To everyone, especially artists. Here is your weekly, witty inspiration to stay SANE in a crazy world. Welcome Back to the conversation. People did lots of dumb things to me. Even when I forgave them and moved on. It didn't make them stop, rather it fueled their desire to do more. They developed a THRILL in getting away with what they were doing. I adapted an "outta sight, outta mind" policy but it was not enough. Those some people decided they wanted to control my environment and how everyone saw me at all times (smh). 

They even took precious time to make posts Facebook pages dedicated to certain towns and cities to behave like a virus infecting its new host. They rejoiced at gossip, slander and numerous behind the back tactics. Even my last week's blog post about "Counting it all joy" and "Let It Be" was fodder for their amusement because their souls are empty and they desperately wanted prove that my soul was as tarnished and evil as theirs and my positivity "was a front" instead of being the result of prayer and overcoming my animal instinct to resort to violence when I'm disrespected. 

Once you unjustly have your freedom taken away from you, especially when its violently done, you no longer want to affiliate OR participate in ANYTHING that threatens that freedom. Suddenly, you want to take heed to bible's instruction of being slow to anger and wrath. You begin weighing all the consequences of the outcome and decide ... Nah, I'm good on that. I have things I'm looking forward to and I can't let this petty shit ruin it". 

I had an ex that would do things out of anger and when it escalated constantly advertise "I got bail money in my pocket". Knowing what I know now about the jail system, none of that matters because they gonna confiscate your property! If they are crooked, they'll claim you didn't come there with whatever amount you had and pocket that money themselves. Depending on where you are, they tax that money daily as a penalty for being there so you still don't leave with what you come with LMAO! So when you think of the things people PROUDLY brag about cause "they don't wanna look like a punk", you see how silly they look.

Once you mature, you recognize how precious life really is and how UN-worth it, it is to react and respond violently. These days, I just mock, rebuke and let whatever it is fall down like water and keep it moving. I'm learning that ignoring and not responding angers offenders EVEN MORE than violence ever could. Their intent was to harm or embarrass you. When you respond with violence, you feel good cause you feel like you stood your ground and taught them not to play with you. But it is a short lived victory. Ultimately, what you did was prove to them that they got you and they only first attacked you cause they wanted a reaction from you that would steal your power. Once you respond violently, you've given them license to attack your freedom and diminish your power longer than a fleeting moment. 

In short, I GREW UP lol. Past people who knew me from a different chapter in my life cannot handle that. They are stuck in the past cause they haven't grown trying to drag me back towards a version of myself that no longer exists. They don't recognize who I present to be cause they have not continued onto my current life journey. I present comedy premises under development on my Twitter and Threads accounts and hashtag them with #AaronaOpenMic and I recently joked about this. I joked about how much time people from my past enlisted strangers and people who had proximity to me for their smear campaigns AND the TRUTH IS STILL THE TRUTH and so much time has BEEN WASTED on their antics that when I get my NEXT DRIVER'S LICENSE I'll be 50 years old lol. I was 35 years old when the drama first started. 

So your takeaway, to stay sane in this crazy world is REBUKE and PRAY! Rebuke because you do not have to accept bad treatment or behavior. Rebuke because you are under no obligation to tolerate disrespect or underhanded tactics. Rebuke because even though people love to hide behind the tenets of Christianity to manipulate others, TRUE believers and followers of Christ KNOW that Jesus OFTEN rebuked Pharisees and anyone trying to mock his life mission on Earth. He came to do his father's (God/Jehovah/Yahweh) business and that was the end of it. The devil couldn't tempt him with worldly riches and domination at the Mount of Transfiguration. And there was no vagina or penis THAT GOOD to distract him from his mission!

There is something about people of faith that get heavily put under a microscope when they display authenticity. When their faith is NOT a joke, a front, or a cover up business to amass wealth. People get uncomfortable and HISTORY has proven time and time again from the times Jesus Christ roamed the Earth and before him thru the major and minor prophets of the old testament to the Spanish Inquisition which lasted 400 years circa 1400-1800s, to the Salem Witch Trials in Massachusetts, to Malcolm X in the 1960s. Malcolm X wasn't strong in faith to amass wealth, he died broke!

People with strong faith who believe in themselves and surrender to a high power are often feared because they don't comply to the pitfalls that makes others stumble. If ANY of these blogs ever resonated with you, it's very likely you are within that group. So CHIN UP! God goes before you into situations, walks with you through situations and goes behind you to protect your future all day, everyday. Being aware and GRATEFUL for that truth, is how we stay balanced and sane in this crazy world.

So Rebuke if you must and pray without ceasing because prayer is the strongest transformative power human beings can have. "The prayers of the righteous availeth much" has been one the biblical quotes that has been emblazoned in my mind since 5 years old and it STILL MINISTERS TO ME on good days and bad days. You got this! 

Love,
Your Favorite Behavioral Analyst Comedian and Happiness Cheerleader,
AaronaTheVirgo

To See MORE of my Comedy Content, Musical Comedy and other content - visit my YouTube Channel @aarona_thevirgo
and if you enjoy this blog, please support my eStore - aaronathevirgoshop.etsy.com

To Everyone, especially artists 👩‍🎨
​Here is your weekly, witty inspiration to stay sane in a crazy world💋😇
A THREAD -

Welcome Back To The Conversation. Betrayal Trauma is one of the most unfortunate pains to recover from because the pain is caused behind your back by people you were convinced liked you, loved you or respected you.


