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“Whatever you are physically… male or female, strong or weak, ill or healthy—all those things matter less than what your heart contains. If you have the soul of a warrior, you are a warrior. All those other things, they are the glass that contains the lamp, but you are the light inside. “(Cassandra, Clare: Clockwork Agel)

*These next few posts are inspired by those of you who are struggling in this thing we call life, those of you who have clinical depression, bi-polar or any other mental illness. This is also for those of you who have experienced some form of trauma, those of you who feel lonely, and those of you who feel misunderstood. Whatever your vice is, I’m here to remind you, YOU ARE PRECIOUS, BELOVED AND ORDAINED FOR A GREATER AND BETTER PURPOSE! PLEASE DON’T GIVE UP! JOY AND PEACE DO COMETH IN THE MORNING!

HAPPY NEW YEAR BELOVED! We are three weeks into the New Year and I can’t help but infuse myself in the deceptive mask of the New Year. It’s similar to the smell of a new car or the smell of a new born. It’s beautiful because it symbolizes a new beginning, a new chapter, a new leap into the future. To a certain extent, this reigns true about the New Year. Although you made it to 2016, the problems of 2015 will still follow you into this year; in addition 2016 will bring with it, it’s own challenges and tribulations. So then what do we do about this? How do we keep our heads above water? How do we encourage ourselves? How do we stay positive while people and the environment around us, just keeps eroding our crowns?

Well the answer is pretty straightforward. The key is to jewel your crowns. I’m sure you are all sitting there wondering what I’m on about. Well, whether you believe in creationism, evolution, the big bang theory, we are born with an enormous and picturesque crown, filled with unique jewels. That crown is your essence, therefore your eternal truth!

During your formative years, your parents or guardians are meant to mentor you into believing in yourself, as well as teach you how to combat the various demons and challenges you will be faced with during your lifetime. This level of self-awareness, self-definition, self-validation and confidence should be formed and developed within your formative years, so that by the time you enter adulthood, you are not a feather being directed by the wind. However, even with the right amount of mentor ship and the correct support system, life can still throw you under a bus and shatter everything you know and believe, about yourself and the world.

In addition, not every single human being is fortunate enough to receive the right amount of mentor ship or any mentor ship from their parents or guardians. This forces these individuals to develop their shock absorbers, self-confidence and self-awareness elsewhere. Trust me, this is never easy, neither is it attractive. So given that we are all experience some level of hardship and fighting our own demons, why don’t we raise each other up? Why don’t show compassion rather than judgment and cynicism?

In the next couple of weeks, I will attempt discuss the various ways our crowns are eroded and potential ways to reverse this cycle. Some of the blog posts might seem rather radical and others might seem pretty obvious. In any case, my main aim is to encourage those of you struggling and also to a certain extent educate many of you about depression and other mental illnesses.

In addition, I have also started a #100daysofencouragement #withmisb on Facebook and Instagram as form of daily encouragement. PLEASE FEEL FREE TO FOLLOW ME AND LETS START A REVOLUTION!!

Lastly, I want to emphasize that I am not a mental health expert, neither I’m I licensed life coach, however in the last few years I have fought a good fight with depression, PTSD and various kinds of trauma. Thus I have acquired enough experience and knowledge to be able to impact you in some way. That said, I want to really use this opportunity to tell those of you struggling with mental health, trauma or any other illness, no one has the right to tell you how long your recovery should take. No one has the right to demean you emotions or experiences; AND NO ONE HAS THE RIGHT TO DEFINE YOU. LIKE I SAID IN THE BEGINNING YOU WERE BORN WITH A PRECIOUS JEWELED CROWN, NEVER LET ANYONE REDEFINE IT OR ERODE IT.

Gonna leave you with one of my favorite songs. ENJOY :0)

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“There was never a night or a problem that could defeat sunrise or hope.’’ (Bernard Williams)

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard the above saying throughout my life,  and how much it used annoy me, yet I had no idea what it really meant, until very recently. The first time, I really heard it, was the year I was raped. Someone said:

“Maryanne, no matter how dire your problems seem, the sun will always rise and set, that should give you comfort!”

This really infuriated me. How in the world was this supposed to comfort me, let alone anyone else?

To be honest I lost my cool and gave that person a piece of my mind. In my opinion that had to be the most condescending thing I had heard. I mean, if you really think about it, what does it even mean, when someone says the sun will always rise and set?

Were they trying to say that my problems weren’t big or important enough?

In hindsight, I not only understand what Mr Williams meant, I’m a walking analogy of all the different variations of his saying. Why you ask? Keep reading and I’ll tell you.

Problems are just bumps in the road, they are not everlasting: Anyone who has ever experienced hardship, trauma and to some extent depression, can attest to this. When you’re in a jam, you feel as though the world is about to end and there is nothing you can do to stop it. You forget the good times and only focus on the conundrum you’re in. I’m here to tell you that whatever it is you’re going through, it too will pass. It may not pass today, or tomorrow, or next week, or next month, but it definitely will pass. It took me 6years to overcome the trauma of being raped, but I overcame it. It wasn’t easy and to be honest, you never really get over something that traumatic, but you learn to stop letting it rule and define your life. So like Mr Williams says just as sure as the sun shall rise, so will you overcome you’re problems!

Sunrise means hope: Beloveds, every sunrise brings with it a new beginning and a dazzling ray of hope. I know when you’re in the midst of a difficult situation you lose all hope, especially when you are depressed, you’re overcome by despondency; but the truth is you are not alone, we all go through this feeling but as long as you keep fighting, there is definitely hope. In fact to be honest, it doesn’t matter how horrible the situation is, or how depressed you are, there is ALWAYS HOPE. Let me say that again, THERE IS ALWAYS HOPE.

Secondly, I know from experience when you’re depressed you beat yourself up about opportunities you missed or opportunities you wasted. You convince yourself that you messed up too much, that there is no way you will be able amount to anything, or get into that program or get that job you want, because you don’t deserve it. The truth is, never doesn’t exist, it only exists in your vocabulary. The minute you grace yourself with a little bit of forgiveness, you start to realise how powerful and strong you are. You begin to see that ray of sunshine and hope.  Alas! That sun rise you’ve been longing for and were too scared to ask for will help you overcome the darkness in your soul and mind’s eye; just like the sunrise, you’re greatness and destiny can’t be hidden forever. It may take you a little while longer to see it and acknowledge it but once you’re sun rises it can never be subdued!