullest. Whether its taking a vacation, shopping, laughing, or spending time with family, happiness has to be an intricate part of our lives if we are going to move forward everyday. Negativity and sadness weigh us down preventing us mastering our goals we have set for ourselves. Today, I challenge everyone to chose happiness and not make it an option!

Family First

There is no place like home with family. Many times, family are the ones we fight with, love on, care for, and realize that they stand by you through thick and thin. Family should always be first. Families are our blueprint to life. They contain a history that runs through each of us, good or bad. They define who we are and help us know where we've been and where we are going. Family gives us DNA to health issues along with generational curses. No matter how big or how small, family should always be first!

What's Your Favorite Holiday Movie?

During this time of year, many families experience quality time through movies. Since I can remember, it has be a tradition to watch family movies during the Christmas holiday. Personally, my favorite is "Annie" the musical. Even now as an adult, I love to watch "Annie"! To sing and dance with the famous red-haired girl from the orphanage always brings me such joy. Every time I experience the magic of "Annie", I reflect back on my childhood memories and start to believe in happy endings. So, what's your favorite holiday movie?

World's AIDS Day

Today is an important day to us as a human race. Today is World's AIDS Day! Take time to get tested and know your status TODAY. Men, Women, and Children are dying due to the epidemic of this disease. Awareness and prevention is crucial in saving lives. Everyone has a part to do in saving mankind. AIDS does not discriminate. You don't have to be homosexual, African, young, old, White, rich, or poor to contract AIDS. All you have to be is sexually active without using protection, sharing needles, or infected from mother to baby transmission. NO ONE IS EXEMPT and it can happen to ANYONE. Do your part and GO GET TESTED, Educate Yourself and Others, practice Prevention, and Donate to an AIDS Organization to Help those Infected get the Care they need. Let's all do our part and definitely Let's Talk To Keep the Awareness going!

'Tis The Season

The biggest shopping season of the year has arrived! From Black Friday to Cyber Monday, retailers are finding ways to get consumers into the store. With all the gift-giving and holiday glee, let's not forget the reason for the season. 'Tis the season to bring families together, to give to the less fortunate, serve in our communities, and celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. For me, no matter what kind of year I've had, I still have enough joy to give to others. The holidays, for some, are the most depressing time of year. More suicides occur during this season, so I ask everyone to be mindful of how we treat and what we say to each other everyday. If someone is without family, invite them into yours. Love is all we need this holiday season. A matter of fact, Love is all we need all the year through!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you! As families gather and friends send a thousand texts, let all of us remember to give thanks for the good, the bad, and the difficult in our lives. Each situation in our life helps to make us a better person. Through the holidays, lets all give thanks and be reminded of how precious everyday is to all of us.

TSA says, "Please Excuse My Hands"

The TSA (Transportation Security Administration) has come under immense scrutiny for their "pat down" policy in our airports. In an effort to keep us safe, this policy was set in motion for those who did not want to do the full body scans or for those who set off the metal detectors. The controversy is more about the extent to which the pat downs have been performed. This above video is from a cell-phone camera from a passenger in the Salt Lake City International Airport. After the video was posted on YouTube and went viral,the media picked it up and ran with it. Now, more and more accusations have came out which even the President has addressed. The TSA is planning to "scale back" a bit but with the holidays approaching, time will tell. What do you think? Let Us Talk About It!

The Blame Game

Recently while having a conversation with a close friend who is a lot older than me, we got on the subject of the different generations. I feel so many older people "blame" the younger generations for the problems of today. An old saying says, "The apple doesn't fall too far from the tree". In other words, younger generations have to learn and get guidance from the generation before. The "blame" game is one of the main reasons why we can't clean up the problems of today. Cliche or not, "It takes a village to raise a child!" We all have to take responsibility for today and change it, in order for all of us to be a success in the future. We have allowed our own rationale to distort the truth about our openness of problems. Today's trouble are nothing new. Just now we have become desensitized to what's right and what's wrong. We believe that we can not make a difference or that people are not listening. We can not expect future generations to automatically fix tomorrow if we do not teach them how today. My theory is today's madness is a result of the "Baby Boomers" rebellion against their societal conditions of poverty, racism, and inequality that has put us on a path of destruction. Much like today with people "Blacks" feeling they have a "right" because our President is Black. As we continue to put blame on one another, sooner or later we will this game and will have failed generations to come.

