Sunday, October 27, 2013

The Life You Deserve

Photo credits: Pexels


The Life You Deserve

People have the right to be just where they are.  So before I even get started, this is my disclaimer.  Know that I am not judging anyone for their life’s choices or for the state of their internal selves.

It seems more and more I have been running into males whose sole agenda is to bed any woman they come into contact with.  Now when I say that I am running into them, that doesn’t necessarily mean they are coming on to me that way.  Instead, it’s like I am being allowed to be a fly on the wall of their interactions with other women.  I do not like what I see.

What concerns me most is not the males’ perspective or even his willingness to disrespectfully push up on a woman that way.  Not even when he goes so far as to be angry or offended when she declines his ‘offer’ of a good time.  What does concern me are the women  who are all too eager to go wherever he wants to lead her; sometimes with no questions asked, other times without ever making her needs known and having the conversation with him to see if he is willing to meet those needs.
And so, on this post, I am going to focus on the women.  The truth is, men would not step to a female that way if she didn’t allow it.  They can never do anything more to us than what we allow.  Truth is, women have far more value and worth than we sometimes give ourselves credit for.  And please know when I say this, I am not just talking about so called ‘hood rats’.  I see even educated women settling for far less than they deserve or are entitled to in the relationship department.  It is entirely possible for a person to be whole and complete in certain areas of their lives and incomplete and lacking in others, simultaneously.  We are a wonderful mix of contradictions.

The reason I chose not to make this post about the men is simple.  When we change, everyone around us has to change, too.  They are just not able to deal with us the way they have been, because who we are is different on the inside.  The more I live, the more I learn that relationships are just a reflection of whatever is going on inside of us.  Such a humbling thought.  I have had some very bad relationships that have left me marred, scarred and at times unwilling to open myself back up to more.  And I have no one to blame but myself.  Each one of those people served as a teacher to let me know where I needed to heal in order to attract better to myself.  When I say this, it has been that way with both platonic and intimate relationships.  In the end, I am the common denominator in each of those relationships.

Living with the fear that there are no good men out there or that we have to settle just to have someone to keep company with or that there is not enough of what we are looking for that exists on the earth, can lead us into settling for far less than we deserve.  The truth is, everything we need, want and desire is on the earth ready for us claim it.  It may require that we have to do some internal work to get rid of the garbage that floats around in our subconscious minds  in order to get to what we want and deserve, but in the end the process is worth it if it means we get to live this life by our own design.  It will have been worth it if we get to have the life we’ve always envisioned.

I’m going to take a wild guess on this one (and yes, I am being sarcastic!), but I would say that you never thought you would want to be with a man who would cheat on you, play games with you, not provide for you, demand sex from you while giving you nothing in return.  I hope this is not too crass, if all he has to offer is an orgasm, his presence is really not that important or needed.  There are plenty of ways a woman can get that, if she so desires, without having to settle for being mistreated, neglected, put at risk from his sexual exploits, you name it.   I would bet any amount of money that you never thought you’d end up with a man who doesn’t support his children, who hits on you, calls you names, won’t work or even if he does work, does nothing to improve the quality of your life;  strings you along; uses you for what you have to offer to him while hardly giving anything back; emotionally distant.  Shall I go on?  Yet, the fact that I am writing this, means that somewhere along the way something has gone amiss, because some or all of these things have presented themselves into your relationships.  So, I say to you..are you ready to change?

If you are like me, there are times I have felt that it always seems that more is required and expected of women.  Why is it that we have to do the work to change?  Why not them?  But when we are dealing with issues as serious as the state of our lives, is that really a responsibility you want to put into the hands of someone else?  I didn’t think so.  So we have to do the work.    It starts by taking a look at your relationships…you can even go back to childhood to get a good look at the patterns that have been in place contributing to where you are now.  What has gone wrong in those relationships?  How have they ended?  How did you feel when you were in them?  Were there certain types of experiences that contributed to the worst of how you felt?  Now, here is the part that some might find challenging.  Write down what it is that you DO want.  Most people can tell you what they don’t want.  Problem with that is the more you focus on what you don’t want, the more of it you will get.  So if you can begin to focus on what you do want, you will begin to attract more of those experiences into your life. 

