Keep Living

By Melanated Glow

The right words at the right time can change a person’s life completely. Everything we need is inside of us and although we generally know what we need to do, we don’t always do it. Well, this is more true as an adult than as an adolescent. As humans, we can tend to get complacent once we reach a certain point in our lives. A part of us would like for things to stay the same because we are comfortable there. That comfort is somewhat of an illusion because the only thing that stays the same in this world is the fact that there is always change.

“What do you plan to do with your life?” was a question posed to a teenager that forced her to evaluate what she was doing and where she was going. She really didn’t give it much thought before being posed with the question in that moment. Everything begins with a thought, so everything that came after that started to mold her life with intention. With some of us life is living us instead of us living life. We have to set goals and dream because everything starts with a thought. If we are not planning, other energies are making the plans for us.

We need guides our entire lives. The source of the guidance or inspiration could be anything including religion, observation, schooling, counseling, or meditation. As children, an adult voice is necessary to be in tune with to help with setting the path. In today’s society the parents and family are the main parties responsible for guiding the child. In times past that structure included the entire community or tribe. Older people can see things more clearly than a child. My mother did not allow me to hang around certain children. I didn’t understand it as a child but as I reflect on it, I am grateful that that type of energy was not influential in my development.

The older people back in the day used to say “Keep Living”. There are certain things you have to experience to fully understand. When it is time to gain that level of understanding, it will be easier if you have something in your memory to connect to. We didn’t understand everything the elders said and did as children, but when we got older they were able to come back to our remembrance.

Most people can pinpoint the moment when their lives changed if there was a drastic change. If someone was key in influencing that change, that person is remembered and held dear. That specific moment ignited something inside that allowed for a total change in mind, body, and spirit. This also means that whatever was needed was inside all along. The words just brought out what was needed.

This is similar to how healing with natural herbs work. Our bodies are made to heal itself. The herbs assist the body to do what it is already designed to do. Herbs are like a system booster so that the organs function optimally, not different. Everything the body needs is already inside of it. Actually one of the main roles of the body is to remove foreign agents because that causes disease.

Paying attention to our young people will allow us to see when they need those words to shift their trajectory in a more positive direction. Making sure we speak life, not death, into their souls. There is so much power in the tongue as it has the power to speak life into our. There was a reason why we used to say “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” We need to continue speaking the truths that have been passed down so they are able to guide each generation in due time.