Get Ready, Get Ready...

I hope you're all as excited as I am about the upcoming month long celebration of International Women's Friendship Month. I have some fun things planned and look forward to everyone's input on friendship throughout the month.

I need YOUR help for this endeavor to be as fun and informative as possible.

Please share this blog with as many of your Diva Friends as possible.  Encourage them to subscribe via email (that way the fun will be delivered right to their inbox each day!!!) and join in on the discussions!

There will be fun giveaways throughout the month and I can't wait for some of the guest posts we have lined up.  If you're interested in writing a guest post, please send me an email and I can send you the details.

Be Blessed Divas and enjoy the rest of your day!!!

Looking on the bright side

I strive to be as positive as possible in all situations.  To me, it seems to make life more enjoyable and manageable.  By focusing on the positive things in life, I don't ignore the negatives.  I just realize there will be some instances that occur where I have no control whatsoever in the end result.  Stressing and cussing over it will solve nothing and only cause more unnecessary distress in my world.  By focusing on what I can fix, I'm putting my time and energy to the best uses.  My faith plays a huge role in this as well.  I know that there will be situations that arise where  only the intervention of God will make a difference.  There's a reason and cause behind why something happens and I strive to learn and grow from those experiences as much as possible.


I came across a blog awhile ago by Ayo Olaniyan on the benefits of optimism.  I bookmarked it and have referred it to friends and colleagues over the past year or so and used it for personal growth as well.


Some of the benefits he listed, that I truly appreciate and embrace are:


It reduces stress
It enables you to handle and put your emotions in check
It promotes happiness, self respect and integrity
It creates a positive anticipation of the future
It allows you to develop the attribute of patience (one of my weaknesses, I must admit!)
It makes you proactive
It gives you peace of mind
It increases you level of motivation
It promotes laughter
It creates positive expectations
It sets your mood for the day
It increases your spiritual development and awakening
It enhances effective communication


So just how do you become more optimistic? I must admit, it's not always easy and it took some serious mind shifts on my part.  I found once I began purposely focusing on the positive things in my life and world, that I began to feel better mentally and emotionally.  Things that would normally set me off on a tangent, seemed minute or amusing.  I will admit that pessimistic people began to irritate me more and I found myself distancing and removing them from my circle.


Some suggestions from Ayo's blog on developing optimism:


Have realistic goals and expectations
Always remember we are human and all have imperfections
Acknowledge past events, but endeavor to manage the present with a view to creating a
       brighter future (My favorite!!!)
Don't fall into the trap of feeling hopeless
Be true to yourself
Network with people who show optimism in their daily lives (it'll rub off on you!)
Believe in your dreams and potential (if you don't, who will?!?)


Have a blessed day, Divas! To those who have been touched by Hurricane Irene - our prayers and thoughts are with you.  Stay safe and be smart in these days following the storm.

The Domestic Violence Project

One of my blogger friends, T.C. Galltin, is embarking on a what I think is a wonderful project to bring awareness to domestic violence. In one of her recent blogs, she shares her story and how it has shaped her life thus far.  I applaud her for speaking out and encouraging others to do the same.  So many times we try to brush these problems under the rug and pretend they don't exist - even when it's our mothers, sisters and daughters.  


T.C. is asking for six-word "essays" on domestic violence.  Her contribution: "The scars will always be there"


Short but powerful.


I'm asking as many divas as possible to help her out and send her your own personal essays. If you're comfortable sharing them in the comments section with this blog, please do so, as well.  You never know who your words will comfort or inspire.


Be blessed, Divas, and remember to be a blessing to others  - you never know what someone is dealing with and how you may inspire them.

~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~

TC Galltin shares her thoughts and experiences on her blog, The Musings of TC Galltin.

She is the mother of one, a freelance writer and the author of the forthcoming novel Zaire’s Place about three women whose lives converge at a domestic violence shelter in Baltimore, MD.  In her spare time, she enjoys tweeting (@TCGalltin) and Facebooking (/TCGalltin) and spending time with her daughter, whom she loves to pieces.

Women’s Friendship Month

September is Women’s Friendship Month and I would love to profile some dynamic women and their friendship stories throughout the month of September.

If you are interested, please send an email to divaswithpurpose@gmail.com for more information. You can either write your piece yourself (I reserve the right to edit, if necessary, but will let you see the final draft prior to posting) or send me the general information and I will put something together.

There will even be some fun prizes and games throughout the month.

Be Blessed, Divas, and remember to be a blessing to others!

Check Us Out...

One of the things I love about blogging is the wonderful people I meet via comments, blog hops and groups.

One of those people is Dietta Lee, host of Black Women Rise - an online resource for women who are making a come up.

She has graciously allowed me to be a guest blogger on her site and would love if you'd show her (and me) some support.

Check out the post: Rise, Diva, Rise! and let me know what you think.

Be Blessed Divas!!!