Tag: goals

Life

Wednesday Writings

Shaun Bradford

I’m just going to jump right in. A few days ago, after reviewing several pictures I had taken with a guest speaker at an event, I began criticizing my appearance. Y’all, it was like I couldn’t stop.

Transparent Moment:

I rarely take full body pictures because 1) I do not know how to pose (y’all my poses are terrible 😂) and 2) I’m not comfortable with my weight. So after taking the pictures the guest speaker, I began to openly critique every photo – I looked too fat, too short, the camera wasn’t positioned right, needed a better camera (HA.. there’s absolutely nothing wrong with mine). Y’all, I was on a roll. Couldn’t stop myself. The criticism was flowing like running water. Sadly, it wasn’t until I got in the car that I realized what I had done. Ouch! Up until that moment, I never realized how much I criticized myself. And to do it in public was completely embarrassing! It’s one thing to do it at home (which is still wrong) and another to do it in public. As I sat in my car tearing up, I promised myself that I would never criticize myself in public again. I can only imagine the impression I left. Sigh

Here’s a full body picture from another day. I’m learning that the only way I can fully embrace myself, as well as become more confident, is to stop hiding what I consider flaws and imperfections. And the negative self talk has to go, TODAY! How can I promote self-love if I’m not truly embracing all of me?

For me, there’s something so cathartic about releasing issues into the atmosphere. Once out, I imagine the words braking into fragments until they become tiny particles floating away into the universe. Release & Breathe

Thank you for reading! Praying you have a wonderful week.

Shaun

Life

What a Decade!

Shaun Bradford

In a few months I’ll be 49. Y’all, so much has happened during this decade. I lost myself, found myself, then discovered what I thought I wanted for decades wasn’t really what I wanted. Yeah.. I’ll be 49 this year and I’m starting over – new dreams, new goals, new relationships. ~ Shaun

Hey You!
Life

Wednesday Writings

Shaun Bradford

At this very moment, my daughter and I should be preparing to leave for France. We were scheduled for a noon departure from New Orleans arriving in Paris tomorrow morning, January 27 – my daughter’s 27th birthday.

In September, my daughter casually mentioned that she wanted to spend her 27th birthday in Paris. Well, as a mom who absolutely LOVES birthdays, I started planning. Long story short, we were booked and ready to go then Omicron happened. Although we are both vaxed and boosted, a couple of weeks ago we decided to postpone our trip because we didn’t want to be either denied going (a positive diagnosis seemed almost inevitable) or one or both of us stuck and quarantined in Paris because of a positive diagnosis. It was just too risky, especially since my son wasn’t going (he didn’t want to miss a few days of school.. he’s so responsible – Lol).

I wish I could say we are really disappointed about not going, but honestly, I can’t. The truth is neither of us wanted to leave my son behind and he didn’t want to be left behind. So I guess you can say it all worked out for the best. When we go later this year, he will be going with us. And my daughter, she’s not missing a thing. After canceling our mother-daughter trip, she planned a solo trip to another destination. At the end of the day, I know everything worked out the way it was meant to be.

À Bientôt Paris!

Shaun