Day 6: Loneliness & Day 7: Feeling Lost

I'm falling back on the days so I'm going to be doing two days in one post to keep me on track!

Day 6: Loneliness

As we continue to go through the process of healing, speaking about loneliness, walking in your purpose, and the moments of being lost are on the top of the list. Simply because they are overlooked conversations that help you find your way in making daily strides.

To some extent we all have moments where we feel alone. No-one is texting or checking up on you, especially during these times, and you feel like you're in a corner by yourself. I KNOW I've felt these moments especially living in NYC by myself. When I am feeling moments of loneliness, I pray and journal. If that doesn't help, I'll reach out to my family and friends with a simple check in. Little do you know, they may be feeling the same way you are and all it takes is a simple text or call to say hi. God is ALWAYS with you, but the human touch and voice are things we crave. Loneliness, as far as relationships, is another topic for another time, but for now I'm simply speaking in the terms of family and friends! The reason I'm currently on this trip is because my friend was feeling really alone and we gathered together to build some in person experiences!

Day 7: Lost & Purpose

We spoke about moments in life where there feels like there is no hope, being lost in such a big world and having no purpose! As the super spiritual friend, is what they call me lol, I had to break down to them those moments are important. It's easy to get caught up in thoughts, feelings, and emotions of "being lost", but feeling lost allows us to STOP & LOOK AT OUR LIVES. Even the people who seem to have it all together, have moments of feeling lost, because that's apart of the journey. When I feel lost I know that it could be God tugging me to look deeper and look at the more of life or it could be Him saying I need to reroute where I'm headed. Either way those moments allow us to simply stop and see where we are, what we are building, and where are we headed!

Purpose is something we all seek to attain, because our lives will have a bigger meaning, to why we live. When searching for your purpose it's important to mediate and look at what you've done in your lifetime thus far. What do you like? What comes naturally? What gives you a fulfillment each day even in tough times? Those are ways to start to align yourself to your higher calling!

Let me know how you all have applied these insights and if you have any questions, don't hesitate to reach out or comment below. Blessings -Lee.

Photo Recap:

Day 4 & 5: Anxiety & Depression

The Bible says be anxious for nothing, but in all things be in prayer. Philippians 4:6

Unfortunately as a society we are all seeking the next thing with no certainty and have allowed ourselves to become anxious with things such as: standing in line, meeting new people, etc! Those anxieties lead to stress and depression and that's a dark place to be.

So today I wanted to talk about how I overcome anxiety and depression.

To be honest, I've only experienced one anxiety attack in my life and it was after a break up and man was that time frame tough. I typically allow myself to feel my emotions so they can pass through me and not remain bottled within, but letting these emotions out all at once lead to the anxiety attack. If you've never had one before, God bless you, but the feeling is like the room gets REALLY small, like you can't breathe, as if your life is so small.

Once I realized I was experiencing it, I took a couple of deep breathes, caught myself, started to pray for God's grace, covering, peace and love, then my heart calmed down and my mind became clear. I then started to affirm myself with positivity like: "Alisha you ARE enough, Alisha you WILL make it through this and overcome these emotions, Why are you crying? you're God's beloved!"

Here are 5 steps I told my friends to do to overcome their moments of anxiety:

1) PAUSE! Take a moment to recognize that you're overthinking.

2) BREATHE! Take a couple DEEP breathes and allow your breathe to bring you back to a calm and clear place.

3) SPEAK OVER YOURSELF (if alone, speak out loud words of affirmation that bless you to Remember who and how great you are). If you're around other people gently whisper those same positive affirmations to bring confidence back into your life and that moment.

4) Pray, Dance (to shake off negative vibes), Journal or take notes in phone, & drink water!

5) Talk to someone near you or call a close friend so they can lift your spirits!

When it comes to depression I apply these same steps, however depression is a darker space to be in. So I HIGHLY recommend reaching out to a close friend or family member to let them know you are struggling with keeping positive and hopeful thoughts about your life! Also play some uplifting music, watch an uplifting movie, or some comedy. Depression is a spirit that comes to taint your joyful and hopeful life, so if you ever find yourself in a dark space, that's more likely depression and I pray you apply these steps and surround yourself with light!

I pray you all overcome the darkness we are all going through and I hope this helped your process the next time anxiety tries to consume your life. Blessings, Lee!

Day 2 & 3: Prayer, Meditation, Journaling

Day 2: Prayer & Meditation

After I've spent time recognizing and reflecting I then go into prayer and meditation.

Prayer and meditation are habits I practice daily to keep my focus on the goals and vision I have for my life. There are moments such as these where I spend more than 30minutes praying to God, then meditating silently to hear His response. It's not that God speaks down in a LOUD STERN VOICE, even though He can, but more so the silent & still voice within all of us that guides us down the right path for our lives. That silent voice is the Holy Spirit!

Because I'm on a trip with friends I don't have my normal space that I would to pray and meditate, so when we would arrive at certain stops and viewing points, I would ask for time alone to simply meditate in the atmosphere that I was in. In moments like these, where I'm not at home, I journal!

Day 3: Journaling

Journaling is a BIG part in my journey, because we were hiking half days and driving others. I would take notes throughout the day then at night journal and recall my thoughts, experiences, and feelings.

Here is an excerpt:

"Today was amazing and it's still unreal that I'm in freaking Utah, I guess we don't know the full plans God has for us, lol! But man what a day. I went hiking for the first time and I was scared as heck from bugs, leeches, and random wild life attacking lol! But I made it back safely and God kept reminding me that everything is okay so enjoy the journey and I did! The views were impeccable and never would I've thought I would be doing something like this in my lifetime, but here I am... God truly is reminding me that there is more to life than I can imagine and He's showing me in real time."

Well the rest gets SUPER personal lol, but that's just a glimpse of an intro to my journaling. After the intro, I start to break down my feelings of what I saw and how it can apply to my life or I'll ask myself is this simply an experience? Your praying, meditating, and journaling and truly specific and unique to you so don't be afraid to express yourself and release thoughts and ideas you might have!

Here is a gallery of more images from Moab: