Letting Go Of The Past December 22, 2008

 

By The Fly Guy

It’s amazing how easy it is for us to point out the faults in others. And judging from the progression of yesterday’s discussion, I think we all (or at least some of us) secretly find pleasure in lashing out at people from our past. But what if the tables were turned? And what if someone began to point out all of the times when you were the cause of your relationship’s demise?

Now for those who say, “It has never been my fault,” well that’s not exactly true. Since we all fall well short of perfection, there has to be at least one moment (or maybe two or three moments) where you have actively contributed to the downfall of your relationship. It may not have been intentional, but in some way, you were guilty of doing more harm than good.

These are the types of discussions that we don’t like to have. Even in my own life, it was always much easier for me to believe that every time a relationship didn’t work out, it was because of some fatal flaw in the other person. It was also easier for me to believe that I was just an innocent bystander who always seemed to have bad luck when choosing a mate. I’ve since wised up.

What am I trying to say to you today?

Well for starters, I’m trying to say that if you have managed to subconsciously forgive yourself for the wrongs that you have committed, then why is it so hard for you to extend that same type of compassion? We all fall down; we all make mistakes; and we all end up placing ourselves in situations that should have been avoided. But that’s what life is all about: it’s just a series of choices, and sometimes we unfortunately make the wrong one.

So extend some forgiveness today to someone in your past. Forgive them for the poor choices that they made, and let go of that hardness and frustration that you are currently harboring in your heart. Then once you do that, pass this on to a friend or coworker, and encourage them to do the same. Who knows what can happen. Maybe in time, this will circle back around, and someone will forgive you for your mistakes.

Just think about it.

Photo of the Day December 22, 2008

Rello Male 24 years old  Florence, South Carolina  Alexander

MM URL: http://www.modelmayhem.com/tyrell

GABRIELLE UNION TALKS ABOUT GHANA TRIP December 22, 2008

 

Gabrielle Union stopped by NPR this week to discuss her recent trip to Ghana as part of an initiative to raise breast cancer awareness.

 

       The actress, currently starring in “Cadillac Records,” serves as a Global Ambassador with the Susan G. Komen for the Cure and the Circle of Promise program.      

       Her trip to Ghana was part of an effort to combat the disease that disproportionally affects a relatively young population in Ghana. Girls as young as 16 have been diagnosed with the disease.       

       “The biggest thing is just reaching out to survivors and dispelling myths,” Union said, describing the purpose of her trip. “As much as I hate rumors and gossip in the United States, they don’t kill me.”       

       “We actually dedicated a hospital that, among other things, is geared towards improving breast health in terms of early diagnosis, which leads to early treatment, which leads to a greater chance of survival,” she said.      

       Listen to Union’s full interview with “News & Notes” host Farai Chideya here.

SIMMONS’ VISA RUSH CARD REACHES MILESTONE December 22, 2008

 

In the midst of a global economic downturn, Russell Simmons’ prepaid Visa RushCard has managed to reach the two billion dollar mark in deposits – an all time high for the five-year-old venture.

 

       The RushCard allows members to track their transactions online while including debt reducing strategies and restrictions to prevent overdrafting or over use. It allows people with bad credit to build up good credit.       

       “I’m personally very happy that RushCard is benefiting and empowering people exactly as it was intended,” said Simmons in a statement. “In America today, no one should be left out or kept out of having access to the American Dream and financial services which a bank account or credit card provides to others. The fact that we have already helped our members manage $2 billion in transactions proves that RushCard is instrumental in providing access to those services that hundreds of thousands of people may not otherwise have.”      

       The online Spend Tracker and the RushPATH to Credit are new programs added by Simmons that make it possible for users to report their regular payment history to participating consumer credit reporting agencies while still easily tracking expenses.      

       Simmons expressed hope for the future saying, “As we celebrate this major accomplishment, we look forward to the day all Americans have the financial access and dignity they deserve.”

WILL AND JADA GIVE AWAY LOTS OF MONEY December 22, 2008

 

Will and Jada Pinkett Smith have deep pockets when it comes to charities. Tax returns for their foundation show the couple gave $1.3 million in donations last year to a variety of religious, civic and arts groups, reports Fox411’s Roger Friedman.

 

       The columnist wrote Wednesday: Smith’s biggest single contribution was, as usual, Yesha Ministries of Philadelphia. He gave the born-again Christian based organization run by Reverend James Robinson a whopping $250,000. That’s a hefty raise from the $140,000 he gave them the previous year. Another $200,000 went to a Christian ministry outside Los Angeles called Living Waters.       

        He also gave a combined $122,500 to the Church of Scientology, broken into these donations: $67,500 to the New York Rescue Workers Detoxication Fund, $50,000 to the group’s Celebrity Center in Hollywood and $5,000 to ABLE, another Scientology offshoot. Smith and his wife have also supported a private school called New Village Academy they opened this fall in suburban Los Angeles that uses Scientology learning concepts.       

        The star of movies like “Hancock,” “I Am Legend,” and the upcoming “Seven Pounds” also donated thousands of dollars to a Los Angeles mosque, other Christian-based schools and churches, and to the Yitzhak Rabin Memorial Center in Israel. And though Smith is not featured in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” he also sent $25,000 to the Progeria Research Foundation. Progeria is a disease that causes rapid aging.

TARAJI P. HENSON LEADS IN SAG ACTING NOMS December 22, 2008

 

When the dust settled around nomination announcements for the Screen Actors Guild Awards, it was Taraji P. Henson who went home with more nods than any other individual – earning three for her roles on both the big and small screen.

 

      The Washington D.C. native picked up a supporting actress nomination for her “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” a second nod as part of the film’s ensemble, and a third nomination as a member of TV’s “Boston Legal” cast.

 

      Henson will face Viola Davis of “Doubt” in the supporting actress category.  The Roman Catholic drama leads SAG Awards contenders with five nominations, including honors for co-stars Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams. Davis, like Henson, also earned a cast nod as part of “Doubt’s” ensemble of actors.

 

       “Frost/Nixon,” “Milk” and “Slumdog Millionaire” also have nominations for overall cast performance.      

      The Screen Actors Guild Awards air Jan. 25 on TNT and TBS. For a complete list of nominations, click here: http://www.sagawards.org/PR_081218  

IS J.LO’S MARRIAGE IN TROUBLE? December 22, 2008

 

A rep for singer Marc Anthony is denying a flurry of rumors suggesting his marriage to Jennifer Lopez is at a “breaking point,” as one gossip rag put it.

 

      Reports of trouble in paradise began when Us magazine posted a story online this week noting that J.Lo attended a movie premiere without her 8-carat diamond engagement ring, her wedding band – or, for that matter, her husband.

 

      The story came in the wake of reports earlier this month that Anthony was spotted flirting with a woman at two New York City nightspots. The singer was also reportedly seen in Las Vegas this month without his wedding band.

 

      But Anthony’s rep said Wednesday that reports of a rough patch between the two are false.

 

       “They are doing great,” his spokeswoman Blanca Lasalle told Newsday. “Any comments implying that they are having problems and that Marc behaved in a questionable manner while out with friends last week are absolutely false.”       

       A spokeswoman for Lopez co-signed, stating of the couple: “They are fine.”      

       Us magazine’s story quoted a “close pal of Anthony’s” who claimed “He’s very, very controlling of her. The skirts aren’t as short. You don’t see so much of that booty anymore.”       

       The magazine also reported that Anthony picks out Lopez’s clothes and keeps tabs on her phone calls. But Lopez – who once claimed she “loved getting his opinions” – has become less interested in his approval since the birth of their twins, Max and Emme, the magazine said.      

       “She walks in from work, washes her hands and grabs the babies,” a “longtime friend” told Us. “With him, it’s almost like, ‘Ugh, they’re crying again?’”