Blunt trauma physically hurts more and depending on if it occurred from a fight or argument it’s less heartbreaking and mentally abusive because at least your opponent had the courage to face you.


Most people have the ability to chalk up whatever losses occur from blunt trauma. As soon as the wound heals they are over it and on to the next thing. But what if the blunt trauma was executed in a sneaky way by someone you trusted or thought would never do that to you?


That type of trauma is the type to cause an imbalance to your nervous system. Your body becomes regulated by fight or flight syndrome. The pain is crippling at times because it makes you want to avoid human interaction and the possibility of future identical pain.


So what do you do? You pray. You surrender to the pain you feel. You cry it all out and come to awareness that you are not the first person this has happened to and release the desire to trauma bond to others.


You find something that really makes you laugh and delight in the fact that are still things to smile about and be grateful for. You pray again, asking God to send you more warm reminders from the universe of how loved you really are.


You start keeping a journal to document your thoughts and observe negative patterns in order to self-correct. You take it easy on yourself because realize that you will never be able to make anyone care about anything you are going through, partly because they are going through things as well.


You learn grace with the new knowledge and awareness of hidden struggles. You do all these things when you have a clean heart and experience betrayal trauma. You do none of this when you are an asshole.


So your takeaway for this week to stay sane in this crazy world is to pray without ceasing. God can handle things that are much greater than our own human physical strength and understanding.


Lastly, don’t be an asshole… unless you can make it comical👍🏽😇 We all have enough to deal with in this life and people prefer to be around people who can add to their joy not subtract from it.


Be as kind to yourself as you possibly can and that inner kindness will heal the wounds of betrayal and further spread kindness as a side effect.


Love you!
Your Favorite Behavioral Analyst Comedian and Happiness Cheerleader,
AaronaTheVirgo


To see more of my comedy content, musical comedy content or other content - check out My YouTube Channel - @aarona_thevirgo


If you enjoy my blog content, send your support by checking out my eStore - aaronathevirgoshop.etsy.com

Welcome Back to the conversation. “Sanity Lies in the art of paying attention”. This is a powerful quote from Julia Cameron and her book, “The Artist Way”.


Inside the action of stepping away from the heaviness of our problems or fears lies beauty and calming truths. Here's a simple example, in the midst of feeling tired and overwhelmed by incessantly troubleshooting problems that arose from moving to a new city... I was grateful both my eyes worked.


This may sound silly or banal at first read BUT ya girl actually lost sight in my left eye temporarily back in fall 2016. I went to the eye doctor to figure out why I suddenly couldn't see out of my left eye and the doctors did a series of tests and told me it could either be the first sign of pregnancy or just stress related.


That pregnancy theory created a WHOLE OTHER RABBIT HOLE that I don't even got the time to recap but after negative pregnancy tests it was CLEAR the issue was stress. Once they pinpointed the cause, they got to work prescribing some steroids and other pills and a eye lubricant.


It took 2 months but I was "good as new". Fortunately, I lived in California at the time where weed is plentiful, so I helped myself to edibles and CBD products to relax. The loss of eyesight in my left eye was my FIRST BIG PUSH to decrease stress.


This included people, environments and workplaces. Nobody really sits around and wonders what they would do if they suddenly went blind in an eye or both eyes. When we get too wrapped up in stress or out problems we forget and take for granted HOW MUCH of a blessing vision really is.


Today I found myself standing at the bus stop just staring at the scenery and thinking to myself... Lord I can see and you did this! Lord you restored my sight and life has been so good for me despite the hardships that I forgot I was almost out here with one eye.


When you take a step back from all the noise and all the drama and all the stress and get practical about what you do have that's VERY VALUABLE that you do NOT acknowledge because something else has your attention, then you fully understand Julia Cameron's statement "Sanity lies in the art of paying attention".


So your takeaway for this week to stay sane in this crazy world is "Pay Attention to your blessings. Pay MORE ATTENTION to all the beautiful things you can see and visualize. There are people living right now that are not as blessed to do that".


Most times, through no fault of their own they either NEVER HAD the ability to see or they have lost the ability to see. Then consider if the problem you are stressing about is a bigger problem than your vision.


It's really a reminder of how powerful our minds are as people. As I was thanking God for my sight this morning. I really was thinking about how my mind was so strong that what I was thinking and feeling altered my ability to use my eyes.


Our minds are so powerful it believes what we tell it and it's simply too easier to tell it something negative. We have to be smarter than that and by doing so, we reap the benefits of being empowered and at our healthiest state.


So pay attention to every ability and blessing you have. It's much more important to nurture those blessings and abilities than to focus on temporary things that distract us or attempt to rob us of our peace.


Love,
Your Favorite Happiness Cheerleader & Behavioral Analyst Comedian,
AaronaTheVirgo


For More of my comedy, musical comedy and other content - visit my YouTube Channel @aarona_thevirgo
To Show Support of my content and art check out my eStore - https://AaronatheVirgoshop.etsy.com

Welcome Back to the conversation. If you used to watch the hit HBO sitcom, "Sex In The City", Carrie would often narrate the episode with "and just like that" blah blah blah happened. "And Just Like That" has been circulating inside my head all morning. Then R. Kelly's song "Just Like That" kept following. Hurricane Beryl hit "and just like that" we were out of electricity for a week. At the time of this writing our power has been restored since last Monday. Last week was a weird week!


