Dealing with finances has always been stressful for me. I’ve always envied those who could face their money head on and make it work for them. Of all of the Torres5, my little sis is the one who is the most financially literate. One of my BFFs, Angie, is also good with dealing with money and, as I asked her for help in learning how to save and invest my money, I ended up laughing out loud with some of the things she came out with.
All I remember telling her was, “if someone would have broken it down like that to me back in the day, my life would have been totally different…seria millonaria!’
I’m kind of afraid to learn how to save. Especially as I have been living at the bare minimum as I try to establish my business. But as Angie told me, “my mom managed her money really well, y eso que trabajo en el fil!” We all know that working the fields is one of the hardest jobs that exist; field work is also one of the lowest-paid rarely with any benefits. And here we are, making likely more money than field work, and all up in debt.
I was laughing so hard at Angie’s common-sense way of saving and mad at myself because I couldn’t write it all down! (as I was driving), I will present some of Angie’s straight-up saving tips from time to time. You will see that learning how to save money requires commitment to the bigger picture, being there for yourself, not letting yourself down and, more important, living within your means. Aaaay!
It may help you to write out in detail what you want to save that money for: a new car? a house? Pay off outstanding bills? Whatever your goal, write it out. As my business is seasonal, I’m right in the busy season now, and my slooooooow season is during the latter part of the year, so I’ve decided that I’d like to start my 4th Quarter Fund, to help me keep afloat in October/November/December.
Now, you’ve got to figure out how much money you need to survive each month – rent, car, gas, phone, insurance…only the things you need to handle on a regular basis. Add it up.
After you get your check, pay yourself. Pay yourself, how? Pay yourself the amount that you designated as what you need to live on each month. Any extra amount, even if it’s $5 or $10, start saving it. You don’t really need it right now because you just paid your bills, right? This is where the committment comes in.
Angie’s take on the matter – ‘it’s so easy! Look at it this way: I can go to Nordstrom pero tambien alli esta la Ross!’ LOL In other words, economize. You can find cool clothes, housewares, and in my case purses at discounted prices at Ross or Walmart or even the ‘segunda’ (Goodwill). You don’t have to completely deprive yourself of nice things, but ask yourself, ‘do I really need to spend this much?’
Another way to check your spending: get all of the receipts together of everything you buy, and add up those receipts where you bought fregaderas/yonque/juzguerias/stupidass things that you didn’t really need then or now. I did that and found that my receipts showed the following in this order: gasoline, fast food, Starbucks, groceries. Not proud of so much fast food and Starbucks so I now see where I can cut back.
I asked Angie if it gets easier once you start, YES was her answer. The biggest benefit was the freedom from worry, why? 1) Your bills are paid and 2) slowly but surely, you are working toward the larger goal of financial freedom.
TRY it, do it for you, you can get your finances back in order, one coin at a time. We are too smart to be this stupid when it comes to money.
Sunday afternoon. A very hot Sunday afternoon. I decide to head to the beach with some of my familia.
As we got to the exit on the freeway, I was envisioning that I would only have to make two right turns off of the freeway and we would be on our way to the beach. I have gotten off of that exit and made those two right turns thousands of times.
On this Sunday, however, there was construction all over the place and, instead of doing my two right turns, I would have to venture into another very familiar neighborhood, in order to get to my desired street thru town. As soon as I drove onto that very familiar street, I started doing something that I just do not do EVER: I started biting my nails and biting the skin on the sides my nails. I said nothing as I “calmly” got the car thru town and to the street I needed to get to. As we were driving, my sister asked me how close were we to his house. Turns out that we were two or three blocks away. Sooooo much had happened within that 3-block radius. Every time I think that I’m over it, something random takes place to remind me that, while I’m good, I’ve got a little way to go.
As sisters do, this girl noticed my sudden and almost-vicious biting of the nails a few moments before. I was just as surprised as she was and remember saying, “I never do this, huh?!” I was physically reacting to some of the crazyass things that went down on those very streets, when I still felt powerless, dressed in misery, trying to act like all was normal and ok. Only thru counseling was I able to discover that PTSD is real. PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) can hit anytime, anyplace, or any way. These are called PTSD Episodes. People associate PTSD with being in combat or in prison. I may not have been in the military at war but fight a battle I have, and I may not have been incarcerated but I never felt free until I started dealing with my life. Everyone experiences PTSD in a different way.
