Top Blogger 2016-2022.
Spirit Unbroken the Blog by Sue Brown
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A HUMAN’S PURPOSE aka JOURNEY
SpiritUnbroken the Blog (c) by Sue Brown
When a long journey begins, or when a quest is undertaken, be it a pilgrimage of Spirit or an ambition, desire, or hope… there is the excitement at the beginning… because the unknown still lies before us. But at some stage, we tire. The terrain can become unfamiliar. Issues arise, challenges greet us, and at this point, too many feel that this must not be meant to be – for we have told ourself that if it is truly meant to be, it will be easy. This is not always the case. Rarely, is LIFE easy.
It appears to be, for all, in both the seen and unseen worlds, there are parts of the “great journey” that require: stamina, courage, and endurance – our ability to commit, and to stay with the task until we have made it. Do not enter into challenges lightly – enter into them, if at all, wholeheartedly.
Without what we describe as “a challenge,” there will be no growth. If we work through the challenges, we will emerge stronger, and then be more able to realize the next dream. If we run at the first sign of difficulty, we will never forget it; it will be considered a personal failure. Perhaps, the time has come in life and work for us to build up your endurance. Commit. Practice. Train! No matter what the goal… give it our all. That’s endurance of thought, word, or deed.
We may believe we are weak mentally or physically unable to complete a task. We may be committed to believing that there is no way our “strength” can increase. It is usually not about our physicality – so often, it is the amazing endurance of Spirit and Soul. Our creative force requires the ability to go that little bit further, to reach a little higher, to extend ourselves, to go well beyond our individual comfort zones.
The second part of our strength is preparing ourself and strength will come through, just at the point we are ready to give up. Keep going. And we can go so much further than we believe we can! This is not the time to turn back or to allow the challenges/ tests to take us.
This is the time to continue the journey you committed to – because you are being tested and you can pass this test. But you must keep going. Eyes forward. Intention focused. Purpose clear!
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APRIL IS NATIONAL CHILD ABUSE MONTH… GET INVOLVED!
Child Abuse: choose to see it; choose to be part of the solution!
Since research has shown that almost 1/3 of people having been sexually abused… never disclose this experience to anyone, the actual number of victims must be considerably higher than the given statistics.
Therefore, logically, it’s closer to 60 million survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse in the United States and The District of Columbia, today.
1 in 4 girls are sexually abused before their fourteenth birthday!
1 in 6 boys are sexually abused before their sixteenth birthday!The median age for reported abuse is nine years old.
90% of all victims know their perpetrators.
Nearly 70% of child sex offenders have more than one victim.
70% of child sex offenders victimize between 1 and 9 children.
Almost one quarter of them victimized 10 to 40 victims.
More STATS on the EFFECTS of CHILD ABUSE on the Survivors
Girl survivors of sexual abuse are three times more likely to develop alcohol and drug abuse or psychiatric problems in adulthood, than girls who have not experienced sexual abuse.
Boy survivors of sexual abuse had a greater than an 80% chance of substance abuse, 50% had suicidal inclinations, and 23% actually attempted to take their own life. 70% received psychological treatment. 31% victimized others!
70-80% of sexual abuse survivors report excessive drug and alcohol abuse.
40% of all childhood sexual survivors suffer long-term effects that require therapy.
Although these statistics are real, they can be changed. The abuse stops with us.
We need not pass the dysfunction forward to yet, another generation.
No one gives us self- esteem; we must choose it for ourselves. By succumbing to substance abuse of any kind or abusing others we perpetuate the cycle. We add to the statistics and our abuser(s) are the victors. We can make that healthy and positive choice for ourselves.
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Each new day, we all have the chance to start over.
That’s a powerful thought! Most days, we let that opportunity slip by. Imagine the freedom of actually wiping the slate clean of all the negatives in our lives and instead focusing only on the positives in our lives. It’s a powerful and liberating realization and a gift from our Creator.
This opportunity is offered to all men …everywhere. It makes us connected in a very basic way. Sometimes, this “gift” is forgotten or dismissed. Yet, it might be the most meaningful thing we receive. It is often difficult to unwrap a new beginning and start fresh because it brings memories and situations that might be painful and scary. We all struggle with the unknown.