But the work does not stop here.  Instead it is just beginning.  Next, it will be necessary to work on changing the mental blueprint that produces all of these results in your life.  Let me put it to you this way, if you create a document that has an error in it and print it, the error is on the page.  You can white it out, fix it temporarily and distribute it.  However, what you typed is still in the memory of that computer so every time that article is called upon, that error is there and will continue to be there unless it is fixed internally.  Our thought processes are no different.  Whatever has been written on that initial document in our minds continues to roam around our subconscious mind, attracting more of the same.  It is time to fix that error, once and for all. 

This is when it becomes necessary to start writing affirmations for the type of life (relationships, etc) that you truly desire.  You will need to do mirror work, meaning looking in the mirror and speaking those words over your life.  It’s time to pull out some books on the Law of Attraction and really put those teachings into practice.  Subliminal audios and videos in the areas where you struggle, will help to erase what is in your subconscious mind and replace the error in the document with the truth.  As you continue on this journey of self discovery, you will meet others who are on the same path with you to help you and encourage you.  Everything you need is already on your life’s path waiting on you to get there.

I would be remiss if I didn’t warn you that once you start the journey of self discovery and coming into wholeness, more of what you are trying to get away from will surface.  The universe is waiting to see how you respond to it.  If you declare that you want a certain type of treatment, mate, etc, and then accept whatever presents itself to you even though it is lacking, you have just confirmed that you aren’t ready and you will accept anything, so anything will continue to come to you.  This may seem harsh, but you’ve got to know it going in that you will be tested along the way.  Don’t look at the tests with disdain.  Instead see them as mirrors to show you where you really are so you can tighten some things up.  Remember, you didn’t become who you are in one day, so the process of change will take time.  Give yourself some room to breathe.  Be patient with yourself and your process.  Above all things, know that you are worth everything it takes to change your life into the one of your dreams.

Changing lives one word at a time...Tumika Patrice Cain

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Tumika Patrice Cain is an award-winning author, media personality, and motivational speaker. Through her imprint, Inkscriptions Publishing & Media Group, she provides high quality, affordable, mentor-based publishing services to indie authors, as well as inspired, empowering messages of hope and abundance through her media outlets. Her works can be found in many publications, including Fresh Lifestyle Magazine. To learn more about Tumika, her books, and her services visit the following websites. http://www.TumikaPatrice.com and http://www.InkscriptionsPMG.com

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

WaterColours - A poem

Photo credits: Pexels

Today...let's take a moment to remember the casualties of war who have been affected by the tendrils of domestic violence.  Their names, their stories, their lives are all significant and have great meaning.  If you know a survivor of domestic violence, give her a hug and remind her what a courageous and strong person she is.  Remind her that she is a winner and that her life has purpose.  She is more than just that experience.  It doesn't need to define her...

Today, I share a poem inspired by all the women I've known who have endured the violence.  I remember the things I've seen.  I remember their faces.  I remember their stories.  I celebrate their lives.  I remember....


WaterColours

 

His love appears as
Watercolours across the plains of her face
Lavender strokes of touches
That should be tender
But fell shy of warm sentiment
Leaving maroon tints of frustration
Upon delicate skin

Her screams sound like lullabies
To his demon infested ears
Gaining momentum in his outrage
From each frantic, primal cry
A cadence he has grown accustomed to

He calls her beautiful
Wiping away tears that should never have been
Applying a gentle hand
To freshly bruised skin
As though it were a precious work of art
A masterful sculpture
Being molded into the visions of his mind

Each time tempers flare
Tears mingle with blood
Forming ringlets down the swollen
Distorted face
Of a young queen who has never known
Her lineage
Never felt the blood of her predecessors
Flowing through her veins

His love appears as
Watercolours across the plains of her face
Midnight hued reminders of the last time
She rubs the lingering soreness
Glances in the mirror
And wonders if this is what beauty
Really looks like

Pretending to herself that no one knows
Creating new excuses
For marks left unexplained
Too embarrassed to tell
Desperately wanting to leave
Not sure she knows how

Holding fast to the belief
That if she just tried harder
Done better
Was a good girl
Maybe he wouldn’t punish her so
Maybe he would learn by her example
To give a loving hand

But he only calls her beautiful
After he has marked her skin
Leaving scars far more lasting
Inside
Away from the daylight

Serving up abuse like breakfast
Her stomach quivers in nervous anticipation
She knows the signs
Knows what comes next
Dreads what comes next

