Chicken Bologna and Bread

*sigh of relief* It feels good to be back. But, only for a split second. Project overload is in motion and I'm really proud of myself. A little worn out but I'm alrite and hopefully it will work out for the better. I'm not here to preach on this post today. And the title of this post was thought up after watching an episode of "Housewives of Atlanta": their trip to Africa. My first thoughts on the matter were to blog about the episode but I didn't have the time to sit down at a computer (I so need to invest in a laptop... random) And I'm glad that I didn't because since then, apparently a "Higher Power" has made me analyze this phrase a little more and incorporate it into my very own life.

To sum things up quickly, the ladies had taken a trip to Africa and they were on their way to visit an orphanage when they stopped off to a store and saw some students dancing and singing... on their lunchbreak! The first thing that got to me was, when the ladies approached the kids, a little girl greeted them by asking, "can I hug you?" *tear* The next thing that just tore a hole in my heart was when the ladies asked the kids would they like anything out of the store and one little boy said, "chicken bolgna and bread." *another tear* With that being said, actually none of the kids asked for anything that was not an everyday necessity.

Back to me. I have to admit, that I have been stressing lately about a lot of shit that has been going on in my life. I would lose myself in my thoughts and then meditate on, "walking by faith and not by sight." In the mist of the mantras, now generally speaking, people don't stop to think how much worst things could be or how it's the small things that are taken for granted everyday. What would you do without your chicken bologna and bread? If you couldn't get your hands on it? It's right there in your face but you lack the necessity to just walk in the store and purchase it. Do you go and steal it, pout about it or do you sing songs and dance to your own tune in pure happiness because your atmosphere is filled with praise and goodness? We take so many of the simple things in life for granted. We swim in irrational thoughts about what we don't have and how we can't make it without it. I won't call it "selfish" but I will call it "spoiled." Spoiled in the sense that our mind today is corrupted with material possessions, competitions and outside appearances, when there are others that find the things we have never thought twice about, so important and valuable.

I try to commit to frugal-ness. I try not to impose "brands" and "flash" onto my children. However, we are put in situations where we have easy access to just about anything that we want. The way we look at what's best for ourselves as well as our children, consists of excessive expenditures encouraged through over-the-top promotions. Do these children have breakfast in the morning's when they hop up to leave for school? Are they able to pack snacks or carry a lunch? Can the little girls dress in frilly tutus, play in mommies make-up, jewelry and shoes? Are the parents able to have a time to themselves to just enjoy one another? Are there fancy resturaunts to go and eat? Is it affordable? Are the things that WE consider affordable in their budget, as well? What would you do if you couldn't afford sanitary napkins when your cycle came on? How would you cope if you had no heat? How would you look at that person next to you if they were the less fortunate one? Had this been us, we would quickly brand ourselves as a failure. But these people hold something within themselves that we "spoiled brats" will never be able to appreciate... a pure heart and unconditional love minus the possessions or achievements. Minus the chicken bologna and bread.

Small talk with big meaning. I think I've said enough for today. Until next time bloggers...