Maybe a loved one has died or has been diagnosed with an illness. We might even be the one who is ill and we feel frightened and alone. Perhaps, we have lost a job or our home and we are uncertain of our family’s security. Sometimes, there is Military Deployment in the family or one is coming up and we worry constantly. Or occasionally, our burden is a wrong that was done to us over the last year, or many, many years ago or perhaps, it’s something we did to another person and we are now shouldering the guilt of our actions. Real situations; real life!
Here’s the amazing part. It is virtually impossible not to find something good in even the most challenging of situations. It’s difficult to see sometimes, but it’s always there. My own personal belief is that we can not control what is done to us, our individual tests and challenges by others, Nature, and our God, but we always have a choice in how we react to those tests and challenges.
It appears as basic as acceptance of the things we can not change and a quiet determination to rise above our adversities as a stronger and wiser person. It is also our opportunity to act both honorably and responsibly not only for ourselves but for others while we find our way. Very simply, it’s Integrity… or doing the right thing regardless of the outcome. Sometimes it is difficult, but we can accomplish it.
Choice is what separates humans from other mammals; that’s empowering. Even if we personally fail in one test or challenge…a new one will come along in which we get to choose all over again. Maybe, it’s so we finally get it correct. Life, as given, isn’t easy. Often, we do not like the apparent choices as they are presented to us and sometimes, they seem unfair, but they are choices nonetheless.
With each and every positive choice we make for ourselves and towards others, we further define who we are as Human Beings and make the world a better place. Every day we are given this opportunity to perfect ourselves. It is an absolutely liberating thought and practice. We are not defined by what has been done to us in the past, but instead we are what we have chosen to do for ourselves… both now and in the future.
What is amazing about our time here on Earth is that with each positive action we choose, we have the opportunity to leave our own Human Footprint in time.
Let this be the time that our lives aren’t so much about what we have…or what we’ve lost, but rather what we’ve given and therefore found.
Sue
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Each new day, we all have the chance to start over.
That’s a powerful thought! Most days, we let that opportunity slip by. Imagine the freedom of actually wiping the slate clean of all the negatives in our lives and instead focusing only on the positives in our lives. It’s a powerful and liberating realization and a gift from our Creator.
This opportunity is offered to all men …everywhere. It makes us connected in a very basic way. Sometimes, this “gift” is forgotten or dismissed. Yet, it might be the most meaningful thing we receive. It is often difficult to unwrap a new beginning and start fresh because it brings memories and situations that might be painful and scary. We all struggle with the unknown.
Maybe a loved one has died or has been diagnosed with an illness. We might even be the one who is ill and we feel frightened and alone. Perhaps, we have lost a job or our home and we are uncertain of our family’s security. Sometimes, there is Military Deployment in the family or one is coming up and we worry constantly. Or occasionally, our burden is a wrong that was done to us over the last year, or many, many years ago or perhaps, it’s something we did to another person and we are now shouldering the guilt of our actions. Real situations; real life!
Here’s the amazing part. It is virtually impossible not to find something good in even the most challenging of situations. It’s difficult to see sometimes, but it’s always there. My own personal belief is that we can not control what is done to us, our individual tests and challenges by others, Nature, and our God, but we always have a choice in how we react to those tests and challenges.
It appears as basic as acceptance of the things we can not change and a quiet determination to rise above our adversities as a stronger and wiser person. It is also our opportunity to act both honorably and responsibly not only for ourselves but for others while we find our way. Very simply, it’s Integrity… or doing the right thing regardless of the outcome. Sometimes it is difficult, but we can accomplish it.
Choice is what separates humans from other mammals; that’s empowering. Even if we personally fail in one test or challenge…a new one will come along in which we get to choose all over again. Maybe, it’s so we finally get it correct. Life, as given, isn’t easy. Often, we do not like the apparent choices as they are presented to us and sometimes, they seem unfair, but they are choices nonetheless.
With each and every positive choice we make for ourselves and towards others, we further define who we are as Human Beings and make the world a better place. Every day we are given this opportunity to perfect ourselves. It is an absolutely liberating thought and practice. We are not defined by what has been done to us in the past, but instead we are what we have chosen to do for ourselves… both now and in the future.
What is amazing about our time here on Earth is that with each positive action we choose, we have the opportunity to leave our own Human Footprint in time.