Personally, my week has been all about bounce back. I have been so consumed with getting back to my norm and establishing my foundation while being a new resident in my current city. Like everyone else, I had to deal with my share of obstacles and red tape while achieving work-life balance. Things started progressing and I had moments to myself where I caught myself smiling with utter joy and contentment. I'm grateful for those little moments because A FEW moments happened where that joy got infringed upon. Silently, I did my best to take a non-emotional observation. "And Just Like That" I began subtracting from my life.


I began subtracting apps I don't use. More photos and videos that I no longer need or want to make public. I began streamlining content. I unfollowed any account that didn't put a smile on my face or make me laugh in the last 30 days. I made myself less available for what doesn't make me any money or direct me towards money within the next 2 weeks. I took my focus off the macro and for the moment just focused on the micro day to day things that are imperative to daily and future progress. I talk to God often but I had several moments where I paused in surrender - reminding myself of how far I've come and why I have persevered to this point. 


"And Just Like That" I began grateful for the times I took time to document my journey. Life is happening all around us and time is gone in a blink of an eye. If you don't keep good record of things, you can become easy prey to false witness or other deception. Earlier today, I woke up around 5:30am with writer's block. I just couldn't bring myself to type for some reason. "What is something tangible and honest I can share with people today?" I thought. Then I remembered some very calming words from my childhood.


When I was a little girl, I really enjoyed my first church I grew up in. On Sundays, before we got into the sermon, one of our elder preachers Reverend Orange would always begin with the same speech EVERY SUNDAY before handing the pulpit over to our pastor Reverend Webb. "This is the day that the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it" (From Psalms 118:24). He would continue with Proverbs 3:5-6, "Trust In The Lord with all your heart and do not lean into your own understanding. In ALL your ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy path." Every Sunday without fail for my entire childhood, he had the same intro. 


Since today is Sunday, your takeaway for this week is simply what Reverend Orange shared with us every Sunday. "This is the day that the Lord has made" - YOU WOKE UP TODAY. Oxygen flows and you had nothing to do with it. The sun shines and you had nothing to do with it. Every natural resource you need is available to you without you having to take action or "Make Something Happen". God has already took care of it for you. "We Will Rejoice And Be Glad In It" - Yesterday and everything that plagued you ended already. To carry it with you is a choice. If you have to so be it and if you don't have to, then let it go. If you cannot change something, why waste energy fretting about it? "Trust In The Lord With All Thine Heart and Lean Not Into Your Own Understanding. In All Thy Ways Acknowledge Him and He Shall Direct Thy Path." 


I had a moment last week, where I had to consider some things that happened to me and what I did in response to it. I had to consider whether my response was appropriate. Of course when hurtful things happen we initially just want to feel better and we comfort ourselves in the idea that "we are right". When in reality even people who do you wrong, also think they are right. All you can ever do is make you are behaving and carrying a clean heart and good intentions. Everything that after that is out of your control. If your aim is to protect yourself more and separate yourself from things that rob your joy, silently remove yourself without harm to anyone. If anyone even cares why you chose to remove yourself, they will ask you. If they don't care they won't even notice or miss your presence. If it doesn't bother them that you distanced yourself, everyone is happy (thumbs up emoji). If it does bother them that you removed yourself, then a mature conversation will be initiated to mend whatever created the disconnect. If that doesn't happen they don't care and why should YOU? People are happy doing the things they do, that's WHY they do it. Make sure you are doing whatever makes you happy!


"Trust In the Lord with all thine heart and lean not into thine own understanding" is such a powerful statement and instruction. Cause people be people-ling and we forget or sometimes may not even be aware of how much of our life has already been worked out, provided for and remedied by God. Especially, when life has presented you so many scenarios where you felt you had to fend for yourself. Truthfully, if you can read this, you already overcame whatever those situations were and "THIS IS THE DAY that the Lord has made". You made it to the finish line of whatever those previous situations were and TODAY you begin A NEW RACE that may consist of you beating your old record and setting a new precedent.


Today's race MAY GO DOWN IN THE HISTORY BOOKS depending on what you do with it and how you perform in it. Today's race may just be an exhibition race for you to take note of where you are compared to where you want to be. Nevertheless, TODAY is another opportunity for you to be a champion! So lean NOT into your own understanding - or ANY OTHER UNDERSTANDING that takes your focus off this truth. Cause if your race was over or "you got disqualified" you would have NEVER been alive to see TODAY. You are more loved than you know. TRUST ME, I'm not just saying that. I had my own situation where God had to show and remind me of that just 2 days ago! "And Just Like" I'm passing on it so we can all stay sane in this crazy, weird *Daria Voice* Sick, Sad World. 


Check out my YouTube video, "Being Grateful Is Gangsta". I meant every word in this video and gratitude really has been the secret ingredient that keeps me elevating:) 


Love,
Your Favorite Happiness Cheerleader, AaronaTheVirgo
To See MORE of my comedy, musical comedy and other content - Go To My YouTube Channel @aaronacreates
If you like this blog or my content, you can show your support at my eStore aaronathevirgoshop.etsy.com

Welcome Back To The Conversation. It’s been six days since Houston, Texas has been hit by Hurricane Beryl and my house is still without power. Yet I, my roommates and my neighbors who are also without power press on.


Being without power in our home has been inconvenient but not a impossible challenge.
If anything, it brings you a reminder of what REALLY MATTERS IN LIFE. It reinforces your desire to provide for yourself and maintain a certain level of comfort. It forces you to reevaluate your priorities “just in case it all goes bad”. At the end of all of it, you still desire the basic things in life - food, shelter, cash flow, disposable income, clothes, shoes, safety and relaxation.


When you have all your needs met. You don’t waste time thinking about people, places and things you cannot control. When you don’t have all your needs met, you don’t have time or luxury to focus on anything else but those needs. Everything outside of a need is a WANT. 


When you respond to life from a spiritual place, you know that you are drawn to certain things because what you want ALSO WANTS YOU. However, when you have some trauma, some of your wants come from a distorted place or toxic thinking patterns. Natural disasters come along and force you to reevaluate your wants. Why do you really want certain things? If it doesn’t come from a place of purpose (something God told you to do and you WANT to please God), a place of joy, a place of curiosity (cause we are souls having a human experience) or a place of love consider whether that WANT you have is healthy.


Everyone IS BUSY doing things they think they need to do. These things are important from their perspective NOT some outer person’s perspective. I made a post a couple of days ago that people “who get mad at goals you have (which have nothing to do with them) are WEIRD AF to me”. Cause who are these ridiculous people that get angry at people they barely know, so-called friends or family members for having audacity to believe in themselves? WHAT KINDA CRACK PIPE SMOKING MENTALITY IS THAT? What kind of entitled, crabs in a barrel attitude is that? I see the devil in that.


The devil was the first documented hater EVER! LOL! Adam and Eve were “naked and unashamed” according to the book of Genesis in the Bible. They were enjoying their nudity, their land and each other’s company until that hating ass snake who had the spirit of the devil showed up and started talking shit about God. Thus, the first “Devil’s Advocate” question was posed to make Eve and Adam feel insecure about their choices and beliefs. Then Adam and Eve did the human thing “taking action to save face and appear less silly” and ending up destroying their blessing and the favor they had over their lives altogether.


Recall, EVERY ENCOUNTER you ever had with a hater. It had ALL THE SAME ELEMENTS of the Garden of Eden encounter Adam and Eve had with the snake. Haters LOVE to downplay or belittle your plans, your beliefs, your style, your partner’s fidelity, your partner’s looks, your looks, your abilities, etc just to poke holes in your self-esteem, your business or your peace.


Here’s a tiny example. I went on a road trip with one of my jobs and bought a personal, digital fan that I can wear around my neck. It comes in handy in this Texas heat. One day, I’m walking down the street, minding my business and walking to a store. As I approach the intersection, some random chick leans out the passenger side of someone else’s ride (eye-roll) to yell out the window at me, “That little fan ain’t doing nothing in this heat”. My spirit INSTANTLY rejected it:) I quickly responded, “It’s doing ENOUGH!” and she leaned back in the car (that had both the windows down, eye-roll, cause what’s up with ya’ll A/C since you so worried about my little fan but WHATEVS) and shut her mouth as they pulled away and I finished crossing the street.


Haters don’t ever know what to do with themselves and so they always try to tear other people down or steal their joy. Something in their spirit gets angry and bent outta shape by other people’s peace and joy. They don’t have ANY so they cannot fathom and sometimes REJECT the possibility of any. The first time I saw those little digital fans, I thought “How cool! That’s really smart. I need to get me one of those.” I saw a woman fanning herself with one and told her how dope the fan was, how smart she was and told her “You betta work it, I know that’s right! Stay cool out here,” and she laughed. When I saw my coworker had one in a box, I complimented him and I told him I’m getting me one of those. I told him people tell me they buy them from Amazon but I found stores that sell them. Then he told me HE SELLS THEM (cause it was a gift and he had extras) and I bought it from him and tipped him since his price WAS LOWER than the store - an offer I couldn’t refuse! Boom a complete SUCKA-FREE and HATER FREE attitude.


For the FIRST REACTION of that random girl to be a spiteful comment suggesting “I look silly for having my fan” or “I wasted money on my fan cause it don’t work” came from a place of her lack and negative thinking. Which is why the best she could do was be an angry passenger inside a hot car INSTEAD of driving her own car with Arctic air circulating inside. I was literally happily walking down the street, playing my music and using my fan while leaving one air conditioned property to the next. Cause happiness is an inside job. It’s personal, not a group activity.


So, the takeaway for this week to stay sane in a crazy world is ignore haters. Cause haters don’t even need reasons to be mad, they just possess anger and wickedness in their spirit. They don’t wanna change and you can’t make them change. They will always find a problem with you and you could be minding your business. They will lie on you cause they cannot fathom your truth. It seems unlikely or unreasonable to them but the brain they have is warped in wickedness so what do they really know? 


At the time of this blog, in the last 24 hours, one of our former US Presidents suffered a bullet wound from a very sketchy incident. It’s a very unfortunate incident but also a reminder that people are affected by unfortunate incidents in life and every has a story about what might have happened and (from their perspective) what really happened and then there is always the TRUTH THAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED. And as somebody once said, “The truth WILL SET YOU FREE but FIRST, it will piss you off.” When you are an eyewitness to the low depths haters will go to cause harm or feel superior to someone… you may wanna throw hands with somebody or have a few choice words. 


Let it pass. Observe what’s going on to better access your environment. Be grateful for seeing what’s true and grateful for your ability to continue forward and rebuild. Be grateful for your angelic guidance from dangers seen and unseen. Be grateful at your opportunity to experience this life and make something cool or beautiful from it. But don’t absorb the madness outside people try to project or force you to watch. Just make a mental note and get back to your priorities and happiness.
Think about all the things birds, dogs and cats witness without the ability to articulate it into English, Spanish, French or other human languages. Do they EVER FOR ONE SECOND STOP DOING bird, dog or cat things that make THEM HAPPY? Then why should you?


Love,
Your Favorite Behavioral Analyst and Happiness Cheerleader,
AaronaTheVirgo


If you like this blog, please subscribe to my mailing list for a weekly newsletter to remind you to stay sane in this crazy world!
To see MORE of my comedy, musical comedy or other content, subscribe to my YouTube Channel - @aaronacreates and check out my eStore

Welcome Back to the conversation. Today, I'm in a region where my city and state are taking precautions for Hurricane Beryl. The trade off of living somewhere hot, pleasantly warm and coastal all year is the reality of hurricanes. Hurricanes are one of those things in life where you can only control how you respond to them. Mother Nature is gonna do what she is gonna do and the best thing we can do is stay out of her way.


Ironically, this hurricane has become a metaphor for my current perspective on narcissists. You can be minding your business and enjoying your little life and here comes Mr. or Mrs. Narcissist trying to shake some things up and possibly destroy things. Your peaceful, steady regiment angered them to massive heights so they arrive demanding your undivided attention and control of your time and environment. At the time of this writing, I had to cancel plans due to the rail lines being suspended and limited. And just like with any narcissist, you roll with punches and relinquish what's out of your control and put everything in God's hands from there.


So this week's takeaway will be short and sweet. You can cultivate your intuition and discernment by listening to your heart. When things don't go according to plan, what is your heart really telling you to do? When you are operating from clean intentions and sincere heart you will be misunderstood - and in some cases attacked. If it's in business... stand your ground and don't let people walk over you. If it's in personal relationships or acquaintances... set up boundaries. Let people know, "I may have to deal with you cause 'we're co-workers', 'fraternity brothers/sorority sisters', 'church members', etc. but I don't have to tolerate your bad behavior or even CARE about what is coming out of your mouth". 


We may not be able to control every little thing that is thrown at us but we can exercise our authority over OURSELVES with some self-love. Self-love will save you from "over-tolerating" rambunctious people or subjecting yourself to unsafe situations. So make sure you guys take GOOD care of YOURSELVES, people you love and stand firm on boundaries that protect your peace.
Love,
Your Favorite Behavioral Analyst Comedian & Cheerleader,
AaronaTheVirgo
To See More of My Comedy, Musical Comedy and other Content - Subscribe to My YouTube Channel @aaronacreates  If you like this blog, subscribe to it and check out my eStore - aaronathevirgoshop.etsy.com

Welcome Back To The Conversation. The previous week flew by at lightening speed for me. I have knowledge and awareness of how planet transits (ie. Saturn and Neptune in Retrograde) and moon cycles (full moon, half moon, waxing, waning - you get it) affect human energy and rest patterns. However, I'm was not too invested in it. I think I heard a few things last week about these transits and I know which areas of life they affect or have influence over but I didn't do any deep diving research or make it important to focus on any of it. 


I was simply immersed in work - work that generates income and inner-work I'm doing on me to adjust to my new life changes. I made bold decisions to get rid of people, places and things that do not serve me. Unfortunately, an ugly side of that decision has popped up to challenge me. Starting from last Sunday, within an hour of posting THIS BLOG, the hate mail came. Weird and angry people that I don't even know and personally have no dealings with, took it upon themselves to TAKE TIME and fill out my Subscriber contact form just to put fake email addresses in and write derogatory and ridiculous things in my message box. 


For four years, weird and angry people directed their angst towards me inside the message of my eStore - aaronathevirgoshop.etsy.com Half of those people were random nuts, the other half were a mixture of my own family members and former co-workers. I went to work after I published my blog. All of the jobs I currently work are laid back jobs - by design (lol).


I am not just typing this witty little blogs talking about things I don't personally believe and do OR experiences I have not had. To the contrary (in case you haven't noticed) EVERY BLOG comes from a place of introspection, past experience, what I would've done differently and what I'm glad I did. I share these things with ya'll to help you save time, ease pain, stress or anxiety and to help you design a peaceful, pleasant life despite the crazy things that happen in this world and the crazy people that reside in it.


 My childhood was the first place where I felt like I had to jump through hoops to receive any recognition or affection.  It was all good when I was younger and developing and I relied on people who knew better than I. Once, I began making my own decisions after 18, that's when it graduated to "do it my way or else there's punishment". It's the reason why I named my comedy album "Living My Life Wrong" cause I used to joke about even when I'm right and doing the right thing, to my family or people trying to force their perspective on me - I'm wrong.


