Archive for ‘emotion’ category

Breaking the Mental Block to Continue Running

Running

If you asked me last year if you thought I was going to be a pretty good runner, I would have laughed at you, and told you that I didn’t have time for jokes.  Now, it’s a different story. I love running.  Yes, at times, it can be a little daunting.  However, after awhile, you can run and run without even thinking twice about it.

Last year, when I went to Panama, I couldn’t even run for a mile.  Kristine was my motivation and moral support.  This is a girl who did marathons all the time, and was always one of the fastest girls in her squandron.  I remember that I allowed my friends to convince me to sign up for the Army Ten Miler.  I would chat with my sister and tell her that I couldn’t do something like that. She told me not to give up, and that before she joined the Air Force, she was a terrible runner.  Like me, she said that she would constantly get cramps because she didn’t know how to breathe properly.  Also, she would get tired after she took two steps.  She said that it took her a couple of months to finally build up her stamina, and not think that running was half bad.

I remember being in Panama and running with her.  She would be running without even heaving, and I couldn’t even speak.  I would tell her to keep running cause I felt bad that I was preventing her from running the way she was accustomed to.  She would stop and smile at me.

“That’s ok Shevonne.  I want to walk with you.”

It was due to her support that I was eventually able to run the Army Ten Miler without stopping.  The first time I ran one mile without stopping, I sent her an email, so excited that I was able to do even that.  She was so ecstatic.  She responded, “I am so happy for you! I knew you could do it.”

When she passed away, I stopped exercising for awhile because it was hard for me to even get out of bed.  Eventually I had to because I had two children to take care of.  I didn’t even want to do the Cherry Blossom Ten Miler that I was doing in April.  However, I knew that Kristine loved that I was running, so I decided to start training.  The first two times I tried running, I could only do a mile.  I finally said to myself, “STOP THIS! If you can’t do it for yourself, do it for your sister, who was so proud of you.”

I started running two, three, and now five miles without thinking twice.  Yesterday when I ran five miles, I kept thinking that she was running right next to me, and encouraging me to keep going.  It was the only way that I kept running until I reached my goal.  I felt great afterwards, and I was able to smile, without having to force it, for the first time in over a month. 

I want her to be proud of me in anything that I do.  I hope that she is.


Revenge Usually Backfires, So Don’t Do It

5 January, 2010 | dcfemella | Comments

Sympathy for Lady Vengeance

One of my favorite trilogies of all time is the Vengeance Trilogy (Sympathy for Mr. Vegeance/Oldboy/Lady Vengeance) by Chan-wook Park. The theme that runs in all of the movies is that revenge is not sweet. It usually backfires, and you, end up being the actual victim of it.

It’s something that I tried explaining to someone this past week. After having someone close to her do something inexcusable, my friend kept talking about getting revenge. I tried for two days to talk her out of it, but with no success.

When I was younger, I was all about vengeance. Maybe old age or lack of every feeling good about any of the failed attempts made me realize that I didn’t accomplish anything. Yes, usually in the first couple of hours or weeks, it feels great to have caused this person who tormented you some pain. However, it’s usually short-lived. In the end, the vengeful act usually backfires.

I tried explaining that to my friend. I told her that the best form of revenge is forgetting that person exists and trying to rise about his/her vicious act. You usually feel a whole lot better, and karma usually takes care of anything you would have thought of. Why does karma work? The person usually doesn’t learn and history repeats itself, usually with him/her on the receiving end.

My friend didn’t listen and still continued forward with her plan. At first, she said she felt great, but then a day later I received a message saying that she should have left the person alone cause now she is in serious trouble for act.

Revenge is never the way to go. Take that energy and exert it doing something wonderful for you.


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Love Letter to My Slow Cooker

16 December, 2009 | dcfemella | Comments

Slow Cooker

Dear Slow Cooker,

I don’t know why it took me so long to understand how wonderful you are.  You have helped me save money, time, and lose weight.  This project I’m on is tiring, and I now don’t have any excuses to head to a restaurant 5 days a week because I am too tired and didn’t have time to cook anything.  All I do is cut a few things, plop them in, and you do the rest. 