The symptoms can include scary nightmares, flashbacks or dissociation (acting/thinking as if you are living the trauma all over again), you might worry that you are going crazy. The problem is not that you are crazy. Rather, the problem is that you have anxiety because of a traumatic event that you have experienced. (Anxiety BC: Self-Help Strategies)
PTSD and Anxiety go hand in hand. Anxiety is a normal and adaptive system in the body that tells us when we are in danger. This means that dealing with your anxiety NEVER involves eliminating it, but rather managing it. Anxiety can become a problem when our body tells us that there is danger when there is no real danger. (Anxiety BC: Self-Help Strategies)
Where I could usually get thru a PTSD episode by crying, writing in my journal, saying things like “calmate, todo esta bien” or asking GodJesusVirgenOfG for help; I did NOT want to ruin the mood or frighten my TorresBabies who were all excited to be on a road trip with their Nina. I guess that, unconsciously, my stress and discomfort had to come out SOME way.
There are 5 strategies for getting yourself back together when this type of anxiety hits:
#1: Learning to calm anxiety by slowing down your breathing
#2: Learning how to calm your anxiety by relaxing the muscles in
your body
#3: Grounding techniques
#4: Getting back into your life
#5: Facing your fears
Calming down and breathing deeply will help you immensely if you are in levels #1 and #2.
I was, however, in level #3 during this episode and the best thing is to ground yourself: keep your eyes open, focus on the present, and describe where you are, what you see, what you feel at that moment: I was driving, eyes open, felt my hands on the wheel, the sound of the turn signal, the color of the red light when I was stopped, the color of the green light as I moved forward, the sound of the GPS chick telling me where I should turn. I know the area very well yet felt the need to put on the GPS to navigate out of there as soon as possible, breathe, breathe, breathe. I could feel my mind and body struggling for those eternal 10 minutes. My fingers were in pain after I tried to chew them off minutes before. It was a trip to watch myself try to eat them off. Should an episode happen to you, however you decide to ground yourself, remember to take in and describe everything around you at that moment. Just taking stock will calm you immensely.
Once I got to the beach and helped get everyone situated. I went straight to the edge of that beach, put my feet into that water, felt the cool water calming me down, watched and felt the waves go back and forth, breathed in the ocean air, and got myself right again. Thank you GodJesusVirgenOfG.
It’s been all about lotion on my hands today to soothe the rough parts and cuts. I’ve also spent the day counting my blessings. Here’s to learning how to face my fears. It’s easier and less painful than trying to chew my fingers off.
Took one look at this lonja and realized that I was way off of my wagon. Last week was my birthday week so I decided that I would have “just a little bit of soda” and “just a little bit of ice cream” – not one day, but almost the entire week.
The combination of crazy heat and my birthday week were conspiring against me LOL. While I have been doing great, my daily exercise has been inconsistent. Add to this, people are starting to notice that some weight is coming off…no reason for me to get all volada and cease almost all activity, but get all volada and cease I did.
It’s so easy to self-sabotage your efforts by doing what you should not be doing: not taking care of yourself health wise. I was so angry last night when I ordered that soda, I drank it but without much joy. I was also disappointed in myself for trying to open doors that must remain closed in my life: people, situations, unhealthy food, talking myself out of working out.
It’s like I got all volada with things running smoothly and then there I go, dandome en la madre a cada paso, shooting myself in the foot. Like an alcoholic thinking he can handle one drink no problem, like a drug addict thinking that he can handle that extra hit, some things are better left alone. It’s like I forgot that I’m on a journey, not at my destination.
In order for me to get back on my proverbial wagon, I need to remember that I decided to make many changes in my life for the better. Soooo much good is right around the corner and I have to walk through this insane discomfort of actually getting what I want finally. It’s easier to take myself back to that place where nothing was going right, where I was unhappy, unhealthy, living in fear and misery. It was my “comfort zone” for such a long time. Part of welcoming positive situations, projects, and people into my life involve me actually taking care of myself, instead of giving others my time, energy, money and my nervous system.
Health Challenge officially starts on August 1st. Just enough time for me to get myself back in gear.
After I eat the last lil bit of chocolate ice cream in the freezer…
>>A note about my #52essays2017 challenge of writing one essay per week this year. I am at Week 30 and very proud that I have been able to keep up with the writing. In fact, I’ve written more in this year than I have in my entire life. It has been this particular writing challenge that showed me that I was indeed able to commit to something, anything. The confidence gained by keeping this writing commitment has started the ball rolling in fixing other areas of my life. For this I’m grateful to Vanessa for accepting my into the #52essays2017 challenge and I’m grateful to GodJesusVirgenOfG for putting the right people, situations, and projects on my path. I’m learning how to take care of myself finally. Let’s see what life looks like at Week 52.
Stopped dead in my tracks when I heard one of the songs of one of my past lives. When all was beautiful, cool, love all up in the air. I love music so when a song randomly comes on that gets me, I do what I did today: stopped working, looked straight at my computer monitor, closed my eyes, shook my head in the good way, thinking back to the great times that I associated with the song.
Then, after the song was over, I opened my eyes, and shook my head again, this time with lips pursed, because I then reminded myself of how bad things got, and how there was no way to go back to that romantically awesome time. Ever.
There are very very few songs from the soundtrack of my life that will take me back in an instant and render me senseless for a few minutes. Where I’d get all nostalgic and volada in the past, now I go back in time for roughly 3 to 4 minutes, the length of the song. Going back to the land of “what if”, “maybe it will work out”, and “let’s try again” is no longer an option. I’m more than ok with that.
Regrets? Maybe a little, but not enough to make me walk that road again. And, like any good music, I never skip to the next song, I always listen.
“You will never leave where you are until you decide where you’d rather be” –Dexter Yager.
Great quote. Once I read it, all I could say was ‘yup’.
I spent so much time moaning and groaning that I wanted to make a change in my life for so long and that’s where it ended. I decided to open up my mind a little and imagine what my life could be like. There’s no way that I was going to be destined to feel as if I were a failure because of bad judgement or stupidass decisions.
I’ve been reading “Imagine Big” by Terri Savelle Foy. I really like her exercise for starting your new life. Live as if you already have everything you want, write down 20 things that you want to do, be or have. I’ve only gotten that far in the book 🙂
Last night, I decided to write down my 20 things…it turned into 30 and, even then, I thought of a couple more as I was on my drive home. It’s funny, I started out very brief, ‘I want to pay my bills’ and at the end I had such detailed descriptions of what I wanted. It was very liberating to write all of this stuff down and, as I looked back on it this morning, I saw that if I changed the order a little bit, that I could see a road map for my life.
For so long, I could not visualize past my own four walls. I was existing and letting life happen to me – well, regular readers of this blog know what a straight-up disaster that turned out to be. I’m grateful that I have been able to get back into the driver seat of my life.
You become 42% more likely to achieve your goals and dreams, simply by writing them down on a regular basis. –Dr. Gail Matthews, Dominican University
Writing goals down is so powerful. Thinking about them can overwhelm and sometimes leave you stuck. Writing starts the ball rolling, opens up your brain, and moves you into action by setting goals. I journal a LOT and, from time to time, I go and read past entries, and I’m always stunned when some of these goals actually happen! It’s like I write down what I want or need and GodJesusVirgenOfG and the universe conspire to help me fulfill these dreams.
Try it. For the next 7 days, find a journal, laptop, piece of paper, and write down your goals/dreams in 4 key areas of your life:
Health & relationships
Love & relationships
Vocation
Time & money freedom
Remember to think as big and bold as you like, write down what you would love to happen, not what you think you can have or what seems possible now, open your imagination, no matter how crazy it sounds.
Things may not change right away but the one thing that WILL change is you. You will have a clear set of goals and dreams and you begin to have a stake in your own future, you start being aware of opportunities in front of you, your focus starts to get more serious than just randomly thinking about what you want.
I noticed the difference RIGHT away, so many opportunities for me to think about that it’s almost overwhelming. I know that I will not be able to do everything and that it will be hard to let some things go but where, only a few short months ago, I was hopelessly stuck in ‘whys’ and ‘what ifs’ and ‘I can’ts’, it is great to know that there is life after sadness and that it’s up to me to do my part to make it happen.
I just wrote down my goals last night so it’s too soon to share them with anyone but it will be fun to look back at my journal and see that I have finished what I started!
It’s Sunday afternoon, between one and two in the afternoon, and, as I sat down to eat my lunch, I looked down at my plate, glanced at the TV, and looked out of the window, I had to smile, then I had to laugh.
I am eating mac and cheese, watching some movie on Turner Classic Movies, and enjoying the breeze from the window on this hot day. Why is this funny, you ask?
This is so something Mama would do.
This is Mama’s time of day.
This could almost be her sitting here eating her favorite macaroni and cheese, watching one of her classic movies and looking out of her window. As I sit here, I can hear myself asking her, “Mama, what do you feel like eating?” if she didn’t know, I would read off a list of her favorites…fruit and cottage cheese, tostadas, mac and cheese, salad…and 9 times out of 10, it was mac and cheese.
The breeze from Mama’s window is the BEST in all of the house. I remember, many times, how Mama would give a little sigh when we would open her window as she sat in her chair or was in her bed. At first, I was completely mortified that a hospital bed would take residence in the living room – especially when Mama had a perfectly good bedroom. Now I get it, the great breeze and being in the living room allowed Mama to keep calm and cool, to stay connected in her part of the world, and to live life with all of us instead of being holed up in a room in the back, in the back where the window was higher up and with no breeze.
This was the time of day when Mama would really rest. It was usually quieter, and once I opened all of the windows in the house, the breeze would kick in, and she could relax and sleep knowing that one of us was in the house. Even now, when I notice Mama’s time of day, I try to keep things quiet JUST in case she wants to stop by and visit us.
The day the folks came to take her bed away, the big sister in me kicked in when I saw my siblings faces filled with sadness. I made them bring in a table that minute so that I could set up a table with Mama’s pictures and things. We still have that table all of these months later, the table is right against Mama’s window and my sister changes it and blings it up throughout the year. Mama’s chair is in the exact spot where her bed was right next to her nightstand. If you sit in this chair facing the window, it’s all about “aaaaah” the minute that breeze hits your face.
As a family, we did everything for our mother and, for the most part, this family has decided to mourn “happy” – we miss our mother so much and we like her right there in the mix with us as we go about our lives. It is very comforting knowing that, in some way, she is still in her favorite spot of her house. Maybe the breeze is her way of stopping in to say hi to us.
When I arrived at the grocery cashier to pay for my items. I had cash, but not enough to pay for the groceries. I needed like $10 and change that would be charged to my ATM card. And then, just like that, my ATM card was declined.
Luckily, I ended up having cash in my purse. That was GodJesusVirgenOfG working it for me. As I left the store with my groceries, I was calm on the outside. On the inside, a war was raging. I was near tears…of embarrassment, anger, frustration. Oh and I did that feeling sorry for myself thing too. Whyyyyyy? Again? You name it, I thought it.
However, by the time I arrived to the Jeep, my fit was over, I remember hitting the steering wheel a couple of times to get out the remaining rage and then I was done. It was time to have my ‘Come to Jesus’ Moment. I turned on my music and Sting’s song “Fragile” comes on, perfect song to get me thinking. Granted, “Fragile” deals with the destruction of our planet, and my issues are but a speck on the face of the earth. Somehow this realization makes my dilemma more manageable. I have been thinking for the past couple of hours now, as I cooked dinner for Dad in this super-intense heat, kept repeating the song, I sweated out my rage, and willed myself not to take out my mess on my Dad. You’ll be proud of me, I did not yell at him at all. Now as I sit here writing, barely two hours later, ready to connect with JesusGodVirgenOfG to help me out of this desmadre, I’m proud of myself that I have taken more responsibility for my fit-throwing life and, at this moment, I know only one thing: I have nothing, yet I have everything.
I don’t remember being this financially challenged EVER. I also don’t remember being this CALM about it either. When I decided to live my life “freelance” style, I was nervous. Gone was the security, gone was the majority of my disposable income, but, happily, gone was that gnawing feeling that something was either left undone or not done right at all after a weekend of events. In my business, something seemingly innocent like finding pictures of a banner not hung just so was cause for straight-up alarm and could make my Mondays feel like I was being rolled over on coals of fire and could convert a perfect event into the latest nightmare.