Let this be the time that our lives aren’t so much about what we have…or what we’ve lost, but rather what we’ve given and therefore found.
Sue
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by Sue Brown
When I think about where I have been in life and where I still have to go, I get nervous. Have I done enough? It is not exactly clear to me when I realized that my life here on Earth had an actual purpose, but it became clear to me that it does. The path that I have been following for many years, even if I didn’t recognize it, is to make the world a softer, kinder, and gentler place. A person of substance is what I try to be. I repeat… try.
It is apparent to others how much I “love” people. I really do. It is one of the many Blessings that I have been given during my life and one beyond compare. How is it possible that one who had minimal affection/love as a child grows up to be caring and compassionate? Perhaps, it was acquired over time, but what I know clearly is that people react to kindness and caring. Is it possible that this fact is so often overlooked?
Then one day, I got it! Most important to others is that we be a man or woman of substance. What exactly is that? Paraphrasing the definition:
“A person of substance is someone who strives to live a life that means something and who chooses to participate rather than be a spectator in life in order to be part of the solution as opposed to the problem.”
But what would make us actively participate and try to seek new roads? Initially, we need to find a cause outside of our own being. For some, that’s uncomfortable. While it is natural and accepted that we humans are self-absorbed and often self-centered… a cause that benefits just one person would hardly make a dent on the significance scale. That’s according to some people; I disagree. No cause is too small. Doing something for the greater good means pursuing causes that:
- Make the world a better place
- Increase the quality of life for others
- Right a wrong
- Prevent the end of something good
- Initiate something good
Participation
Active participation requires courage and people of substance must have it! While the frail soul is safe from failure, they will never taste victory either. So, people of substance take risks. They try and they fail, but they never grow weary of trying. U.S President Teddy Roosevelt said:
“The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasm, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.
People of substance take responsibility for their actions successful or not. They wholeheartedly put themselves at the center of the action and fully accept whatever consequences the action may bring.
Solutions
People of substance know that there is no middle/neutral position on anything. They identify with the belief that “If you are not part of the solution, then you are part of the problem.” Similar to wants outnumbering means, problems outnumber solutions and real problem solvers in life are few and far between.
Good problem-solving between competing interests typically requires a person of integrity with complete objectivity and solid values. The solution-seeking person of substance will have had significant experience in both the good and the bad.
They will have “met with triumph and disaster and have treated those just the same” as the IF poem, by Rudyard Kipling, so accurately says. No doubt they will have lived an experience rich, full, and varied life. Choosing to experience life outside of our comfort zone in order to gain life experiences that can be used in solving problems would appear to be another action that would lead to becoming a person of substance. Sometimes, it is hard.
Becoming
It appears to me that becoming anything involves a series of decisions followed by necessary actions. Becoming a person of substance is no different. It starts for all of us the same:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference. (Robert Frost)
We each make hundreds of decisions each day. We choose between frivolous and important, between what’s best for us and what’s right, between short and long-term betterment, between politeness and wholeheartedness, between apathy and commitment, between self-centered and the greater good, between avoiding and accepting responsibility, between risk avoidance and risk management, between a life of leisure and a life of challenge, between timidity and courage, and between deceit and integrity.
I believe the person of substance chooses the less traveled… the second option, at each and every divergence. It is indeed the harder road, but one well worth it.
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LIFE in itself is such a positive! What an amazing “gift” that often is taken for granted. Instead of thinking about what could go wrong in your life, a positive thinker thinks about what can go right.
A positive thinker is going to look for the good in things. That’s just who they are. That means they will always try to find something positive about every situation and what they are supposed to learn from it; I am still “learning” even at this point of my life. However, everyone can learn to become a positive person. Any one; any age!
When you give off positive energy, you infect others with that positive energy and they will return that energy to you. It is basically the belief that what you put out… will come back to you. When you are helpful, happy, and kind, then others will be as well.
A positive thinker is going to be able to stay upbeat in any situation; they do not dwell on the negative. They accept the challenge/ test as given, learn from it, and then move on. Done!
Positive thinking can be used in every aspect of life, from the little things to major things. It can be used to help you get through trying times. You can also use it to just make your average day go a little better.
Positive thinking involves being able to turn off the negative thoughts and replace them with good thoughts.
