Yesterday evening, I had the pleasure of celebrating my friend Ms. Raylawni’s 85th birthday with her. Y’all, she had so much fun! I am so grateful and blessed that God brought us together. I’m so thankful for divine connections. I love my friend.
This past Sunday, we spent the day together laughing and reminiscing about the “good old days,” which was actually me listening to her tell stories about her amazing life. We also watched the Roberta Flack documentary. Y’all, Roberta was a fascinating human being! I was so in awe of her story. Did you know she produced music under the name Rubina Flake? They described Rubina as her alter ego, saying she became a bolder person as Rubina.
I can’t express enough how grateful I am for life. I’m so grateful and blessed that God’s allowed me to live it as I have. To have witnessed and experienced all I have through the eyes of others.
Y’all, life is meant to be lived!
Sitting here thinking about one of Ms. Raylawni’s friends, Ms. Cee, who I spent an evening with last week. Now, her story is one for the books. She was a professional dancer in her younger years, and later a studio owner. The way she described her life was like that of a Hallmark and Lifetime movie. A little love and lots of drama.
Please allow me a moment of gratitude:
God, thank You for loving me! For allowing me to witness Your greatness in real time. I do not take Your love, goodness, or kindness for granted. I know that I am blessed—truly blessed🙏🏽
This is all I have for now. Listen, if you want to truly live, sit and stay in God’s presence. He will give you experiences that will satisfy your soul. Yeah…His experiences are soul deep!
After going down numerous rabbit holes watching interviews with and about Dolly Parton, I’m never going to apologize for fully enjoying and living life on my terms. Maybe I’ll never be invited into certain rooms or be everyone’s cup of tea; however, at the end of my life I’ll know that I lived it to its fullest being my most authentic self and doing what I love. I wouldn’t be honoring God if I didn’t.
Y’all, I truly love who I am. This wasn’t always so. I wasted many years wishing I could fit in. Wishing I could be invited to this or that, or accepted by certain groups of people. Now, I don’t care whether or not I’m invited or accepted. Those who love me, love me. Those who were tolerating me are slowly being removed from my life, and I’m learning to let them go. I’ve found that it’s true, God will replace what you thought you lost with better.
I’ve said this so many times over the past few years that I’m beginning to sound like a broken record—I am absolutely loving this side of 50. I am so grateful for my life.
God, thank You for making me, ME. Thank You for loving ME.
I pray you have a wonderful Saturday! Be sure to be extra loving, kind, and gentle with yourself. Give yourself grace.♥️
Y’all, I’m sitting here laughing because it just dawned on me that I haven’t spoken to you today!! I just knew I had said something.😂
Listen, it’s been one of those days. Been multitasking all day. Then took a much too long nap. Started watching Tyler Perry’s Beauty In Black earlier. Had to stop to let my daughter catch up. Y’all, this is the only Tyler Perry show she’s ever been excited about. It’s so funny because she caught up with me then said she was about to watch the next episode. I had to tell her to slow down! We can’t watch it all tonight because what will we watch tomorrow.😂😂😂
Y’all, this show is WILD! Each episode has left me with my mouth hanging open. Whew!!! Listen, if you’re looking for a show that’ll take you on one of the craziest rides, Beauty In Black is it! It’s on Netflix.
I promise not to wait so long to speak tomorrow. Have a wonderful evening and lovely weekend.♥️
Finally settling down. This day was anything BUT the “rain day” I had planned. I’m laughing because isn’t that how it is at times. The mistake I made was opening my laptop and forgetting to put my phone on Do Not Disturb. Gotta do better.
Anyhoo… I was sitting here and the question came to mind, “What do you want most?”. Not what you want at this moment, but most from life.
What do you want most?
As I often do, I’m sharing this question with you because I know I’m not the only one who needs to sit with it.
Once you find your answer, strive for that. Make that your focus.
I would say to answer the question without thinking financially or in monetary terms, but if that’s what YOU want most, then that’s what you want most. Don’t let anyone’s opinions or influence stop you from going after what YOU want most. Just don’t make it a person because that would be creepy.Just saying…
You may wonder how you would know when you’ve figured it out. Well, I believe that if you really think about it—as I am doing now—it’s that thing that’s been with you since childhood. It’s the one goal or dream you can’t seem to shake. It’s that thing that’s soul-deep.
By the way, I wish I’d had Dolly Parton on my list of people to meet. She was soooo cool!! Definitely my kind of person. And I didn’t know she loved butterflies as much as she did. I love butterflies.🦋😩
Y’all, we must keep hope alive. We can’t let it die with the greats of our time. We have to carry it on. And not only hope. We must carry on love, kindness, compassion, empathy, and goodness.♥️
This morning, in the middle of writing my post, I shared—
“I pray life is treating you kind. Side note: Why am I hearing Whitney singing “I hope life treats you kind…”? I just love my life. It’s so random.”
Little did I know that when I stopped to share that, Dolly Parton had either transitioned or was making her transition. I can’t stop crying. I wish I knew…😭
My baby girl’s heart is so broken right now. She absolutely adored Dolly. Ever since she was a kid, she has said she was going to be just like Dolly Parton when she got older. I’m sad for her.😔
May Dolly rest in peace. I know Carl is happy to see her, and she’s happy to see him.♥️♥️
Over the past few months, I’ve been doing so well with sleeping most of the night. I’ve only had a few days where I’ve fallen asleep so early that I wake up in the wee hours of the morning. And when I would, I made sure not to click on any social media apps. Well, today was different. I clicked. And the first thing that greeted me was the news of Hayden Panettiere’s passing.
