My Pursuit of Happiness

  There come some days when we wake up thinking that today is going to be a wonderful day.  Then find out, when you walk out of your house, people start verbally attacking you for the sake of depersonalizing you.  The first blow you might not feel as much but when they keep on coming every piece of your being becomes raw and bloody.  A flood of tears comes flowing down your reddened face without any stopping.  I normally get this feeling of worthlessness thinking that I cannot move past this maltreatment.    STOP RIGHT THERE!!!  We don't deserve this treatment that people give us.  We shouldn't give them permission to rule our life telling us what we should wear, what we should do in our life and how we should talk.  What you should do, as a person, is have a protest rally for yourself.  Take everything that "they" said not for you to do and do just the opposite.  A...

At the beginning of this week I celebrated my 31st birthday none other than with my bestest of friends....that's right...with my parents.  I came up with a plan that I wasn't going to celebrate my birthday until my parents came back to the fold.  My mom wasn't here last year and it took her 8 weeks until she came back home.  Due to her illness and a few set backs my dad and I spent many a day by her side.  What I'm trying to say is my family doesn't go anywhere without each other.  We differ from other families who have their members spread out around the world.  We don't just think about oneself but each other as a team.  We keep things close to the nest.  So all in all my home is where my small family is.  What happens when my mother and father go?  I have their house and their memories which inhabits my memories. 

For the past 7 years I have gone countless nights without having a decent night's sleep.  It started with me waking up in the middle of the night (normally at the same time each night) or not being able to fall asleep.  Then at the end it was both not being able to fall asleep AND waking up in the middle of the night.  I would develop really bad headaches and stiff/painful muscles.  It seemed like it took me the longest time to find a solution to alleviate this never ending battle with insomnia.  I am still fighting it to this day.  But I did find a routine that I am able to do to make me feel more relaxed when I go to bed.  1.  Take a hot shower or hot bath and submerge yourself in the water.  Try putting scented oils in the bath water.  2. Lather a nice smelling lotion, such as lavender, all over your body.  3.  Drink hot chamomile tea. 4.  About 2-3 hours before you go to bed turn off all electronics.  5....

Beauty A Creation of New Life in the Young and the Old What is beauty and where does it come from?  Beauty comes from within. You experience pain and anguish to become the kind of perfect you think beauty is. All of this to find yourself broken, hurt, and lost.....a side you wished never to revisit but who has been tormenting and pushing you from the very beginning to reveal the raw beauty that is beneath this fragile, sensitive, innocent little flower. Beauty is pain.... Beauty is passion.... Beauty is perfection..... Beauty is about letting go of what has been holding you back..... I believe that every person has multiple parts of their being that reveal itself a little at a time as the years go by.  Some parts might frighten oneself and could set that person into a state of denial for he or she is in disbelief of the ability and voice one possesses.  If you are a timid and fragile perfectionist, like myself, you strive to satisfy the...

When To Know If Something Is Bothering You And How To Tame The Stress By: Robin-Louise Burkitt            Here it is the end of the first week of the new year and as I sit here on this great comfortable bed of mine snuggling up under my fleece blanket and making sure the pillows are just smooshed enough to cradle my back and my neck, I am pondering on all the trials and tribulations of my past defeats and becoming frantic on what the future holds and what needs to be done so the past does not come back to haunt me in the end.  It's pretty overwhelming if you ask me.  I was asked yesterday, by someone at work, how my Christmas vacation was.  I replied by saying, "Very relaxing!  I read!".  The God's honest truth of the matter is it really was a bold face lie.  (Why in the world do people ask you how you are when they don't want to hear the truth is beyond me.)  I have counted about 10 nigh...

Out With The Old and In With The New A New Year's Reflection/Resolution Commentary by: Robin-Louise Burkitt  Here it is the last day of 2011, which I might say was not such a bad year compared to some years in the past.  As I sit here writing this blog and thinking of all that has transpired over the last 364 days, it is brought to my recollection the time I was studying to be a music teacher.  My music education professor would always sit us down after a Practicum lesson and have us evaluate (or should I say reflect) on our progress.  He would always ask us to list one strength first and then follow it by one thing to work on for next time.  I have always found his approach to self-reflection so positive especially when you are thrown into a harsh and cruel society of negativity and demands which at times gets you into a point of doubting your ability to do what you are truly talented in.  I have experienced the latter part of the previous statement on many...

What would happen if you combined ocean, cliffs, the smell of sea air, with Romantic architectural exquisite mansions from the turn to the 20th century and the lush melodic sounds of classical music?  You get a magnificent presentation of an earthly manifestation of heaven known as The Newport Music Festival.  The Festival has been celebrating the geniousness of every composer who has survived the test of time for 43 seasons debuting (and bringing back) 58 artists from 17 countries.  Their music can be heard in the beautiful venues, such as the Breakers Mansion, The Elms, Portsmouth Abbey, Crosspoint Church, etc....  After the untimely passing of the artistic director, Dr. Mark P. Malkovich III, last May 2010, MPM III's son, Mark IV took over and modernized the Festival to attract a new audience of all ages to classical music.  During the 43rd season people were able to listen to American music, such as "Y...