You will start to do everything in a more positive way, including how you treat others. This will not go unnoticed. Your interaction with others plays a large part in your life.
Positive thinking will allow you to believe that you can accomplish something if you put your mind to it. You will be able to set goals and reach them because you will believe that you can do it. You can!
Positive thinking is very influential. It is going to start to shape everyone and everything around you. You are going to see the great effect it has almost immediately. The power of positive thinking is not subtle.
You have to make an effort to let positive thinking start turning all your thoughts and ideas into positive thoughts and ideas. It is up to you to start pushing the negativity out of your head and let positive thoughts guide you.
When you start to find your thoughts, drifting to the negative… it is your responsibility to make an effort to make them positive instead. Don’t wait for those around you to do it for you.
The power of positive thinking is that it will shape your life. It is so contagious that it will affect the world around you. Let this be the NEW Pandemic! Soon, we will start to see positive thinking/ actions everywhere we go.
The true power of Positive thinking is that it allows you to live life to its fullest potential and for all that it has to offer without letting negativity bring you down.
A positive mind anticipates: happiness, joy, health and a successful outcome of every
situation and action. Whatever the mind expects, it finds. That’s a win: win right there.When the attitude is positive, we entertain pleasant feelings and constructive images and see in our mind’s eye what we really want to happen.
Think positively, expect only favorable results and situations, and circumstances
will change accordingly. It may take some time for the changes to take place, but
eventually they do.When you expect success and say “I can,” you fill yourself with confidence and joy.
Fill your mind with light, hope, and feelings of strength, and soon your life will reflect
these qualities.When you choose the best possible action, it makes it that much easier to choose the best positive meanings to the given situations stemming from the best possible actions that were chosen.
Don’t think of positive thoughts as an avoidance technique or even worse, a gimmick; think of them as a symptom of good living. LIVE ON!
Spirit Unbroken the Blog by Sue Brown 2016-2022.
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I have a favorite expression that I “coined” a many years back. It is: I have never seen the next step of my Life coming, until I figuratively, and sometimes literally, trip over it! It continues to be so. In the aftermath of what I considered, each time, to be a major fall from my own Life’s Path… I have actually come to realize that what followed would not have followed… if I hadn’t had that particular test/challenge, disappointment, or major event in my life.
It’s really hard for me to argue with the well-used phrase: Everything that happens… happens for a reason. I have seen it, lived it, and written about it too many times to deny its accuracy. What is also clearer each day is that our paths here on Earth, (although ones of “choice”), have a “Force” so much greater than each of us. I call mine God.
Life, here on Earth, is such a gift. The humbling, learning, and growing continues to amaze me each and every day. Yesterday, I went over to the beach to do my daily walk. As I was walking, I suddenly felt overcome with emotion and concern. Was I doing enough to “make the world a better place for others?” I silently, (and worriedly), asked for a sign from above. As I looked up, a loud laugh came out of my mouth and I humbly gave a thumbs up to the heavens. Unmistakably, there was a large hollow in the middle of the clouds in the shape of a heart; it was unmistakeable. It was huge.
Continuing my walk on the. beach, I next encountered a robust little girl of color; she was about four, I guessed. As I bent down to ask her name, which she told me was “Lily,” (perhaps, it’s spelled differently), her large upper lip stuck out at an angle. Maybe she had previously had stitches and they were badly done or maybe she never had any and they had been needed. Lily also had a number of scars on her face which were hard to ignore. Next thing I knew, she took my hand and started walking with me. She was not at all concerned with the calls of a woman sitting a distance back on the sand. Lily had found a friend. Eventually, a young man came down to the water’s edge and told her “she was in trouble.” Lily sadly waived good-bye. I told her I would see her again.
These two events were difficult not to think about as I continued on my way. It seemed appropriate that I stop for a moment, face the Atlantic Ocean, and say a prayer. It was then that two dolphins surfaced extraordinarily close to the edge. They waived to me with their tails. Yes, yes… there was most likely a school of fish. However, I chose to view it as the third of my “signs” that day. It was just too amazingly coincidental.
LIFE is such an amazing gift. It is not easy; it is too often difficult. However, there has always been, and will continue to be a reason for each us. Even with a few “trips” we continue on its journey.
