Showing posts with label Happy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Happy. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Grindin'...no this isn't an ode to the Neptunes! (But I do love them)

I'm so tired of folks coming up to me telling me about their hustle alone. I guess with most rappers constantly talking about moving weight and staying "on their grind" and "everyday I'm hustlin" it must seem like the thing to do.  But it's not just the rappers; it's the parents, it's the bosses, it's the love ones, hell we can argue this message is coming from everywhere.

BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUT

You can hustle hard your whole damn life and remain standing still. I mean if you don't have a purpose behind what you're doing it will be all for nothing.  Case in point: When I was little, lol, 21 years old all I could think about was buying a condo. I didn't know why I wanted to buy a house...maybe I heard something about it being attached to the American Dream. I knew that in order to be a "complete" person, I would have to acquire this item. Now looking back that was fear motivating me to purchase a home. I thought, if I don’t have a home that’s “mine” I’m not going to live a stable life. That's most of us right? We gotta have this amount of money in our 401k and this type of car to drive, if we don’t have this and that than we’re screwed. WRONG!!!

Is having a condo nice? Yes it is. But does it complete me as a human being? NO! I wish someone would have broken that down for me prior to 21.  It's great to set goals.  No one is arguing that, however, setting goals that are not connected to our higher purpose is pointless in the long run.  We have to figure out what our PURPOSE is in life in order to gain happiness or we will spend the rest of our lives trying to feed that void. PERIOD. That means money, cars, homes and significant others will not be able to bring us lasting happiness if they're not connected to a higher purpose. And that feeling of being incomplete is a super scary feeling to have for 20-80 years. Often times that feeling is so bad and uneasy that we medicate it with alcohol, drugs, women, horrible relationships...you name it.

Why are we here in the first damn place? Are we here to make people laugh or cry? Do we want to help others or hurt them? Are we here to create or to destroy? I truly believe that what we are here to do resonates with the very essence of our soul. It's what makes us giddy with excitement to the point in which we are overwhelmed with joy and tears. (And it doesn’t cost a cent to experience this type of happiness).  However, it could take time to find it within ourselves. The trick is you can't get it by looking at someone else’s blue print because we're all hard wired differently. Took me a minute to get that fully, like 10 years. I can’t copy anyone because I’m an original and so are you. For that I’m grateful.

The name of this blog is INSPIRE the grind. Inspiration is literally translated to mean the breath of God. My personal belief is that we’re all inspired beings. We just cut ourselves off from the source. But when we connect to the thing that makes us happy, boy o boy there is no stopping our shine. It is my sincere hope that we all find our inspiration on our grind or journey on Earth.

A word of caution: Most of us have NO IDEA what the hell we're doing here. You can argue that NONE of us really know what we're doing here on planet Earth but that’s not where I’m going with this little rant. Of course there are religious manuals and various creeds and descriptions that give us a code or guide for rightful living. But what do we do with those great sources of inspiration? That’s right...the opposite of what they’re intended for us to do. We argue about which book is right, the pictures on the pages, the places where the books originate and the authenticity of the statues. What the heeeezy man? And in turn, we get distracted or totally lost in the sauce and think those books are all a sham. At least that’s how I felt at 13 years of age. Nothing could really reach me. I wish all the great religions of the world could come together and just say what they need to say in a simple word: LOVE. But that makes things too simple.

As a result…we don’t know what the hell to believe. The great majority of us are just blowing in the wind...killing time...smoking and drinking, getting A**, working a 9-5, chillin with the homies or warring with our families. Of course there are highlights to this type of existence, maybe a kid's birth or a wedding ceremony or a really cool movie on a Friday night. But the great tragedy is we never take a moment, a day, a week to look within ourselves and find out what makes us HAPPY.

Why oh why do we continue to plague ourselves with so much misery following someone else’s idea of happiness? I'm tired of blaming it on the devil. What did that dude ever do to me? What can we do to make ourselves a little more joyful?