People who want to "have say-so in my destiny" have come in the form of friends, lovers, family and employers. Everyone was NOT TOXIC! Everyone was not trying to control me. I just came across a few determined people who decided to abuse their power or position in my life cause THAT'S THE TYPE OF PERSON THEY ARE! It's who they chose and keep continuing to CHOSE to be. I'm a pretty chill person and I really believe in unconditional love. I made it my practice to attempt to love people like Christ loved people. 


BUT I also keep in mind that PEOPLE KILLED CHRIST by people-ling and doing the people thing we discussed last week. The thing where people get insecure and are aroused by envy and control. I have my prayer time with God. So one thing I can say with confidence is I was NOT born to be somebody's martyr. So as far as I'm concerned people can fuck off if they are being too unruly. I do have a habit of putting myself in other people's shoes and trying to understand them and empathize with them but once it's taken advantage of... I'm out. None of us are here to control people and that truth goes BOTH WAYS! I'm not here to control people and people are not here to control me.


Lately, with past people resurfacing and more truth coming to light about what they did to hurt and slander me surfaces. I feel more of need to detach and collect myself. People have been heavily projecting for awhile now and I don't want to absorb any of that negative energy. It's a fine line to walk cause the humorist in me looks for ways to make ignorance and sad things funny. To combat this what I've been doing "to stay sane in a crazy world" is indulging in taking my time.


I was staring at a calendar a few days ago, jotting in my work shifts, appointments, reminders ,etc.
I realized HOW FAST 2024 is really moving! I have been enjoying the work I'm doing and getting to know a new city. I am also exhausted from constantly having to move away from trouble making people who have no regard for privacy, decency and are willing to manipulate their ties in law enforcement to get their way. It's really annoying as fuck! I've been what's considered a public figure since 2010. I'm relieved that I'm not a celebrity so there are still people and places that don't me and I can just mind my business and enjoy being a civilian. If I get any more noticeable, I'm gonna need a security team cause people crazy! I was looking at the calendar and I said to myself "Each of these boxes are a day in my life and once they are gone, they are gone. I can waste these boxes not enjoying myself and my awake hours or I can continuously carve time out to be grateful for these boxes ( days of my life) and find the joy that surrounds me during my awake hours.


That's exactly what I've been doing since Father's Day. I'm not looking for acceptance. I'm not weighing myself down by what I cannot control. I've even decided to delete and move on from other points I was trying to prove because "I was right and I deserve to prove my innocence". Nope, fuck it cause no matter what people WILL people. One thing I am done with is allowing their people-ling to waste my time and energy. Energy I can get back. Time I cannot. Another thing I have been against lately is rushing/hurrying. 


I'm aware but have been ignoring the ways people have been trying to inject anxiety and pressure in my life. It's very hamster wheel-ish the way people who are committed "to prove to me that they are better than me" and have manipulated things cause they will not be satisfied with their own lives unless they see me sad about my own life... pitiful right? I'll keep praying for them. I'm very familiar with that feeling because it was prevalent in my childhood home. But times HAVE CHANGED and I've done my inner work to heal that. My current decision to indulge in taking my time, is creating fiction from people who refuse to let go of me and let me do what I please. Sure, if you ask them about this they will deny it wholeheartedly and suggest I'm being absurd but they will quietly continue their controlling ways. 


So what do I do? I remember the quote from the movie "Eat, Pray, Love" a movie I completely resonated with after my divorce. There is a scene where the main character is in Italy after packing up everything she owns, throwing it in storage and travels the world to get her happiness back. She made friends with the local Italians and they are enjoying a meal. She asks them to teach her something in Italian and they teach her "il dolce far niente" which means "The Sweetness Of Doing Nothing". It also implies "Sweet idleness" which is an Italian philosophy that simple things in life can bring contentment and satisfaction. The Italian man in the scene was telling her how Italians sometimes pity Americans cause they are always working and "striving for material things" that they are kinda dull as people. I have only been to 4 or 5 countries and I know this to be true AS an American. 


The second I feel outside energy trying to force me to rush or hurry for NO REASON, is the moment I began indulging in my alone time, my time off work, a break from a project I'm working on, a break from outside perspectives and opinions and just enjoy "the sweetness of doing nothing". So there is your takeaway for this week folks! Enjoy "the sweetness of doing nothing" because before you know it, the day is gone, the week is gone, the month is gone, the year is gone, the decade is gone and what did you really accomplish in all that worrying, hurrying and strife? Things have a way of working out and even when it seems like you're fucked. Trust that and remember that God loves you just as you are!
Love,
Your Favorite Beahvioral Analyst Comedian and Happiness Cheerleader,
AaronaTheVirgo


To See More of my Comedy, Musical Comedy and other content - Visit My YouTube Channel @aaronacreates
If You Like This Blog, Subscribe To It and Check Out My eStore aaronathevirgoshop.etsy.com

Welcome Back To The Conversation. When I was a little girl, I often heard the saying "marches to the beat of their own drummer". It was an innocent and powerful saying to me. When I heard this saying as a child, it had zero negative connotations. When I was a child, "marching to the beat of their own drummer" implied a person was cool, unique and completely unbothered by the status quo. When I was a child, we were taught everyone has their own fingerprint and it makes us unique. Sidebar, I just had a memory of something totally unjust someone did to me to obtain my fingerprints (head-smack emoji) but nobody cares about that lol... Let's continue. As an adult, this saying has lost its power and its magic due to various stereotypes and fear-based behaviors of adults.