Best decision I ever made? As pobre as I am at this moment, I believe I made the right decision. My personal drama made it necessary for me to step back from my industry, and, once I had a summer completely off, where I no longer had to work every single weekend, every holiday, and arrive late or miss events with my family, I knew that GodJesusVirgenOfG had put the more important things of life in front of my face: familia, friends, writing, rest, and relaxation.
I tell my media and event colleagues that I am not the Carmen of back in the day: the one who SLEPT at work, living and breathing events 24/7 to make events happen. Don’t get me wrong, I can and do kick ass at the events that I choose to work on, I will never lose that competitive drive completely I guess. However, I also remember the Carmen who would work when she was beyond exhausted and almost drove off the Sunol Grade before she, thankfully, woke up, I remember having to make the very painful decision to leave one job after another in search of my peace. Little by little, I’ve reconnected with my familia/friends and now live a relatively peaceful life.
Now that my priorities have completely changed, I still need to be able to get over myself and re-do my financial life. First, I am done screaming ‘SonsaTontaPendeja‘ at myself – there is no way that I have been the first (or the last) person to have an ATM card declined. Second, I gain nothing by blaming others for my lack of feria. Third, it is essential that I get my sense of aventada-ness and hustle back front and center and do what I have always done: worked it from the minute I put it in writing. This is not the place for my InnerChillona…it is time to completely work it as my InnerChingona would do. Find income. Invest in my future. Create more savings. Keep Working That Budget.
My business is seasonal. As I have no millionario or sugar daddy waiting in the wings with a bolsa de dinero (cash), it is imperative that I get back on my own two feet in order to survive today as well as the slow period (November thru February). I am intelligent, resourceful, with marketable skills that would be an asset to many. Now I have to get my huevos together and these suggestions have helped me… maybe they’ll help you as well.
From Ginger Dean, Founder of ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Funds’
How Do I Get Back And Stand On My Two Feet?
Self-sufficiency is sexy.
Go back to school. Start there. Did you finish college or high school? Do you want to go back to graduate school? What are you passionate about that requires a degree or certificate? Do you need to go back to school? These are all questions that you have to ask yourself if your path to returning to the work force involves going back to school. For me, it’s all about closing the circle: Passing the State Interpreter Exam and I have already started researching getting a second BA Degree in Spanish from all of the units that I took at SFSU for Interpretation and Translation, I also want to take some basic design classes to keep up with the young uns in Marketing.
Start a business. Along the same lines of going back to school, what are you passionate about? Do you see a need in the market that hasn’t been filled? How can you work to fill that need while creating income for yourself? This can include producing your own stuff to sell on Etsy or Ebay as well. My ideas are good, my ideas fill a need, a lot of this is already in progress, now it’s get the hell out of my own way and really make this happen. This is the scariest part of moving forward, because there’s nothing left to say, it’s time to work it.
Renew or update your skills. If you’re in a field like myself, then you’ll need to make sure that applicable licenses or certifications are always up to date as allowing them to lapse costs more time and money. Talk to the licensing or certification board within your field and find out what you need to do in order to maintain your skills in this area. If you plan on applying to jobs that require a license or certification then you’ll need to make sure this is up to date. Attend workshops and conferences in an effort to remain up to date with the current trends in your field as well. This also gives you the opportunity to network with others. My goal of passing the State Interpreter Exam is still very much real and I’ve now added other skills and licenses/certifications that I will need in order to become competitive in my own business. Pobre or not, I am willing to invest in my new future.
Find Your Sisterhood of Success AKA “Personal Board Of Advisors”
Who supports you professionally when it’s time to make hard professional decisions? Do you have a group of women or even one woman who you can turn to? I take that back, it doesn’t have to be a woman. Anyone who supports you and is able to provide professional guidance will do. Women are more successful when they have mentors guiding them both personally and professionally. Especially when women mentor women. Great things happen! This one I loooooove! I’ve had what I call my Personal Focus Group for years… tons of friends/colegas who are experts in my industry, good friends, in business for themselves, and my badasses who work it Corporate America, Government, and the Latino community. I’ve also started reaching out to those who can help me as I navigate my way to my new future.