Redefining American families

According to the Associate Press,"4 and 10 Americans feel that marriage is becoming obsolete". It also reports that ,"nearly one in three American children is living with a parent who is divorced, separated or never-married." Believe it or not, I am not surprised. With divorces in high rotation and the number of teenage pregnancies sky-rocketing, American families are definitely being redefined. Many celebrities such as Jennifer Anniston has said that she does not need a husband to raise a baby. What does view emulate for future generations? Family is the most important element in life yet we have decided to redefine it because we choose not to take responsibility for our sexual escapades. Now that's shocking! Even the Census Bureau has decided to re-evaluate how they classify family. Check out the full article http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_declining_marriage.

The Truth About Words

When we were children we were taught that "stick and stones may break our bones, but words will never hurt us" over and over again. So why do many of us have so many emotional scars that were caused by words? As I converse with others, I quickly learn how so many people were told how ugly they are, they'll never amount to anything, they're stupid, etc. Words may not physically hurt us but emotionally they are damaging the core of our existence as people. Not just the youth, but even adults deal with the mental anguish of words. Words hold power. A power so mighty that they can determine life or death to those that receive them as well as for those who speak them. Negative words bring about negative results just like positive words bring forth positive results. The real truth about words are that they do "hurt"! Until we change the words in our vocabulary,we will continue to stay complacent in our own pain created by them.

What Happened to the Sanctity of Marriage?

Marriage is viewed more as a punishment rather than a reward these days. But why? Some say it’s the encrypted messages in music brainwashing the young generation. According to a UK site IllicitEncounters.com, which has 460,000 spouses looking for boyfriend/girlfriend #2, hip hop fans are likely to cheat because of the lyrical content of the music compared to other genres. Really? I’m a huge hip hop fan and it doesn’t sway me to cheat. Whatever the unreasonable nonsense we tell ourselves, marriage should be sacred. We cannot continue to blame hip hop or music period for our social and moral issues of today. If anything, these issues have been happening way before hip hop came along. In later decades, it was just taboo to talk about them publicly. Thanks to technology and the media, visual images have plastered our undercover doings everywhere leaving us to be more accountable for our actions. Studies show that married people live a healthier, harmonious life than single people. This can be true if married people would stay at home with their significant others rather than “creep” around. When the going gets tough, the tough doesn’t get to go down the street to someone else’s house. Marriage is a job and consists of a lot of hard work which some of us are allergic to. In the end, anything worth having is definitely worth working for!

Why Are We "Waiting For Superman?"

The documentary "Waiting for Superman" by Filmmaker Davis Guggenheim is riveting and so true. But why are we waiting? Our education system has somehow veered off course over the last decade. Each year, we are losing more and more students when we are to believe that "No Child is Left Behind". But what happened? Although, fingers are being pointed at educators, WE as a whole need to take responsibility for this as well. A good education starts at home first with parents.Making the sacrifice to educate a new generation of leaders is imperative if we want to compete in this global arena.Has our society become so greedy for money that we are sacrificing the education of others to line our pockets? Even Superman needed Lois Lane to keep him relevant, just like educators need US to stand up and help them to teach our young people. If not, we'll be still waiting on Superman until he returns!

The "Life" of Facebook

America's #1 social network is Facebook. In the last couple of years, Facebook has shaped the way we communicate. In fact, its so addicting that people are ruining their lives behind it. In the news, there have been numerous reports of "Facebook followers" losing their jobs and their marriages to the addictive spell of the network. In no manner is Facebook the culprit, but having the freedom of free speech without restrictions have proved to be poisonous to some. The old cliche says, "Too much of anything is bad for you", and Facebook has proven that time after time. As humans, we need rules to define boundaries that we cannot create for ourselves. Self-restraint is thrown out the window now that social-networks have taken over. Next time you feel the urge to be free, just think about the price you might have to pay for that freedom.

C-H-A-N-G-E: We All Need It

Since we were babies, we have all changed. Some of us for the good, and some for the bad. But with the act of change comes sacrifice. The sacrifice of friends and family, our career, and sometimes even our own selves just in the sake of change.Funny though, change is inevitable and will happen without our consent at any given moment in our life. During trials and tribulations, after giving birth, in the middle of getting our education, while starting or raising a family, change will come and make us brand new. Looking back over history, change is the one thing that has kept us going. With the election of President Obama, change became a motto and hope to some. All in all, change is definitely what we need to become whole and to make a difference in the lives of others!

