"Those" Types of People

This morning I woke up and a few different classifications of people ran through my mind. You have:
The Narcissistic Beauty
The Egocentric Intellectual
The Man/Woman who is "Black & Proud"
The Independent Woman
The Ladies Man
The Bum

and the list goes on...

Each "type" of persona has a stigma attached to it in some way. We despise them for being obnoxious or arrogant or whatever. As a matter of fact, people tend to feel as if they have a right to look down on these types for the flaws which seem incompatible with a seemingly gregarious type of world where we should all be outwardly assimilable so that everyone can feel equally relevant.
This frame of mind is clouded with fantastical ideals and truly lacks a horizontal perspective. We are ALL products of our environments and experiences. That self absorbed female was probably made to feel like the world revolves around her for a great deal of her life and quite possibly, you added to this mentality somehow. Maybe that "I'm Black and I'm Proud" character experienced a great deal of racism and was made to feel inferior in the past because of his/her skin color. More likely than not, the "Ladies Man" not only receives a flood of attention from many women, but was also made to feel like lacking inhibitions with various women is always a good thing by a male role model. Maybe the "Bum" developed this lackadaisical reaction to life and the responsibilities that come with adulthood because his/her parents didn't force the individual to become independent and take responsibility for his/her actions, thus helping to create an individual with no concept of self reliance.  Hey! I really don't know everyone's story but I know that almost noone just wakes up and transforms into some character. don't misunderstand me at all, everyone must eventually take responsibility in some way for why they are the way they are. What I AM saying is that a lot of people didn't get a fair chance at being "socially acceptable" because of the natural reaction of adjusting to circumstances of life.
After accepting that we ALL conform to our perceived depictions of success, comfort, or survival, I had to admit that the only logical reaction is to be a little more accepting and even compassionate of other people, no matter how detestable their current character's disposition may seem. Am I saying to accommodate and reinforce every action and misdeed? Absolutely not, especially when those actions negatively impact you in some way. (Actually, I am a firm believer in redirecting some people when necessary with wisdom and finesse. This doesn't always need to be done in a direct and confrontational way either. Sometimes, silence is the best way to help a person realize his/her actions are unacceptable but I digress). What I AM saying is that sometimes, instead of labeling the "Intellectual" as someone who needs to get off his/her high horse, understand that some people really need the validation of being really smart and base their identity solely on what they know, maybe because they feel that this is all they have going for them. See that the independent woman isn't necessarily this pompous woman with a superiority complex, but as someone who probably developed this persona because someone in her past who should have been there for her completely dropped the ball (parent, ex lover, etc.) and wasn't there when she needed that person the most, causing her to come to the conclusion that independence is the only way to be sure that she is safe and secure.  While this may not be everyone's reason for who they are, there still is a story, one that made them feel the need to adapt, whether the method is flawed or not.

In the minds of some people, no mercy is available to such a person because he/she should "know better." If that's the case, we would all do what we know is right and yet, we all struggle with humanity and imperfection. Everyone is entitled to an opinion of people but I believe this perspective helps to make room for more peace and positivity in life. Know this, if you decided to adopt this view, understand that yeah, people will still do things to get on your nerves. Compassion doesn't mean you don't get annoyed, but that you let your understanding of their situation overwhelm your urge to be contemptuous. We are all products of environments in one way or another.

A Letter to The Beautiful Ones

This is a letter to the beautiful ones. If you don't think you're beautiful then you probably shouldn't be reading this because you might misunderstand me. Mkk? mkk. :)

When we think of some of the most gifted people of the world, we tend to think of the singers, actors, famous painters, sports stars, etc., right? Well, up until recently, one of the most controversial and misunderstood gifts (to me) is the gift of physical beauty. Growing up, I always referenced scriptures expressing how vanity stunts the growth of goodness and purity but today i realize how my understanding of the scriptures was flawed.   I understood both beauty and vanity to be one in the same which is not the case. First of all, most of the references to vanity in the bible could be understood to mean "things of little to no value." I just thought they were referring to a nice physical appearance. Poor me lol.  Because of this misunderstanding, I found myself wrestling with MYSELF at different times. In my teenage years, I so desperately wanted to be known for having a beautiful mind and spirit. Some days I would make it my business to be less physically beautiful while striving to let a light from within shine but other days, I DID want to look beautiful and would end up feeling guilty because I thought I was just being vain. Over time I realized that vanity is not found in the existence and exhibition of beauty, vanity is expressed in the worship and exaltation of the things thought to be beautiful. THEN, i came to the revelation that physical beauty (like the ability to sing, dance, or paint) is a gift, FROM GOD!!! That might sound elementary to some people but to someone like me who was utterly torn and confused, that was an amazing discovery!
A great singer could become completely self-absorbed and cocky because of a mismanagement of his/her gift of song and mind, in turn adopting a god-like complex which would be an example of vanity. It finally hit me! The gift of physical beauty is not a curse, the curse is in how that gift is used. In deeper thought I realized that physical beauty can be a vehicle to accomplish some amazing things. I was brought back to the story of Queen Esther and how she allowed her gift of beauty (among other things) to gain her status from obscurity to royalty and freed an entire nation. She used her beauty to help accomplish something phenomenal (See The Book Of Esther). This made me think.

  Beautiful ones, thank God and be grateful for your gift just as a singer or artist should but understand something: you are not defined by how you look, but by who you are and what you choose to do so add definition to your beauty. Please don't allow others and  yourself to block you from seeing the big picture.  Taking dope Facebook pictures, being on the covers of magazines, appearing in music videos, and being spoiled by men is kid's stuff. Join your physical beauty and your others gifts (because im pretty sure there are others) to the beauty of love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). Add some wisdom and ambition to that mix and be amazed at what you will accomplish! You'll definitely be a force to be reckoned with and your purpose will be revealed. Understand that your purpose is deeper than just posing and being pretty and besides, if all you can add to the world is your looks, then you aren't adding much. People get distracted very easily. If you must be beautiful, be beautiful for a good reason, you know? :)