All of the above is true investment in my future which will require un chingo de hustle and all of the confidence that I can muster. Can you believe that I actually had a conference call for another contract after my ATM declined, a sign for sure…it may be just what I need right now and the only way that I will know for sure is to put my butt right back out there and pray that JesusGodVirgenOfG see things my way.
Sometimes it take losing everything to realize that all is not lost, even though, at this moment, I have nothing (material), yet I have everything – family, opportunities, creativity, and dare I say it, confidence.
It’s about time.
Confidently working toward that day when the ATM always goes through LOL.
The journey out of the NoLonjaZone has completed its first phase. I finished the health challenge from May15-June15 where I drank no soda, drank 1 gallon of water per day, did 20 minutes of exercise, ate when I was hungry and tried to cut down on emotional eating. What did I learn?
I learned that I am able to finish what I start. Not perfectly, but I did complete my goal. Eventually, I hope to be able to finish e v e r y t h i n g I start. For all of my “me” time speeches, it was not that easy to carve out time for myself and for my health. Now that I’ve completed this challenge, I feel much better physically that I did on May 15th. I have got to keep making time for my health, especially when I do not feel like working out that day/night. Every time I walk, jump rope, run, exercise, I always feel better once I’m done…it’s the getting started that I struggle with.
My challenges have been with making time to exercise on the weekends. If I have an event, my energy is focused on making sure I’m 100 percent into arriving on time, doing the job, and getting home at a decent hour and working out hasn’t been factored in that much. At least not yet anyway. The emotional eating was difficult to combat at first but now I’ve tried drinking water when I say that I’m hungry because, many times, I may be just thirsty or bored. And you better MOVE out of my way when I am hungry LOL. Drinking the water is getting easier and I swear that I have drunk a lot of the big bottled water in the house just by myself. It’s easier to drink a lot of water especially in this heat and you will need to become accustomed to using the bathroom a LOT.
Talking about my progress has been what has kept me accountable to the friends who have wanted to take the health challenge as well. It actually motivates me to keep going knowing that others are with me on the journey of living healthier. Since my exercise of choice has been walking, I’m really glad that, years ago, I would look for places to walk anywhere along my commute routes so it’s been fun revisiting all of my walking spots.
Focusing on my health has moved off of the back burner in my life. Taking charge of my health is empowering and I feel like it’s the first step in getting all areas of my life together. My self-confidence had taken a beating and I have, only now, started to step out of that misery into my life now. However, my life and my confidence are still out of sync. So unsettling. Especially as I was always blessed with confidence and with the huevos to make things happen in my life always. I look forward to stop living my life tentatively and hanging out with my good friend and ally: confidence. Making time for myself to work out, to eat better, to live healthier is the only way that I can think of to get my confidence back.
Next steps? I’ve started Round 2 of the Health Challenge with a group of fun and brave individuals who, like me, are ready to take healthy steps our own way, combining health with busy lives, as we move toward the NoLonjaZone. It’s been a great feeling of accomplishment to finish what I start. For once.
Let’s do this! See details below…we’re on this challenge now June 19 thru July 19.
What a great feeling. It’s like all of the stars line up, all of your ducks are in a row, all is as it should be. all is perfect, everything is crystal clear, there is a reason for this madness, you understand everything. For a split-second. And then it all comes crashing back to you, all of your fears, all of your mistakes, all of your regadas, all of your pendejadas, all up in your face. You feel defeated, like you’ve taken 10 steps back, you’re angry, sad and mad all at once.
As I was driving home a couple of weeks ago, I experienced this exact same sensation. I remember that it was a cloudy afternoon and my eye focused on the part of the sky that had broken free from the clouds, where you could see the blue of the sky piercing through the gray clouds. When I looked into that blue spot, it was as if a part of my heart opened up, the purest part, the part that was open to new experiences and the part that did not allow me to hold myself back, the part where I was unafraid. It was as if I was thinking in overdrive: I started thinking of and seeing Mama, happy and alive, seeing my family members and friends happy and productive, myself fearless and working toward my goals, I could even hear music in that blue sky, and it was like all of these happy feelings were swirling around in the sky, happily blending together. I was even crying tears of happiness and all felt right in my world.