I believe happiness comes from each and every moment. It's this gift called life. Like, we have this awesome chance to become great in this lifetime at whatever we choose to experience. We fall and fall again because we’re just learning and that’s ok. But we can become better friends, better strangers, better bosses, better employees, better artists, better dreamers...ECT. We don't need permission to be loving and happy. And yet that's how most of us parade around town. “My boss won’t let me do this and it’s ruining my day”. REALLY? You’re entire day or life is ruined by one person who does not control your mind, your creativity, and your vision? Interesting. “I don’t have the money to go to college so I’m not going to go”. REALLY? Hmmm so just because you don’t have the money in your pocket right now, you’re going to deny yourself an opportunity to grow because you can only see one way to gain entry.

We all suffer from limited vision. I remember how I first glimpsed the infinite. I didn’t get it in a book or from a person. I was just a kid bored just staring at the ground. I saw an entire army of ants, marching onward, talking in a coded whisper, moving with purpose and total order. I’ve never looked at the world the same since that encounter. For some reason or another everything looked different when I looked up.   When most of us get out of bed in the morning; we only see chaos. I wish we could have faith in the order because eventually we could see it in our own lives.

Some seemingly good and some seemingly bad situations will happen to all of us but they will pass because everything in life is in constant motion. It has to be that way otherwise how could we grow from nothing into something? But it’s because of our limited understanding of this concept that we place UNREALISTIC expectations on others and on ourselves to remain still, frozen and never changing as human beings. I’m sooooo guilty of this but I have to remind myself to be thankful for those who come into my life and for those who leave because they are making way for new and more pleasant experiences.

WE HAVE TO STOP LIMITING OURSELVES!

We act like our circumstances define who we are. We are not who our parents are. We are not our zip codes. We are not our race. We are not our income bracket. WE ARE BOUNDLESS POTENTIAL. Let’s do something with it. Let’s have a little flair, a little fun, a little creativity…

This is a limitless place of possibility. Don't believe the HYPE! Become more little by little, love a lil more. Go ahead try it. Smile at a random person, see what happens. I know, I know you feel weird doing it. Do it anyways. That smile could lead to an entire different life. I’ve witnessed it come true.

I wish success, love and happiness for everyone. Stay inspired on your grind. I beg you!

Shak
100.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

It's Finally Time to Tame the Beast!

Man it’s hard to realize that you’re the one driving the car. I know…I know what the hell is Shak talking about? I’m talking about taking control of your life. It’s just that this year has been HEEEEEEEEEEELA HARD.  And I’ve been the main reason why it’s been that way.  Sure, I could blame the Recession Monster (kind of a creepy dude) or the Money Bandit (another creepster) but the real truth is I’ve done a damn fine job of getting in my own way.  I spend many waking minutes envisioning conflict sometimes in my waking hours.  Who does that?  Oh, you do it too?

Check out my most recent example.  Getting a minor concussion from playing soccer with 10 stitches.  Boy when I envision, I manifest!  I even remember thinking a week before the incident, how cool would it be to get a tattoo with "Beauty & The Beast". 

Day 2:  Right After The Hit ( I went up for a soccer header & well it didn't go as planned.  Thank Goodness for pain killers.)

OUCH (10 stitches)!!!!!!

Day 7: No more thinking crazy, battle-themed thoughts.  I promise! 


The truth is I have this 80/20 thing going on, maybe you guys do too. 80% of the time, I’m optimistic, I’m bright & cheery and thankful to be alive on this grand journey we call LIFE. But the other 20% of me would make Darth Vader shudder. It’s my inner beast that I’m talking about. It’s afraid to become more in life, it’s worried about making enough money, it’s afraid to get close to someone in a relationship and so what does it do? SEEK, SELF SABOTAGE & DESTROY!

Seriously.

2010 has been my own version of HALO. Because I love creating battles, I mean EPIC battles for myself I decided to kill myself financially and pay my mortgage by myself right when I was on track to decrease my finances and pursue acting 100%. This is nothing new; I’ve been paying for everything since I was 17 years of age. I have the lone ranger act down pact. I’m so ready for my scene where I walk into the sunset it ain’t even funny. But this isn’t good folks; it’s tragic hero behavior. Those who win create a team of support. Those who win don’t create obstacles for themselves but rather create solutions.