She doesn’t know how to leave
Isn’t really sure she should
Hoping he will change
Their reality into the dreams of her mind
The dreams she had in her youth
After she saw momma
Go through the same thing

Become a victim at the hands
Of her lover
She has become her mother
So she continues to wear the watercolours
Of his love upon her face
Until one day the inkwell has run dry…


Copyright 2000 Tumika Patrice Cain ~ WaterColours
Published in After the Rain...a Poetry Collective

Changing lives one word at a time...Tumika Patrice Cain

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Tumika Patrice Cain is an award-winning author, media personality, and motivational speaker. Through her imprint, Inkscriptions Publishing & Media Group, she provides high quality, affordable, mentor-based publishing services to indie authors, as well as inspired, empowering messages of hope and abundance through her media outlets. Her works can be found in many publications, including Fresh Lifestyle Magazine. To learn more about Tumika, her books, and her services visit the following websites. http://www.TumikaPatrice.com and http://www.InkscriptionsPMG.com

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

No Laughing Matter

Photo credits: Pexels

No Laughing Matter

Excerpt from my novel, When a Man Loves a Woman: A Season of Change:

            “Things weren’t good with me and Randy almost from the beginning.  He was stationed in Virginia where I was going to school.  Originally he was from some little small town in South Carolina.  Humph.  Just goes to show you that you can take the boy from the small town mentality, but not the other way around.  Anyway, I liked him.  He had this southern gentlemanly charm about him.  Everything he did was real slow, like he had all the time in the world.  We met at a local restaurant and immediately started dating.  Six months later we were married.  I was so in love with him I couldn’t see straight.  I didn’t pay attention to all the small ways he tried to change me. 

            “You know how they do.  ‘Oh, baby, I was hoping you’d wear the red dress tonight’ or ‘I love you so much I just can’t bear to have you away from me.’  Pretty soon it turns to ‘You know I don’t like rice on Tuesdays, where are the potatoes?’  Let’s not forget about ‘You’re so stupid can’t you even follow the simplest of instructions?  You are lucky to have me, no one else would want you.’  ‘Why are you wasting your time with that art mess?  You don’t have any talent.  No one’s going to buy that stuff.  What you should be doing is taking that time to clean this pig sty we call a home.’  The longer you stay the worse the insults become until you either start to believe them or your spirit is so broken you don’t have the strength to leave.  So I stayed.  I thought I loved him.  Thought he knew what was best for me, even when the little voice in my head told me he didn’t.

            “That was right where he wanted me.  Feeling bad about myself and questioning things in me that I’d never questioned before.  And when I thought things couldn’t get any worse, the beatings started.  I was so broken in spirit by that time that I really don’t think I saw the severity of what was going on.  That is until I wound up pregnant.  All of a sudden I had a will to live again.  That’s when I started making clothes on a regular basis.  I put all of my energy into getting things ready for the baby.  Picking out names.  Painting a mural on the wall of our spare bedroom.  I knew that having a baby would put things into perspective for him and make him see the error of his ways.  He was angry all the time.  Going out with his buddies drinking and whatnot.

            “Then he’d come home and beat on me.  Even while I was pregnant.  I was stupid and naive.  Kept thinking he would change.  He changed all right.  He got worse.  When I was eight months pregnant he came home picking an argument with me about something so mundane I can’t even remember.  Who knows what any of them were about?  All I do remember is being in the kitchen cooking when he came home.  Right away he started an argument, I suppose it was for no reason other than he thought he could, so he did. I was also doing our laundry.  Figuring if I left the room maybe he’d calm down.  As I walked around him he grabbed a handful of my hair and slammed my face into the wall.  When he let me go I ran towards the basement, as fast as my big body would permit.  That’s when he rushed up behind me, kicked me in the back, sending me tumbling down the hard wooden stairs.  He followed, yelling obscenities and stomping me.  I begged him to stop.  One minute I was screaming and pleading, the next I was unconscious.

            “When I awakened, I was in the hospital.  Battered almost to a pulp.  I had been hospitalized after some of his attacks.  The nurses would look at me and shake their heads.  They knew.  Each of them would come in and plead for me to leave him.  Telling me I deserved better, that he was a lowlife dirtbag.  All of their pleading fell on deaf ears.  You see, I loved him and it was my fault anyway.  Or at least that was my warped frame of mind at the time.  If I could only try harder, cook better, lose weight, gain weight, fix whatever the issue was he griped about, things would be okay between us. 