I'm not sure at what age it happens but at some point humans go from being innocent, hopeful sponges to anxious, prejudiced defensive players. We can all acknowledge that trauma plays a role in shaping a person's mind. However, I feel that societal programming has become heavier and commonplace since the advent of television and film. I feel that the internet intensifies the work that television and film has contributed to human programming. Long gone are the days that some weirdo King or Aristocrat making decrees and the underclass just falls in line or face the consequences. Now the decrees are more subtle - and even worse widespread amongst anyone capable of talking. When the popular songs of the day tell you "F*ck N*ggas, GET MONEY. F*ck B*tches, GET MONEY" you get prompted to focus on materialism more than being a good person or obtaining individuality.


When I took improv classes at Second City Chicago, it was the first time I had an a-ha moment of "adulthood, decency and acceptance". It was 2006 and I had just made the decision to become a standup comedian. Coming from an academia background, it seemed smarter to me to invest in classes to improve my comedic skills. I didn't even question it. It felt natural and made lots of sense to me to let people who make their living from what I wanted to do professionally school me on how to be better and sharper. I STILL remember that first day of class where the teacher said, "The real goal of Improv is to PLAY and play at the top of your intelligence". I instantly thought of all the "funny" movies, tv shows and comedians I had ever seen in my life. I analyzed what was so funny about them to me. After going down my list of "funny people" AND my list of "funny scenes in movies/SNL or In Living Color sketches", I realized she was EXACTLY RIGHT. My perception of comedy was instantly changed that day. My perception of adulthood was also changed that day.


As the class progressed, we took turns doing what it considered in the Improv World beginner exercises. The instructor kept encouraging all of us to PLAY and keep playing through the exercises. When shy people refused to follow the instructions of the exercise, the instructor stopped the class. She said, "Without using your imagination, no scene is ever gonna go anywhere. It will never improve. You are not ALLOWING yourself to play cause for the last "however many years" people told you to act serious or grow up. Remember when you were a kid and you just played because it was pleasant? That's the real magic of improv. When you are improving this IS NOT the time to be serious. Take all of your judgements and trash them. Make a choice and stick to it. This is all made up. It's imaginary so it's necessary to use your imagination. Just remember to play to the top of your intelligence -anyone can go vulgar that takes no creativity. AND BOOM -I was changed!


I realized that day I was one of those people in the shy bubble walking on the eggshells of human expectation.
I was not as shy as the people who backed away from the exercises but I was definitely on the shy spectrum. My choices were "safe choices". I didn't attempt anything bold and there were people there THAT DID! I continued taking the classes. Second City at the time had a suggested curriculum that if completed, made you an "professional comedy improv actor/actress". They also had a writing curriculum that would deem you "a professional comedy writer" if completed. I wanted to be well-rounded so I continued towards the advanced levels of improv acting and took a musical comedy class. I ALWAYS wanted to be like Eddie Murphy who rose to fame from SNL. I grew up with the show and enjoyed the professional of MANY of its cast members. Second City Chicago was the "SNL breeding ground" and I was just proud of myself that I went after it and took my dreams seriously. Keep in mind EVERYONE in my life at the time was not in favor me doing this. I did it ANYWAY cause it's my life and can only be lived by me. God gave me this life and I get to choose what I want to do with it. 18 years later from making the decision to pursue comedy and be a Second City Alum, I have NO REGRETS outside of having the courage to tell people to "F*ck Off" more often.


Somewhere around level D (classes in alphabetical order with level A being 1st level beginner) I began having instructors that pushed my Level A instructor's speech farther. I was having fun and it helped my standup comedy develop. I ended up taking classes concurrently at Annoyance Theater cause they had an amazing reputation in Chicago. I had this instructor who hated pointless improv. She also stressed "playing to the top of your intelligence" but she called it "fart and run" humor! "Nobody likes to be farted on. If you are gonna be gross let it serve a purpose. Don't just drop fart and potty humor for shock value. It's lame. Use your imagination and explore the fart". She continued, "If you gonna bring farts into your improv scene, spend more time analyzing it. Hmm smells like berries and pizza". The next thing you know, we are playing this exercise where we are explaining our farts. I'm not gonna lie it got really funny. Not because we were letting THE FART be the punchline but because you had a room of people really pretending that a fart was with philosophical conversation. The longer we went, the more qualities the fart had. It went as far as that "infamous fart" being the catalyst to a murder, a street fight and a divorce. All of which, had a much richer storyline than just some idiot wanting attention in a room of semi-strangers and decided to bring in fart dialogue out of immaturity.
That day was just as life changing as the first day in class and has helped me leaps and bounds in my professional comedy career.


I've been selected in competitions. I've been passed over in some also and it inspired me to dig deeper. I had experiences as a casting assistant which allowed me to really spot special skills in talented people. I also had the opportunity to cast for my own projects using the skillset I learned at Second City, Annoyance Theater and later iOwest. Why am I telling you this? Because the day I made the decision that it is "OKAY TO LIGHTEN THE FUCK UP, OBSERVE LIFE WHILE ENJOYING LIFE" was the day my entire life shifted to create some of my happiest memories ever! The day I made that decision and stuck to it, got me through some of the most heartbreaking and embarrassing moments of my life.