An Evening Worth a Million Words

Last night, I had the honor of being in the presence of Dr. Maya Angelou. She recited her poem, "I Shall Not Be Moved" in correlation to her own life and the strength of African Americans then vs. now. I have never been in so much awe in my life to have witnessed a living legend such as herself.It has inspired me to become a better woman, mother, and writer. Her words registered to me as if we were the only people in the room. Her language reminded me of my own grandmother. I realized what is missing in today's society is positive role models and devoted grandmothers. If ever in life you get a chance to meet someone who inspires you, take the opportunity to go and marvel in the life this meeting could bring!

Why Is Good Attracted To Bad?

People always say opposites attract. In most cases they do. When it boils down to it being attracted to your opposite can be a positive or negative experience. I think being attracted to what consider “bad” is a matter of perspective. Are people in the ghetto any different from people in the suburbs? Not really. The laws of attraction deal with image and desire. Often or not, being attracted to an opposite creates balance in both people lives and aids in the growth of each person. As a society, we deal too much with the stereotypes of people rather than the heart of a person. What is considered “bad” may be good, and what is considered “good” may be just as well bad depending on whose eyes you are looking through. So, why is good attracted to bad? Simply that we always want what we do not possess in our own lives and love to live life on the wild side. Let’s Talk About It!

For Colored Girls: Male Bashing or Not?

Definitely not! I think this movie is a great adaptation of the award-winning play “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When The Rainbow Is Enuf by Ntozake Shange. The poems, even though written over 30 years ago, are relevant today. I think Tyler Perry’s adaptation brings these poems to life in a modern day society where certain situations are taboo to speak about especially in the African American community. The message I gathered from the movie was nothing about male bashing but of the resilience of a woman and about how we need to be responsible for our actions and choices in life even when our love is being challenged. I, personally, saw myself in at least four of the women in the movie. As a whole, we need to start looking for the positive in things instead of the negative. Negativity is everywhere but the whole picture is the purpose of the art. The stories were about the women and how certain situations bring them together in sisterhood and in love. Men stop thinking everything is about you because it’s not! Let's Talk About It!

Are Women A Weaker Sex?

Absolutely not! In fact, we are the most revered creature in the world. We are a reflection of God’s beauty and hated most by the enemy. That’s why everyone loves a woman and why everything is built to protect us. Have you ever heard that when you are weak, you are strong? At our so-called “weakest”, we muster up the strength to self-examine ourselves to forgive in our hearts and grow! Women are God’s most prized possession. He speaks to our hearts. We were designed to bring forth life, nurture the world, and help others. I realized to whom much is given, much is required. To me, that is the life of a woman! We are not weak, just stronger than the rest! Let's Talk About It!

Why Men Cheat?

Honestly, people (not just men) cheat because of insecurities and immaturity. There is no definite answer to this question.Even if we feel we are "good" to them, the word “good” is open to interpretation for some people. No one is exempt from being cheated on. Unfortunately, we have all cheated on or been cheated on at some points of our lives. You sometimes get back what you put out(karma). Cheating is a game most of us play when we feel inadequate about ourselves in some area of life. I concur that statistics show that men primarily cheat more than women but I feel it’s universal depending on what stage of life a person is in. No man has ever given a valid reason as to why they cheat but neither has a woman. Cheating is about self. The “self” need to satisfy personal gratifications that the cheater feels isn’t being met or will be missed during commitment.What do you think? Let’s Talk About It!

Let Us Talk About Us

Let Us Talk About Us is a blog created for people to chime in about our world and our issues as people. It is not designed for one particular race, creed, or color but to bridge together people from everywhere. It is a place to get answers about each other for each other. No matter who you are are where you are from, we provide a place where you can communicate freely. Although we have freedom of speech, negativity will not be tolerated and RESPECT is a MUST! Communication is a two-way street designed for us to speak and listen collectively about our likes and differences. I welcome you to, Let Us Talk About Us! Email your questions to letustalkaboutus@yahoo.com and we'll post them and give you an answer. Afterwards, others can comment about whether they agree or disagree or give insight about their perspective. Everyday new question answered by a new perspective!