Today, I shared “Prayers” under Shaun’s Daily Inspiration. Here’s what I wrote:
“Sending up prayers for all in need. For those suffering in silence. For those on the verge of a breakdown. For those who feel like they can’t make it another second and are hanging on by a thread.
Father God, place them in your loving arms, hold them close, and never let them go. Give them peace and comfort. Let them know that they are loved and they are not alone. Amen
Scripture: Psalm 61:1-2
“Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer. From the ends of the earth I call to You, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than l.”
Although I’ve attached the link in the quote, I still want to share the post in its entirety. Right now I’m smiling through happy tears because God knows ME so well! He knows exactly what I need and when I need it. This journey of mine has been one wild roller coaster ride. And honestly, I’m not sure if I would have wanted it any other way. I’m not going to lie and say I enjoyed the uncertain and difficult moments; however, the overall experiences were worth it for getting me to where I am today. Here’s what I shared six years ago—
“Y’all already know what day it is! I have not been blogging much. It is not because I do not have anything to blog about. I am just trying to find a steady rhythm for blogging. Something that is sustainable. Outside of blogging on this site, I also keep a journal, and I am finally beginning to blog again under A Research Diva’s Journey. So yeah, I need to find a rhythm.
Yesterday’s blog, Aimlessly Passing Time, was about losing the passion I used to have for my profession. Y’all, being a registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN) was life! I mean, all I talked about was assisting people with making healthier lifestyle choices. Over time it became tiresome. Especially when I found myself constantly competing against the newest fad diet, anything Google or Dr. Oz said, or what worked for their best friend’s friend’s friend. Ugh!! Talk about too much!
Then two years ago, things began to change. Honestly, it was before then. Have you ever felt like you were running on a hamster wheel? You know, like the more you ran, or the faster it turned, you never moved? Well, that was how I was beginning to feel. Everything had become too routine. So I decided to go the Public Health route thinking something would rekindle my passion. It did for a while but not as much as I thought it would.
Umm.. Just thinking.. Some of my happiest moments involved nutrition education sessions. Whether I was providing the sessions or training others to do the sessions, I loved the interaction. I thrived off of it! There is something about watching a person’s face light up when they learn something new, or even watching them process the information. I particularly enjoyed educating and interacting with children and young adults. From toddlers to college students, they were all like sponges. They soaked up EVERYTHING and were very inquisitive. Yeah.. that is what I miss.
Anyhoo… I guess my passion is not completely gone. I just need to find ways to continue doing what I love.”
Y’all, God is so good! For several years, I tried changing professions because I had become burnt out as a dietitian. You just don’t know the energy it takes to constantly fight misinformation (even from other healthcare professionals). By the time I resigned from my job—even though I was mostly doing research—my passion for dietetics and nutrition was hanging on by a thread. I only wanted to focus on the culinary side. I wanted to cook, eat, and post pictures of my food. I had no desire to educate anyone who didn’t ask to be educated. I had embraced being a foodie. Someone else could do the rest. So I thought…
A few months ago, I was asked to create a nutrition program for a local clinic, and that’s when everything began to change. I was actually excited to educate again. Since then, I’ve even launched my own program for women—Nutrition with LaShaundreaB’s Let’s Get Healthier Together. Here’s the link to my blog, in case you want to read my posts: Nutrition with LaShaundreaB.
Here’s what I’ve learned or am learning. What I thought was lost—that beautiful passion of mine—never actually left. I just needed the right environment to rekindle it. On Friday, I spoke at a local women business owners’ summit about the importance of preventive care, including the benefits of a healthy diet. As I stated six years ago: “There is something about watching a person’s face light up when they learn something new, or…watching them process the information.” I loved it!
I’ll end this post as I did in 2020—
“I guess my passion is not completely gone. I just need to find ways to continue doing what I love.”
Smiling.
I got my passion back!
Forever grateful that God loves me. I am truly blessed.🥰
I pray you’ve had a lovely weekend thus far. May today be just as lovely.♥️
This morning I woke up feeling a bit different. I woke up with no desire to share my world with the world.
Could this be the end of It’s Shaun’s World?
As the title says, this is my random rambling for today. So, I’m just sharing my thoughts.
You see, over the past several months, so many wonderful experiences and opportunities have happened, but I have only shared a few. I’ve been pretty quiet about everything. Not intentionally. I just don’t feel like sharing everything anymore. I’m okay with the entire universe not knowing what’s happening in Shaun’s World. Yes, the universe because I believe that when I write angels and extraterrestrials read my posts. Laughing. Anyhoo… Lately, I’ve been in the zone of living my experiences rather than writing about them. Perhaps this is my season of silence. OR… this is my season to completely experience every moment.
Y’all, I asked for this side of 50 to be different, and it seems as if each year on this side of 50 has brought out a different version of me.I have no clue what God is doing, but I’m guessing this year—Year53—is my silent season. So, even though I may not say much, know that I’m here, I’m well, and I’m enjoying living in each present moment.
I pray you have a wonderful Self-Love Saturday! Be sure to do something extra special for yourself.♥️
It’s Shaun’s World 
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