And then I stopped looking at the blue sky and it all faded away. Try as I could, I was unable to get that feeling back again. It was like I got afraid, afraid to see what life would be like in that swirl of happiness. I totally got into my own way and messed things up big time. Now I’m trying to figure out how to get back to that place.
As I don’t feel like super-analyzing this experience today…I’ll just let my InnerChingona give her two cents on this moment: While I’m getting better, I’m not there yet, it’s very hard for me to trust anything new, no matter how positive it is and no matter how much good it will do for me. I’ve got to keep working on staying the hell out of my own way and just let things be! I need to handle this mess before moving on the next phase in my life.
That I was able to have a glimpse, albeit a small glimpse, into what my life can be motivates me to keep working at getting this heavy desmadre of baggage out of my way so that the blue sky does not fade away when the clouds of life appear, and you know that clouds will always come back. I also like that I have finally been able to see the blue through the clouds, even for a few seconds.
Trying to find writing inspiration this week. Looking through all of my drafts, looking through pictures, looking at books, and trying to visualize life when I’m on a roll, when the words flow through my brain to my fingers flying to the keyboard or to my pen, when I cannot stop, even if I may want to take a bathroom break or take a nap, so not happening when I’m on a roll, as I want to get my ideas on paper before that coveted inspiration decides to move on, leaving me exhausted and breathless. What works best? A laptop or a journal?
What I have found, when I’m stuck, is that I need to 1) live life and not worry about writing, and 2) find one of my current journals. (I usually have 2 or 3 current journals going at once.) Most times, I find a cool place (Starbucks, a park, somewhere near the water), I find a comfortable pen, and just start writing. Once I start writing, I can go on and on for hours and. most times, I write 10 pages or more at a time, back and front. This is truly when my hand can write out those thoughts that I have been afraid to even think about, much less verbalize them. When I go back to read what I have written, I’m often surprised/shocked at what I see on the written page. Some lines are in all caps, complete with cuss words in Spanish, English, or Spanglish when I’m trying to get my thoughts together on an emotional situation, some lines feel like I’m crying the words out and I see a lot of ‘whyyyyyyyy?‘, and the most unattractive sentences are those where I’m straight-up whining and complaining. Ni modo, when I journal, everything comes out through that pen, all of my emotions fly out, in no particular order. It’s supposed to be messy, fast, unhinged, chaotic, emotional, sad, slow, happy, proud…as fast as I think it, I write it down. Writing in my journal reminds me of a therapy session: where you never know what will happen but it’s usually something that has needed to come up to the surface for a long time. I’m usually mentally exhausted after a journaling session. I have tried to journal via laptop but it just isn’t the same. I like how the pages feel once I’ve written on them, the crispy/crunchy sound of the paper as I turn the written pages, the smell of the freshly written ink, ink spots on my fingers, laughing at the comments I tend to put at the edges of the pages, mostly song titles that pop into my mind as I write, people’s’ names, especially if I need to call or see someone. If I look at a past journal, it’s the same feeling and sometimes my mouth drops because of something I’ve written in a past entry that has come to pass , this type of journaling is almost like visualization – if you write it down, it does come to pass. At times, I’m completely humbled when I read an entry in a past journal, if it’s about an issue that has brought me down and is STILL bringing me down now, it’s a huge wake up call for me, depending on how long ago I had written about the issue — that all I’ve done is cry about it and I need to get a handle on said situation and move the eff on LOL.
I call my laptop case my “office” as I work best on the laptop when it comes to work writing: articles, social media, blog posts, proposals, etc. I lose patience if I have to write any work things down in a pen LOL! I need to get this stuff done now not later. It’s almost the same pace as writing in a journal when I’m on a roll and it feels more organized. I usually have a list near the laptop of what I need to write so that I can just work it and check it off once done. When inspiration hits, it’s the same feeling I get as if I were writing on paper with pen. I love when the words flow out of me and, especially when blogging or updating social media, having access to my thousands of pictures and graphics is great.
Now judging on the size of these blog paragraphs, it is obvious, most def, time for me to write in my journal until I get my writing groove back!
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