I don’t have any reason to snack anymore while I wait for the food to cook because you are ready and waiting to serve.  You know what I really love about you?  The aromatics that float out of you and reach my nose right when I enter the house.  We quickly eat and can move on to other things.

The time I save is crazy.  You have given me back a few minutes to almost of hour of night left, so I can spend more time with the kids.  There are always leftovers, so I can take food to work.  You should see the envious looks I get when I am in the kitchen, while everyone else has frozen meals.  I smile because they could have just as good and easy. 

You make me feel like I’m one of the Jetsons cause I just press button and POOF, the food is ready.

Thank you and love always,

Shevonne

Emotional Abuse Should Be Treated as a Crime

29 November, 2009 | dcfemella | Comments

Verbal abuse is a way to slowly deteriorate any kind of self esteem that a person has, and for that fact, feeling like she is a human being. For two years, I dealt with that kind of abuse from my ex. I once wrote in my diary how many words he called me, and it came up to being over 30 words. It’s been over five years since we have been together, and he still says the most heinous things to me when he wants to. When we lived together, I would hit him because I would get so enraged. I don’t have a bad temper unless you continue to push me, and that is what he did. I can’t even step foot in Fredericksburg without shaking because I begin to relive all those dark moments in my life that I’d rather forget. After leaving him, I had the worst self-esteem imaginable. I was lucky to have dated a wonderful guy who made me realize how a guy should treat a woman, something that my ex, even at 33, hasn’t learned to do.

This weekend I called him to ask him a question about Cebastian. He starts yelling on the phone, “You c*nt, b*tch, wh*re, sl*t” etc. etc. After yelling all these vulgarities, he hangs up. I was infuriated. It got to the point that I actually smashed the phone (lucky it didnt break). I felt the way I felt when I was living with this guy: dirty, low, and wretched. I IM him that I was just asking him something, and he repeats his rant and the words said above. After awhile, I receive a text from him calmly responding back to my question. Too late. I responded that I don’t want to speak to him.

I don’t understand how a 33-year old man can talk to a woman this way. My mom says that I should call the police on him, but I honestly don’t think there is anything the authorities can do. All I know is that I can’t allow this man to speak to me like this anymore. Every time he feels like it, he says, “F*ck you, go to hell, etc.” I really am at a loss as to what to do. I want to tell his parents, but they wouldn’t do anything about it. It bothers me because we are in our thirties, and I still can’t speak to this man in a civilized way.

I don’t want Cebastian to turn out like this man, and I don’t want Isabelle to think it’s ok to be with someone like that. I’m lucky that they only interact with him four days out of the month. I used to get upset that he never bothered to call them during the two weeks they aren’t with him, but now I am happy that he doesn’t. He has psychological issues, and it doesn’t seem that he has gotten any help for his hatred towards women.

I really do wish you could press charges against emotional abuse in the US. I feel like it’s worse than physical abuse because it’s like someone once said to me, “At least bruises disappear.”


Photo Detail: sticks and stones, originally uploaded by Hekate-moon.

Learning How to Release Stress

9 November, 2009 | dcfemella | Comments

I am someone who never learned how to handle stress, until just recently. One thing I now know is that parents have a lot to do with how you handle stress. My parents are not the best in stress management, so they never gave the me the right tools to deal with stressful situations.

Things I have learned are:

1. Meditate in the mornings even if it’s just for ten minutes
2. If you feel yourself getting upset, leave the situation and take a breather
3. Exercise, it does more than just the body good
4. Don’t hang with drama-filled people
5. Learn to let go
6. Live in the present
7. Make peace with the past
8. Smile especially when upset
9. Vent in a journal
10. Realize how lucky you are

What are some things that you do to release stress?

Photo Detail: Stress Siren., originally uploaded by SaylaMarz.