RAPHAEL SAADIQ RECORDS WITH FANTASIA December 22, 2008

 

Fresh from a fall North America tour supporting John Legend, singer/producer Raphael Saadiq is heading back to the studio to work on a new album for “American Idol” winner Fantasia, reports Billboard.com.

 

       Saadiq hopes to provide her with “something soulful but really strong, something like maybe a little bit of Aretha (Franklin) mixed up with a little bit of LaBelle. I think that would sound really good on her.”       

       Since the demise of his former group Tony! Toni! Tone!, Saadiq has set up shop in the recording studio with a number of production and collaboration credits. But his own current album, “The Way I See It,” has rekindled the R&B artist’s appetite for the road.      

       “I’ve never really toured as a solo act,” Saadiq, who was also a member of the short-lived all-star group Lucy Pearl, tells Billboard.com. “I would do a record and go out for 12 dates and come back.”       

       But pride in “The Way I See It,” with its echoes of vintage Motown, Philadelphia and Chicago soul, inspired Saadiq to slot some more time in for touring.      

       “I just wanted to get a record out there that I thought would match the world — every type of person, people all over the world from the States to Europe to Russia to everywhere,” he explains. “I felt like that style of music works all over the world, and I wanted to make a contribution in ‘08 and ‘09 and ‘10 and create something that would take me around the world.”      

       In the new year, he plans to travel to Europe for promotional television appearances and press, followed by a concert tour there in February, with North American dates to follow in March. In the summer Saadiq, plans a run of European festivals.

OBAMA ON VACATION IN NATIVE HAWAII December 22, 2008

 

Barack Obama and his family arrived in Oahu over the weekend for a 12-day vacation before he takes the oath of office next month.

 

       According to the Associated Press, the president-elect plans to keep a low profile during the break, with no formal events of his schedule. Aides said Obama will continue to have business meetings and intelligence briefings as he prepares for Inauguration in January.      

       Obama has spent recent weeks at a breakneck pace, barreling through appointments. During the last week, Obama met reporters every day to announce his picks for Cabinet posts, rounding out the bulk of his top economic, national security and domestic policy officials in his forthcoming administration.      

       Still unfilled are his picks for CIA director and national intelligence director, along with other sub-Cabinet appointments. Aides say the president-elect would continue working on those as he left behind his home in Chicago.      

       Obama, his wife Michelle, and their two young daughters spent most of the 10-hour, nonstop flight from Chicago in the front cabin of the United Airlines plane, according to the AP.  Younger daughter Sasha wandered back to visit with Secret Service agents in the back of the plane, within view of the roughly two dozen journalists making the 4,200-mile flight to the Pacific islands.      

       The family during past years spent the December holidays visiting Obama’s maternal grandmother, who died Nov. 2, before Obama’s historic Nov. 4 victory. The Obamas are expected to have a private memorial service for Madelyn Payne Dunham, who helped raise him, early this week.

MILIAN ‘SHOCKED’ OVER EX’S MARRIAGE TO MARIAH December 22, 2008

 

Christina Milian said she was caught off guard upon hearing news that her ex-boyfriend, Nick Cannon, married Mariah Carey within weeks of meeting each other earlier this year.

 

      “I definitely was shocked like everybody else,” the actress-singer, who dated her ‘Love Don’t Cost a Thing’ costar in 2005, tells Rap-Up magazine in its Winter 08/09 issue, on newsstands Dec. 30.

 

      “I was like, ‘Really?’ It just seemed like a weird match,” she adds. “But I was happy for him. I always feel like Nick works hard to get what he wants, whether that be women – that’s how he got me.”

 

      Milian, 27, says she and Cannon “were so young” when they were together. She hasn’t spoken to Cannon since he started dating Carey. But looking back on their relationship, Milian says she has no ill feelings or regrets.

 

      “He’s a beautiful person,” she says. “Regardless of what I felt in the past at the time, I actually forgive him and I’m very much over that.”