Having the knowledge AND the life experience to know "It's OKAY to lighten up, observe and enjoy life" helps me and can help anyone to stay sane in a crazy world. So that is your take away for this week! Regardless of "what people say, what the new trend is, who is going to war with who, who is in office but you know damn well they are a schmuck and a criminal, who wants to steal your lover, who cheated on you, who lied on, who doesn't like, who wants to stop you, who wants to embarrass, who walked out of your life, who doesn't love you", life WILL STILL GO ON and God loves you and is always available to you when you need him. It's a fact that even nuclear bombs cannot STOP life from moving on. Sure, they are PURE DEVASTATION to the places they hit. The other places still continued on as if it never happened. Even the places they hit - heals eventually.


I'll leave ya'll with a conversation I had with a co-worker this week that I turned into a tweet. She told me she believes in aliens. I asked her what did she mean by "she believes in aliens". She clarified that she thinks they exist cause the universe is so vast we can't possibly be the only species in it. I told her I agree with her but I don't believe in aliens in the way it gets presented to us. She looked confused so I continued. "There are millions of living species RIGHT HERE ON EARTH and they just mind their business. Humans are still the most dominant. Sure, there is probably other life forms elsewhere but WHO SAYS they are like humans? Where are the facts that there is life forms on other planets moving around, building things and using deductive reasoning like people? Nobody has ever been to those other planets, so how do they really know?


The Earth is OLD AS HELL. It's been around 5,000 years. IF there is other life on other planets and they are chaotic or 'want to conquer humans' why hasn't it happened yet? A tree is a life form. Trees are alive, fish are alive, jellyfish are alive and can be very deadly if you bother them and don't get medical help fast enough. Look at what happened to Steve Irwin, the nature guy. Who is to say the aliens from other planets aren't like jellyfish? They are alive and can kill you but they not planning world domination. They are just living on Pluto or Jupiter or whatever they are."


She got silent and really thought about it. Not only that, our conversation drew in 3-4 other people who were standing around us and overheard us. It made them think about too. Then I said, "The whole narrative that aliens from another planet is out to destroy us is a narrative from Hollywood movies to entertain and distract us. There is no real proof of ANY sophisticated intelligence on other planets. There is also NO PROOF that there are life forms on other planets that are OBSESSED with humans and making us their slaves. Think of all the animals that are on Earth, are they trying to harm us and take over the planet? Think of all the plants and amoebas that are down here on Earth are they trying to overthrow humans? That entire thought process is a HUMAN thought process.
It isn't the thought process of a fish, unless you are watching 'JAWS The Movie'.


Humans were created to be dominant. We were created "to be fruitful and multiply, take over the land and subdue it" just as God instructed Adam and Eve in Genesis. Human insecurity creates these fantasies of 'losing their dominance'. If there were no sci-fi Hollywood movies created about other planets, people wouldn't fear other planets. We have no real motive to do so. So people waste so much time and energy thinking about aliens when they don't put that much thought into all the non-human life here on Earth. What if life on Mars, Mercury, Venus etc are just forms of trees and fish? Then what? So, if there IS life on other planets - so what?"


I was NOT aiming for it but it was a real mic drop moment. I am very serious about my love for my Heavenly Father, The Lord God our creator. However, I'm not the type of person to force people to believe in him and his existence. People are gifted free-will when they come here. It isn't my job to control them. I only have an obligation as a Christian to educate people and make the knowledge of the gospel available to them. I've lived long enough to know you can lead a horse to water but you can't make them drink. I've also been alive long enough to know and witness there is no other storyline or logic that truly disputes the bible because of the many historical artifacts that exist today. Have people done the "people thing" and manipulated certain facts and things? Probably so!


Insecurity and the need for control is a human trait. Dogs are not roaming this planet giving a shit about aliens! They are not human but dogs are very intelligent and observant. They just live their little dog lives and interact with people based on how they are treated. The same with cats which is why we deem them "safe" to have as pets. People having their free-will and dominance make ANYTHING they chose their pets. Some people have pet snakes!


My suggestion to everyone is don't make life HARDER than what it already is worrying about things outside of your control. Focus more on following your heart. Your heart is your truest best friend and will always lead you to the people, places and things that suit you and your personality. You were not created by God to come here to Earth and be miserable - that was never God's intention. Once again, that's people "people-ling or doing the people thing" cause they don't feel significant or in control of their own lives. Your Job is YOU! You have this precious life you are living and the ability to whatever you want with it. Why not dodge the people doing the people-thing cause they are hardwired for negativity? Why not believe that all is really well despite having good days and bad days? There is more proof that everything is fine and you are where you are meant to be for now than there is proof of surly life forms on Saturn that have decided Earth Humans are their enemy. Smile, you are loved. Have a great week!
Love,
Your Favorite Behavioral Analyst Comedian and Happiness Cheerleader
AaronaTheVirgo
To See MORE of my Comedy, Musical Comedy and Content- Check out My YouTube Channel @aaronacreates
If you enjoy this blog, subscribe to it and check out my eStore https://aaronathevirgoshop.etsy.com