Pretty Blue Rose

Anyone remember the Sims game?

It is a  strategic, life simulation video game series where the player (you or I) creates virtual people called “Sims” and places them in houses and helps direct their moods and satisfy their desires.  

Now a-days there are all of these “additions” , but I used to play the original back in undergrad–spending  countless hours hustling to make a few bucks, keep myself and my house clean, while keeping my friends, family, and myself happy. It was a struggle to do all of that, very frustrating at times, but it was super fun and addictive….that is until I learned there was a cheat that allowed me to increase my money at any time. When you entered in a certain code, your money would increase by thousands of dollars! Jackpot! Right?!?!

When I first found out, I was so ecstatic I felt like I won the real lottery! I could hardly sleep. I could build any house I wanted with all of the furniture I wanted. I didn’t have to work for measly dollars, life was great….or so I thought. Not too long after the newness of money wore off, and I had all sorts of new and expensive furniture in my houses (yes plural), I stopped playing the game altogether. It no longer excited me, so I moved on. Cold turkey.

So years later I am able to look back on my sudden change of heart with a game that I really really loved at one point to learn a very valuable lesson.

I never understood either, how rich celebrities could be so self centered and miserable.  To be frank I would get quite annoyed. I would look at a bored Paris Hilton, the Kardashians, and numerous other folks that fit into that mold, (Mariah Carey and thousands of pairs of shoes?!?!? hello) and just shake my head.  But now I get it. They are bored. They have the  Sims “money cheat” so to speak and they don’t know what to do. The excitement of the money wears off and you have to find other ways to entertain yourself. (seems to me many of those ways of entertainment aren’t legal…but whatever…)

Now I am not one of those people who thinks money is bad, I think it tends to magnify the traits already present in a person—both good and bad. In most cases I think it is preferable to have money than not to.  No apologies for that sentiment. (how can you help others if you have nothing to give?)  But I do realize that as a society we tend to put too much emphasis on money, the influence and privilege it provides, and how we can get more of all three.

So when I am tempted to complain thinking if I just had more money things would be better/different— I try to think about what I am really asking for. I don’t want the money, I’d like peace of mind (and maybe a long vacation, like 2 years long )

While money does make things more convenient, it doesn’t erase the hardships of life. Although the hustle of working everyday, be it out of the home or with children in the home, is sometimes super frustrating, it is a necessary function to keep us humans from becoming bored.

Just for a few moments I had what I thought I wanted with the Sims cheat–unlimited funds, access to the best houses, cars and lifestyle but I quickly became bored. Interesting, eh? 

Stay hungry for progress and accomplishments, but never lose sight of the ultimate reasons for life. Service to others, peace, etc.

A. Genise

I think I’ve uncovered the one thing that keeps many people from realizing their dreams—and that’s trying to figure out how it will happen, when it will happen, and who will help you get there before you purposefully move forward.

As you all know, my day job as an analyst is very far away from dancing and the fact that I haven’t been doing what I love on a daily basis is hard to deal with most days. For as long as I can remember I’ve had visions of dancing around the world, teaching master classes, taking master classes, and having a studio space to foster others’ gifts related to dance, singing, acting etc.

Now dreaming is great and having a clear vision is wonderful, but I realized that trying to figure out how all of my dreams would come to pass, especially as my life exists now, has kept me from moving forward.

Reasoning how I am going to find the energy to dance after commuting and work, family time, blogging, home improvements, and everything else had me stuck. Then I also thought that even if I did have the energy to pursue dancing, with the millions of other better, more talented, and more dedicated dancers where would I fit in? (so why try?)

So in addition to trying to figure it all out, I then doubted it would happen even if I could find the energy–and both thoughts were huge hindrances to moving forward.The reality is that God’s plans are infinitely better than mine yet I was trying to figure out how He could make it work. And to my limited mind it really doesn’t work at all.  I see absolutely No Way my current path crosses with the path that leads to my vision.

It’s like my current career/trajectory is me walking left when I so badly want to be walking right. I argued with God asking, why would you give me this vision, this dream if it cannot and will not come to pass??!!

But what I have forgotten is that 3 left turns actually makes a right (I’ll pause to let you visualize that) and although I feel like none of what I am doing now is connected to my passion, my dreams , and the vision for my life I am going to stop trying to figure it out. Every step I take on the way to my destiny will NOT be one that makes sense, gives me chills, or makes me swoon. But every step IS necessary.

Believing that it all will work out means I can walk forward without kicking and screaming about where I am now. I will no longer think this is a mistake. I will rest assure that every step  I take in the seemingly wrong direction is ordained by God and every dream I have will manifest.

So what’s my plan of action now that I’ve have all of these realizations?

Well, I think my job is to hone my talent daily through learning new choreography, working on my own choreography, staying inspired, eating healthy, and staying in shape. (and then taking a class or two a week to reinforce.) I’ll do my job and allow God do to His.

I’m looking forward to sharing my journey back to dance with you:)

Here’s a picture of my new flooring for my in home studio!! We went to lowes to look for a microwave and ended up with flooring for my studio!

(hey if someone knows where I can purchase mirrors I’d love a heads up!)

A. Genise

PS. Happy First Day of Spring (for the folks in the northern hemisphere!)

“Sometimes I wonder about my life. I lead a small life. Well, valuable, but small. And sometimes I wonder, do I do it because I like it, or because I haven’t been brave?”

-Kathleen Kelly (played by Meg Ryan from the movie You’ve Got Mail)

You may already know I love the movie You’ve Got Mail, so it makes sense that I really love this quote!

In the (oh so long ago) past, I had a (bad) habit of “small” thinking, which leads to the small life Meg Ryan spoke of. I would think that other successful people had/stole my life.

For example JLo, who started out as a fly girl on the comedy show In Living Color, ended up dancing her way into singing and acting– somehow stole my career path. (yeah I know it’s silly, but I subconsiously thought that!)

I was also supposed to be one of Janet Jackson’s back up dancers, so Tina Landon (one of Janet’s best choreographers seen below in the front left) also had my job.

It’s easy to think successful people have some special secret, or a leg up that you don’t have. Thinking successful people have an “in” negates the hard work and many hours of practice they put in (even if you think they don’t deserve the success). All that kind of thinking does is gives you an excuse to stay small.

I encourage you not to count yourself out, knowing that you can and should be more. Even if you are deep in the trenches of job and commute land mixed with raising a family (sound familiar?) move bravely towards your aspirations.

Be brave, live big, be bold!

A. Genise

Yesterday I heard the best analogy listening to the radio.

The speaker was explaining some of the differences between race cars and road cars and relating them to how we should operate in our everyday lives. He explained that road cars are built with a long life in mind. We expect a new car to perform reliably for hundreds of thousands of miles. They are built to last.

This is not the case, however, with race cars. A race engine is built with one thing in mind: power. Race engine components are built to be light and strong, and in most cases, they don’t last much longer than one race.

We, in turn, are not built to run at a race car’s top capacity all the time. Although multitasking and constant working are things that companies tend to push, it’s not good for us long term. Can you handle what’s thrown at you? Can you juggle different responsibilities without letting them see you sweat? Of Course I can! But at what cost? Like a race car, you can manage to work more, better, harder, but you won’t last long. You can get by for a while, but you will burn out.

So if you live your life more like a road car built for the long term, you will last much longer.

So in line with my advice, I’m taking a week off of my blog to rest.

See yall next Wednesday!

A. Edwards