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Order the book: SPIRIT UNBROKEN A Journey of Hope, Survival, and Beating the Odds
by Sue Brown
All proceeds go to Childhood Abuse organizations.
We have been speaking, the past few months, against the atrocities of the defenseless children of so many foreign countries in the Middle East, Africa, Mexico et al.
The reality is that in our own country, America, we continue to have our own issues of Child Abuse. Why are we not as focused on this?
Can we cure our own issues of Abuse… in addition to other nations, as well?
Why has this never been included in any United States candidate’s platform for political office? It’s something we keep choosing to ignore because it is uncomfortable and embarrassing to acknowledge.Come on America… SPEAK UP!
STAGGERING STATISTICS
Almost 40 million people living in the United States today are survivors of childhood sexual abuse.
Since research has shown that almost 1/3 of people having been sexually abused never disclose this experience to anyone, the actual number of victims must be considerably higher than the given statistics.
Therefore, logically, it’s closer to 60 million survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse in the United States and The District of Columbia, today.
1 in 4 girls are sexually abused before their fourteenth birthday!
1 in 6 boys are sexually abused before their sixteenth birthday!The median age for reported abuse is nine years old.
90% of all victims know their perpetrators.
Nearly 70% of child sex offenders have more than one victim.
70% of child sex offenders victimize between 1 and 9 children. Almost one quarter of them victimized 10 to 40 victims.
Girl survivors of sexual abuse are three times more likely to develop alcohol and drug abuse or psychiatric problems in adulthood, than girls who have not experienced sexual abuse.
Boy survivors of sexual abuse had a greater than an 80% chance of substance abuse, 50% had suicidal inclinations, and 23% actually attempted to take their own life. 70% received psychological treatment. 31% victimized others!
70-80% of sexual abuse survivors report excessive drug and alcohol abuse.
40% of all childhood sexual survivors suffer long-term effects that require therapy.
Although these statistics are real, they can be changed. The abuse stops with us. We need not pass the dysfunction forward to yet, another generation.
No one gives us self- esteem; we must choose it for ourselves. By succumbing to substance abuse of any kind or abusing others we perpetuate the cycle. We add to the statistics and our abuser(s) are the victors. We can make that healthy and positive choice for ourselves.
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Children are America’s Greatest Resource!
Soon it’s Back to School time all across the U.S. I worry about the “kids” more today than ever before. Over my years within the classroom, I witnessed the students experimenting and trying new things at a younger and younger age. As my teaching discipline was high school/college English… it is fair to say over twenty years I “taught it all” and “taught all of them” and because of that saw young people aka teenagers in a natural light… away from home and with peers. Many of them are still “children” inside, but with pressures from Society and friends, they try to come across as adults… both in their words and actions.
I was lucky enough to be one of the trusted “real” adults that the students sought out for advice and guidance. It is fair to say that I offered it freely. It is clear to me that although adults like to say and think that things were the same when we were their age... it’s not even close to the same. We had issues and concerns, yes, but not the drama (their word not mine) which is clearly a part of the modern teens’ culture. A parent, teacher, or guardian who is not aware that frequent drinking, readily available drugs, and early, early, early sex are the NORM with high schoolers (and even younger) and not the exception… are fooling themselves and at the same time doing a dis-service to their teen. Kids, even the good ones, test the boundaries. Do not be naive.
Over the decades, I taught in three different states in different parts of the country. I taught in the suburbs and I taught inner-city. There were times the students were well-off financially and there were times that almost all of them qualified for free-lunch. They were all skin colors, many different nationalities and yet every one of them was the same. I believe that to my core.
Here’s the universal sameness :
Children/teens need and expect boundaries!
Children/ teens need and hope for guidance!
Children/teens need consequences when they violate those boundaries!
Children/teens need positive role models not buddies!
Children/ teens need you to actively ask them the hard questions and then not believe the easy answers…because it’s easier for you!
Children/teens are not adults…they just pretend that they are!
BUT children and teens do ALL the things adults do and…
they are still not ready.
They still have so much to learn in school… and in life.May we all take a more active role in young lives;
they are our legacy.Let us not be their “friends” or negative influencers in their lives. RATHER: Be tough and be a role model. The love they show, well, I believe that’s REAL RESPECT!
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Spirit Unbroken the Blog 