Hi Precious,
You know what I realized? I have done so much preaching in the past few months that my blog has started to feel like I am preaching at you and all you can do is receive and hear what I am saying, but that is not what I intended this to be. I truly hoped to build a community, a place where we can come and just chat. Not about anything in particular, but just be like hey… I am not the only one who is struggling to keep my head above the water, I am not the only one who has boyfriend drama, that too has boyfriend drama… or we can celebrate you. When you win, we can put on our cheer-leading outfits and be like.. Get it girl!! We can shout at the top of our lungs, because we know when you win, we all win. You know! A place that is safe, a place where we can share, a place where it is alright to cry, a place where it is alright to laugh till your tummy hurts and you can’t help but have tears in your eyes. Over here, I may be the one steering the blog, but I want you to take ownership too. Talk to me and send me an email (head over to the contact me page) when things look fuzy, so that together we can talk about it. Anonymously. Basically, I just want us to put our crowns on, and ensure that if ever we see another’s crown looking a little skew, we fix it. No judgement, just love.
I have this truly beautiful picture that was painted for me by a close friend from Jamaica. His name is Aubrey. He painted this picture without having met me, as we basically just spoke on the phone till having met at the Queens Young Leaders residential program. When he gave me the gift I was grateful, as all people would be having been given a truly thoughtful gift. He painted it himself. However, yesterday I was staring at this painting and it struck me that he was very particular about what he painted. He placed a crown on my head and captioned it Queen. This is a man who had never laid eyes on me, simply got to know my heart and decided to place a crown on my head, because of the impression I created in the conversations we had (before you even allow your thinking to wonder, we are simply friends). I was amazed that the impression I could create for someone who is miles away is that I ooze royalty. A true sense of royalty, because regardless who I encounter, there is something shining from the inside that cannot be mistaken for a woman who knows her worth, protrudes it and bears it wherever she goes.
The picture I am talking about above. The black and white picture of a woman with a crown
For the longest time, people would call me dramatic for the way I wanted to be treated. I was well… extra, in that I always wanted the best treatment, because I truly believe it is what I deserve. As a result the fruits I would drop with whoever I encountered would call for such treatment. It leaves me thinking about a scripture verse that speaks about it is not the fruit you say you poses, but the fruit you actually drop wherever you go. I paraphrased that in the way I understand it. The point I am trying to make is that, who you are should speak across the seas. It should speak to everyone who encounters you. If you say you are someone who uplifts the next person, that is who people should encounter. If you say you are a queen, that is who people should encounter. Who you say you are, and what you do should correlate. There should be no disparity in the words you utter and what lies on the inside.
For a lot of us, we still have a lot of work to do to look anything remotely close to what we want to be or say we are, and that is okay. In as long as you are working towards being a better version of yourself, that is all that matters.
My sole mandate with this blog post is to have you see yourself the way you want to be seen and start acting like it. You are a Queen, with a crown on your head. Pick your pretty face up, smile and wave, because the world is watching.
You have the power and the authority to decide who and what the world encounters. Harness that, Queen!
From one Powerhouse to another,
Love Mavis
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