            “When I found out I lost my baby and due to the severity of the beating I’d never be able to have kids again, I lost it.  Had a breakdown of sorts.”

            Kate’s voice was almost a whisper as she relived that horrible experience that forever changed her life.  I held fast to her hand and cried the same tears she cried.  Tears of frustration, anger, bitterness.  Tears for the unborn baby whose face would never be seen.  For the unfairness of it all.  For loving men more than we knew how to love ourselves.  For my pain, as well as her own.  I never knew that she was a part of the secret society of women living in hell at the hands of abusive husbands and boyfriends.

            “Oh, Kate.  I’m so sorry.”  For the first time in my life I was utterly speechless.  What do you say to someone after they’ve shared such unspeakable horrors.  Together we hugged and wept.  Companionable silence lingered between us like the old friends that we are.  I never loved her more than at that moment. 

“What happened when you were released from the hospital?” I asked her some time later.

“Well, I made up my mind that I was leaving him.  Anyone who could kill their own child could certainly kill their own wife.  Besides, I had so much hate for him that I could’ve killed him with my bare hands.  The only thing that stopped me from killing him was a kindly nurse who’d lived through her own struggles with domestic violence.  Against hospital rules, she risked losing her job to let me stay with her.  I’ll never forget Shelley for her kindness towards me.  She said there was no rush for me to move, but I still wanted to have my own so I worked a couple of jobs to get money to move.  For a short while I felt safe, but Randy was a stalker.  Somehow he managed to find out where I worked and followed me home”.

            She sniffed with disdain, as if the whole scene left a bitter taste in her mouth.  I didn’t blame her.  I thought I was regurgitating the same bile as she.

“The whole scene was pathetic.  He’d call day and night.  Show up at the house and where I worked.  Even followed me to school.  He was everywhere.  He’d even started harassing Shelley.  Enough was enough.  Every time he bothered me I’d make a police report.  Unfortunately, during those times the laws didn’t do much to protect women from abusive husbands or stalkers. 

“One night I packed up my little car and headed out of state.  I’d decided when I first moved in with Shelley that I would come to Michigan.  Most people think to move with their family members, but with the way he harassed Shelley, I didn’t want to put anyone else in the middle of our mess, just in case it escalated.  Going back to Iowa was out of the question, since that is where I am from.  Plus in small country towns everyone seems to know everyone else’s business.  I didn’t want to be the talk of the town.  It’s also the first place Randy would’ve looked for me.  I needed a fresh start.  Michigan seemed like the ideal place.  It didn’t seem as flighty as the west coast, as back woods as the south, or as cold as say New York or Chicago.  It’s been my home ever since.”

“Why did you tell me now?”

“I felt it was time.”  She looked me directly in the eyes.  “Contrary to popular belief time does not heal all wounds.  Instead if left to fend for themselves, the hurt will bury itself so deep in your soul.  One day you wake up and realize that you are so used to living with your pain that you don’t know how to live without it.  That’s the scary part.  The hurt runs so deep that it spills over into other areas of your life.  Other relationships, friendship, even marring your dreams.”  Kate shook her head as though trying to grasp the depth of emotions from which her conversation originated. 

“So how do you get beyond that point?”  The question came out as a whisper.  I wasn’t sure if I was asking her or myself.  “When do you get to the point where you can move on beyond the pain?”

“You can’t go on unless you address the hurt.  If you are holding on to the pain then you aren’t making healthy decisions.”  I took a deep breath and sat really still for a long moment.  I needed time to digest all of this information.  I was on emotional overload.

“So at what point did you hit rock bottom and knew that you needed a change?”
            “Truthfully Alicia, it’s only been in the last five years.  I have gone through extensive therapy for this.  My breaking point was when it dawned on me that I hadn’t had a relationship with a man since my divorce.  I couldn’t even look at men without cringing.  I would look at complete strangers and think ‘I bet he beats women, he’s an alcoholic, he’s a control freak, he’s a potential pimp’.  All kinds of crazy thoughts.  I finally took a good look in the mirror and said ‘Kate this is not healthy.  After all of these years you are still under Randy’s control. 

