You get a gold star today!

By Bea O'Quinn Dewberry- Living life like its golden, golden! Are you really?

Jill Scott recorded the hit "Golden" in 2004, and the song became an instant chart-topper. For many people, "Golden" served as an anthem to living well, making the most out of life, and "letting the joy unfold."

The song's appeal is many; from its melodic opener, to the smooth vocals beckoning the listener to pay attention, to the lyrical story that unfolds encouraging us to take the joys and freedoms in life and embrace and wear them boldly everyday.

The song makes me envision a lifestyle as rich as the precious gem itself; not materialistically, but holistically.

Mined from the earth, gold is the most highly sought after metal since the beginning of recorded time. Gold represents value, even respect - from the "golden rule," to the gold card, to the gold star placed on our foreheads in elementary school. Interestingly, gold is also the most malleable of metals.

Fragile even.

Gold must be handled with care.

To live life like its golden, see your overwhelming value; take care of yourself, and recognize that your soft spots don't diminish your worth.

Now, don't wait for others to hand you the golden nugget.

Place that gold star on your forehead and shine!

Removing negative ions one energy blast at a time

By Bea Dewberry–Procrastination and obsession leads to obstruction: three negative ions that cause stumbling blocks to success.

A good friend recently posted on Facebook– yes, I said it, Facebook–that when we procrastinate the "wait" adds "weight" to our day. We place heavy burdens on ourselves by adding unnecessary angst. Work must get done, only now under tighter time constraints.

So why do we procrastinate if it harms us? I'll share my reason if you promise not to tell! On occasion, my obsession to be great at what I do makes me not do what I want to do. Huh?

There have been times when I spend hours selecting words, the most descriptive ones, and then editing those very same words in my writings. I take days researching and developing projects so they are just right. I'm not alone here; there are way too many perfectionistas out there. Our perfection-obsession results in over-analysis, over-thinking and an over-abundance of wasted time.

Obsessing about anything (or anyone, for that matter) leads to an obstruction, or halt in progress. (When its people we obsess over, relationship challenges will come.) A friend said recently that sometimes my biggest stumbling block is myself. "Sometimes," I thought. "How about too many times to count." If we are our own obstructionists, then how can we move forward; forge ahead, grow? More importantly, how can we help others do the same?

When I think of stumbling blocks, I am reminded of Leviticus 19:14; this Scripture says "You shall not curse the deaf, nor place a stumbling block before the blind, but fear (revere) your God." Anyone with a moral compass would never purposely put a rock in the path of a blind man, nor cuss' out a deaf man incapable of hearing it, or prohibit him the chance to defend himself. So how does this Scripture apply here? I believe that at times it is US who are the deaf. We are the blind. We turn a deaf ear and a blind eye to our own shortcomings. We fail to revere God and trust in His provision of our gifts in the first place.

While we can't physically move ourselves from within ourselves, we can metaphysically (philosophy/physics 101 kicking in) step outside of ourselves. Try using my tools to overcome negative ions:

• Identify and confront your shortcomings.
• Ask God for His hand in moving your fears.
• Implement a strategy for change.
• Then, watch the negative ions scatter like an energy cloud racing to get the heck out the way.

Next post: Counter balance the negative ions by infusing positive ones: Determination. Motivation. Elevation.

See ya soon.