Who knows, maybe I feel like life will be too damn easy without the obstacles.  But isn't that a good thing? I think that dude in the matrix, Agent Smith was right when he said, “…as a species, human beings define their reality through misery and suffering. The perfect world was a dream that their primitive cerebrum[s] kept trying to wake up from.” Say it ain’t so Agent Smith!!!!

I thought I had it. I thought through all of my research on personal development, I had learned to master my thoughts. I mean read through the posts I wrote the previous year. BOY WAS I WRONG! Every time I try to convince someone (including myself) that we can create our own happiness…it turns into this Disney vs. Apocalypse argument. What if Agent Smith is right? Who cares that he’s a fictional character. What if we just can’t accept that happiness is real and totally possible?

Well, I’m at it again. I’m opening up the positive reinforcement books. I realize that it’s a practice not a one and done scenario. It’s like lifting weights and eating healthy…it’s for life not for a season in your life. And more important than taking care of your body is taking care of what you feed your mind. So, for the time being, I’m focusing on peace, abundance and happiness.

I already know it takes a MASTER MIND to focus on such things in a world that blocks light, perpetuates fear, increases poverty…but each of us can make such a huge difference. I’m taking baby steps. I’m back on my inspired grind. I’m back in acting class with a most positive teacher, Dustin Felder. Check that dude out. I realize my efforts for 2011 will be spent on building a team of positive, inspirational and in Dustin’s words “winning mentality” types of folks. I can lose by myself. Nobody can create better war like scenarios than the ones I manifest in my mind. So, this time around I’m going to put myself to the test and envision a total win-win scenario for my whole camp.

I’ll let you guys know what happiness looks like.

Shak
100.

Friday, January 29, 2010

Can You Be Too Happy?

Today as I walked in the office a co-worker stopped me. She said she had decided to ask me, "Why am I always so damn happy"? She said, "Shak, can you just give me a bit of what you have and sprinkle it in my coffee"? Man, if she only knew. I've been trying to find a way to scientifically reproduce happiness and SLANG it to the masses since I was about 4 years old. I've been ridiculed for being "too damn happy" since a child. “You’re too nice” I still hear all the time. “You have to learn how to deal with the REAL WORLD”. Recently, a sweet guy I was dating knocked on my door while I was singing in the shower. I can't remember what I was getting ready for at the time but we weren’t in a rush. But he started knocking on the door angrily, "Shak, what are you singing about, why are you always so damn happy?” REALLY????? No, I mean REALLY????? Isn't that an oxy-moron, can you really get angry at someone for being too damn happy?



That’s when it started to sink in I’m not from this planet. No it’s the only logical explanation. Maybe, people are right. I must not be a part of “THE REAL WORLD”. I can't help but to find the joy in the GRIND. My cup has always been full not half full but really full. And as a result, folks from far and wide have taken it upon themselves to try to drag me down to their level of misery or rather take me back into “THE REAL WORLD”. But I don’t live there. I’ve tried being miserable and depressed like most other people. But the truth is I’m just no good at it. I’ve even tried being really mean and totally inconsiderate of other people, and it ended up hurting me more than the folks I was trying to intentionally hurt. Remember, what goes towards comes back towards. I’m happy because I give off happiness. My other co-worker said, "Shak you're like a Disney princess, singing while you work for 7 dwarfs like Snow White". NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! That might be taking it a bit too far. A Disney Princess?


Perhaps the real truth is no one sees the amount of effort and sweat I put into taming my inner beast. We have to fight every day the good fight to be NICE people. The reason it’s such a fight and uphill battle is that we live in a world that doesn’t see the value in treating each other nicely. Sure there are several books that preach it’s the RIGHT way to live (the bible, the Koran, the Torah…Aesop’s Fables). But who reads and believes those books right? I mean it’s one thing to quote a parable or two, but no one is crazy to live that way right?


"The honey bees that fetch the nectar from the flower to the comb
Never tire of ever buzzing to and fro.
Because they take a little nip, from ev`ry flower that they sip.
And hence, they find their task is not a grind.


For a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down.
Medicine go dow-wown, medicine go down.
Just a spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down
In the most delightful way."
---Mary Poppins




Shak aka The “happy” alien
100.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Don't Worry, Be Happy...Doo do do doodoo doodoo :)


My belief #268: Clemies are definitely purely made of smiles

What gives me chills up my spine?  What makes me cry tears of joy?  Beauty.  When I think of beauty, I think of beautiful spirits...art...and determination.  Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and I'm starting to realize that happiness is as well.  We are taught that happiness fits into a box or is intangible by most but I believe that it's in everything all day long.  I pray every morning and evening that I am able to see and experience how wonderful my life is moment by moment.  What I am learning is that gratitude is a major component of that happiness..that beauty.

Never compare your best or worst days to someone else's.  Why?  Because it just never compares.  We all have our struggles and when we try to do a side by side the scale always tips someone's way.  Who am I to say that my accomplishment of running without wanting to just stop already every 5 seconds isn't as dope as someone who's run their 19th marathon?  I always try to focus on the good even when it seems like it all sucks.  My motto#472 (yeah I've got like a trillion) is that "it's gonna work out because it has to."  That's it.  I am hopeful and thankful.  A friend was sleeping in her car and I could provide a place to shower and sleep for the evening.  I was so appreciative that I could help.  I've slept on couches before and this chick was just on her grind.  She hadn't given up at all.  She reminded me to be thankful I could be there for someone I didn't know that well.  I'm learning new things to be thankful for everyday.

Some stuff I am appreciative for in no particular order:

My homie, "Fat Steve", is in remission 
I love Clementines, and I like to call them "Clemies"
My sister
The rain when it comes every now and again in LA
Hot tea 
NetFlix
Faith in my practice 
My existence
Movies = my life
Love
Green
Blue
Music = soundtrack of my life
My mom
The amazing way that eyes work (think about it...you can focus on something close or far away just by thinking it, even if you don't realize you are)
Friends (every last one I've ever had and will ever have)
Passion
Celeste
Having my apartment
Daddy-o
Uncle Lo
My bed
LAUGHTER
Wine
Getting paid to eat sushi for dinner tonight (awesome!)
Learning to run
FreeStyles!
Missy Hardesty
Inspiration (because it's everywhere) 

Gratitude allows me to appreciate this grind.  To see all the people I can learn from and all the people I can help along the way.  It allows me to be inspired and not block out the inspiration because I'm waiting for something else to come along to make this very moment better.

Gratitude=Happiness

100.

Bright

Friday, October 30, 2009

I'm Inspired By: Love...(Kinda)


I wonder how much time we spend waiting for someone else to make us happy? I wonder how many people are happy with themselves? Not happy with self=No Love

Love,
Shak
100.

Things I Love... Pt4 aka xkcd

October 30th
By: Randall Munroe


A lil something for the "Back to the Future" lover in me.

100.

Bright

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Half Full or Half Empty?


I just have one question for everyone. Is your cup half empty or half full? I realize that this question is of the utmost importance because it frames a person's entire existence. Life is constantly in flux, changing directions at any given moment. The only thing we have control of as mere mortals is our reaction to every change.

How do you react to situations that are seemingly negative? Your car stops in the middle of traffic. Your two months behind on your mortgage and you don't have a job. You don't get the promotion at work. You have to work two jobs because your first job has cut the salary. Your girlfriend decides that she's better off without you. Your financial aid has run out but you need another $8,000 to remain in school for the semester. Your sister is an addict. Your best friend sleeps with your boyfriend. Your son is constantly getting into trouble and can't find steady work...

Every person reading this has a SEEMINGLY NEGATIVE situation(s) in their lives. So with so much "negativity" in the world, how are folks actually consistently happy? I think "happy" people, you know the type (they're always smiling and carrying on and stuff), are happy because they've made a choice. Despite the "seemingly negative" crap that is going on in their lives; they have decided that they're going to be "HAPPY". So next time you see a "happy" person on the street, just know that they have a lot of crap on their plate too. It's just that they've decided to smile about it and keep it moving.

P.S. My cup is 8/10 full.
Shak
100.