            “Until that point I’d been pouring my energy into creating things.  After the divorce it took a while for me to get back into the groove of things.  All those years of hearing how I was wasting my time and how I had no talent had begun to take a toll on me.  Then one day I felt like something was brewing inside of me.  I picked up my paintbrush and before I knew it I was doing what comes naturally to me.  That picture won me so many awards.  I can’t even remember how many offers I had from people interested in buying it.  No offer was ever high enough.  How much is the price of freedom?  For that is what the picture represents to me.  Freedom.  It gave me my wings to fly.”

“So how long has it taken you to get to the point where you can talk about it?”  She still hadn’t answered my question.

“Um, surprisingly just this year.  That is partly why I’m telling you now.  It’s the first time I’ve been able to talk about it with anyone other than my therapist.  My family still doesn’t know.  I never told them.  Of course they had their speculations about what happened, but no one knows for sure.”

“Whatever happened to your ex?”

“He’s been remarried a few times.  Old habits die hard I guess.”  She shrugged her shoulders like it was no longer her problem.  Which is exactly what I imagine she was thinking.

Copyright 2012 Tumika Patrice Cain, When a Man Loves a Woman: A Season of Change ~

October is National Domestic Violence month and I would be remiss if I didn’t address this issue at least once.  This is a subject very close to my heart as my life and the lives of many of my family members and friends have been affected either first hand or inadvertently by this powerful and damaging epidemic.

I don’t need to get into the reasons domestic violence is wrong.  Some things are just self explanatory.  What I do want to focus on are the ways in which this crime sneaks up on one who might be unsuspecting.  Believe it or not, there are signs and signals to alert a person before the abuse actually starts.  Being aware of what to look for and taking those signs seriously may very well save your life or the life of someone you know.

According to New Choices Inc., the following is a list of questions to ask yourself to determine if you are in an abusive relationship.   Feeling uncomfortable or being afraid in your relationship is the number one red flag that the relationship is not healthy.

1.      Does your partner teases you in a hurtful way and play it off as a “joke” or tell you you’re being too sensitive?

2.      Does your partner call you names such as “stupid” or “bitch”?

3.      Does your partner act jealous of your friends, family or co-workers or coerce you into avoiding or not spending time with them?

4.      Does your partner get angry about or make you change the clothes and shoes you wear, how you style your hair or whether or not you wear makeup and how much?

5.      Does your partner check up on you by repeatedly calling, driving by or getting someone else to?

6.      Has your partner gone places with you or sent someone just to “keep an eye on you”?

7.      Does your partner insist on knowing who you talk with on the phone, check your call log or phone bill?

8.      Does your partner blame you for his problems or his bad mood?

9.      Does your partner get angry so easily that you feel like you’re “walking on eggshells”?

10.  Does your partner hit walls, drive dangerously or do other things to scare you?

11.  Does your partner often drink or use drugs?

12.  Does your partner insist that you drink or use drugs with him?

13.  Have you lost friends or no longer see some of your family because of your partner?

14.  Does your partner accuse you of being interested in someone else or cheating on them?

15.  Does your partner read your e/mail, check your computer history, go through your purse, or other personal papers?

16.  Does your partner keep money from you, keep you in debt, or have “money secrets”?

17.  Has your partner kept you from getting a job or caused you to lose a job?

18.  Has your partner sold your car, made you give up your license or not repaired your car?

19.  Does your partner threaten to hurt you, your children, family, friends, or pets?

20.  Does your partner force you to have sex when you do not want to?

21.  Does your partner force you to have sex in ways that you do not want to?

22.  Does your partner threaten to kill you or themselves if you leave?

23.  Is your partner like “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”, acting one way in front of other people and another way when you are alone?

Despite the messages portrayed in the media, domestic violence does not just affect poor people or black people.  Anyone regardless of race, socio economic status, religious status, age, class, geography can be a victim of domestic violence.  If you are being abused, there are people who are trained to help you and safe places for you to go.  National Domestic Violence Hotline  1.800.799.7233 (SAFE)

Changing lives one word at a time….Tumika Patrice Cain
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Tumika Patrice Cain is an award-winning author, media personality, and motivational speaker. Through her imprint, Inkscriptions Publishing & Media Group, she provides high quality, affordable, mentor-based publishing services to indie authors, as well as inspired, empowering messages of hope and abundance through her media outlets. Her works can be found in many publications, including Fresh Lifestyle Magazine. To learn more about Tumika, her books, and her services visit the following websites. http://www.TumikaPatrice.com and http://www.InkscriptionsPMG.com