So, I bought another book...

Vitamin G

Treating a symptom is okay for temporary relief in the effort to resolve the problem. But I must resolve the problem. Otherwise I’ll be treating the symptom indefinitely.

With the exception of chronic illness, there is usually a way to get past the symptoms and go straight to the source of a problem. The context of today's Vitamin G isn't about physical ailments, though. The physical does have an affect on all others aspects of life. However, the above statement is more about dealing with the mental and spiritual. For me, those 2 had a great impact on my physical anyway...hehehe

My physical wellbeing and the improvements I've made since January 2023 are a direct reflection of my mental and spiritual wellbeing. The way I think and my personal relationship with God were a source of most of my problems over the years. Sure, I had some outside influences that had a negative impact on my wellbeing. But I cannot control what others do to me. I can only control how I react or respond to it. Realizing that began to change the way I think about everything.

Reading or posting positive messages was a way of me treating the symptoms of sadness and depression. Going to church on Sundays was a way for me to feel connected to God at least 1 day of the week. Those things worked fine to give me temporary relief from my mental and spiritual problems. But I really wasn't getting to the root. It was still far too easy for negative though patterns to reemerge and for me to stray from the path God laid out for me.

As I was tired of simply treating the symptoms of my biggest problems, I made a decision on January 1st. No, it wasn't a resolution...hehehe It actually just started as a small, sustainable change. And it piggy-backed off a similar change I made just 3 months prior. At the beginning of October, I started to recite The Lord's Prayer first thing in the morning. Up until recently, I also did that day's verse of the day and daily refresh using the Bible App. Then on New Year's Day, I decided I would do a Bible in a Year reading plan.

Having a daily walk with God has solved so much and provided so much healing. I'm finding less need to treat symptoms. One of the best parts of this is the joy I find in things I use to do as temporary relief but now do just for the joy of it. And other things that were actually bad for me, I no longer do. Oftentimes, some of what I'd do to treat a symptom, such as depression, would only mask what was going on under the service. It was more of an escape than anything.

I'm really glad I'm where I am today. This is all still quite new, though. So, I have to be careful to remain focused on God, capture those thoughts of mine, and continue eating well and exercising. This must be a lifestyle. Otherwise, the problems will creep back in and I'll be back to treating symptoms...hehehe

Social Media

Social media is a funny thing. So much of society seems to revolve around it lately. There's both good and bad with that. And that's okay. Lately, I'm realizing a few things. For me, I have evolved to be an encourager. And today I had a thought about that. I'm not meant to help everyone. In some ways, I'm not really meant to help anyone. I think my purpose on social media is to just be me. If someone finds help in what I post, that makes my heart happy. However, if no one finds help, should my heart be unhappy? Absolutely not...hehehe That's because it isn't about me. I'm not one to post with the motivation of, oh look at me doing this thing, eating that thing, or this is what I think. My motivation is really more like, this is me. Yep, that's it! It's really that simple. I have nothing to sell anyone. I am who I am. How people react or respond to me really isn't about me, though. That's about them. So why should I concern myself with likes, comments, or reposts? I feel it is okay for me to be happy when all of that happens. I just need to be okay when it doesn't happen.

One of the reasons I started thinking about this is because I pondered how my Twitter account grew. As of late, it has stopped growing. I get fewer and fewer likes, comments, and the reposts have pretty much ceased. In 2020, I had about 25 followers. Today, I have 2.7k. When my account was growing, it was during a time when I was highly engaged. Not only was I posting, I would comment on posts and follow people I found interesting. This year, I've slowed down quite a bit with all of that. I stopped following new accounts for the most part and I've actually started unfollowing. I don't comment as much either. I'm less engaged because the content has become less engaging for me. I'm not sure if people have changed or if it is the algorithm that changed. I never scroll through the for you feeds anymore. I only ever did that by accident anyway. Once I learned that feed existed, I consciously switch over to following or my own private feed on Twitter. On IG, I have the following and the favorites feeds. Threads just has the following feed. They don't seem to have favorites yet. And Facebook hasn't really changed anything in quite a while...LOL

Something else I've noticed as a result of having met so many of my social media friends in person these last 4 years is how fake a lot of folks are. They have a persona on socials that they do not exhibit in person. I actively try to be the same person online as I am offline; with a few exceptions...more on that later. Just today, I noticed someone posted something that was contrary to the last time I hung out with them in person. I suppose things can change. But I also think it is human nature to put our best face forward publicly while we struggle in private.

This brings me back to myself. For the most part, I'm really close to being the same person offline as I am online. There are two main exceptions to this. The first is that I do not post private details. Why would I?! Why does anyone?..LOL I'm referring to things like what I would only talk to my closest friends about. Case in point, I'd never publicly discuss how lonely I am sometimes. The second exception is that I don't always engage with people offline in the way I do online. I'm more shy at first until I get comfortable with someone. I can stand in front of a crowd and be Mr. Personality. But one-on-one is more of a challenge.

I'm mostly just rambling on here. Some of what I originally wrote was more of a rant. I'm working on writing with a more positive attitude. So I'm glad I'm writing about this topic today. It gave me an opportunity to put into practice one of the many things God is working on in my heart. No one will ever see the rant I wrote...hehehe But now we get to see the result of processing my thoughts using the new lens God is polishing in my heart. My conclusion? Perhaps social media is like going to a party, meetup, or a reunion. Some folks will just pretend all is going great to make themselves look and feel better about what is really going on in their lives. Whereas I will just continue being authentic and genuine. I'll just be me and not worry about how people will respond or react...or if they'll just ignore me...LOL Worrying about all that won't make people like me. But the worry might take away from liking myself. Since my motivation isn't about likes, comments, or reposts, I'll just be happy I have somewhere to express myself. When it does help someone, my heart will be happy. When it doesn't, I'll be okay with that too. I'll be happy with myself. And I'll encourage others along the way as I see the need. I'll be a good listener for those who need a shoulder.

Unseal Your Best Life

Well, she did it again! Chérie is published in a second book!!! Yay!!! Back in January, I wrote about how she was published in Unseal Your Worth. As was the case last time, this new book, Unseal Your Best Life, is a compilation from The Unsealed community. Yes, I mentioned some of this a few days ago. But that was tucked away in a larger topic. So today, I wanted to highlight this new achievement by Chérie. I'm so proud of her and the many accomplishments she is making on her own journey. This one is among many things I've had the privilege to witness since knowing her. She is such an inspiration for me. Sometimes, I can hardly understand how she wants to be my friend. But then I remember that's just who she is. She looks past my imperfections and sees me for who God created me to be. I cherish her and our friendship in ways I just cannot put into words. So, I bought another book 🤭 Showing her my support is but a small way I can tell her how grateful I am to have her in my life 🥹❤️🤗

I'm really excited to be bringing both books along with me on my trip next month. I get to have her autograph both books!!! Yay!!! 🤭