helpful Archives - Page 3 of 4

Rivers and Ocean Breeze

by tiffanyUncategorized March 17, 2020February 25, 2020No Comments

Rivers and Ocean Breeze was originally a song that I edited into a poem. It is a romantic rhyming poem that blends elements of nature and fantasy.

I'm holding you tight
in my own mind,
knowing one day
you will be mine. 

Let the rivers and roads
lead you home.
I've lassoed the moon 
and it waits for you.

Let the ocean breeze
call you close to me.
We'll live in a sweet melody
and I'll share my love with you.

Let your calling dreams
guide you near to me.
Near or far,
no matter where you are,
please be guided to me.

I'm holding you tight
in my own mind,
knowing one day
you will be mine.

Want More?

If you would like to read more of my poetry please take a look at my portfolio or watch a few of my poetry readings.

Tiff’s Tips: Decide If You Are A Hobbyist or Artist

by tiffanyTiff's Tips March 3, 2020June 4, 2020No Comments

In my mind creative people can fall into 2 camps; the hobbyist and the artist.

The Hobbyist

The Hobbyist is creative for the joy and pleasure of being creative. Their idea of success is just having time to be creative and enjoying it.

Being creative to them is either relaxing or simply a fun time. They do not need anything else out of their art or creativity. The hobbyist is someone who will have another job and is simply being creative because it is their hobby.

It is a simple and pure reason to create art of any type.

The Artist

The Artist is a person who wants a career focused around being creative. Art is more than a hobby to them. It is a passion that they can’t get enough of.

Yes, they enjoy creating and art most likely started as a hobby for them too. It has since grown and changed into something they want to do more of.

Where I fall

I fall into the artist camp. I started as a hobbyist. For most of my life I wrote because it was just something I enjoyed doing. I started to draw and doodle, because it was fun.

The issue I started to face was that I wanted to write more and do more with my visual art too. I never feel like I have enough time to do everything I want to do with my creative career.

I started to make life changes to help me make more time for my creativity. First it was small things, like making sure I had Saturdays to be creative and setting goals for my creativity. Then the changes became bigger, like leaving my office job and the commute, so that I had more time and less mental drain.

Another change I made in order to fall more into the artist camp was that I simply started to refer to my creativity as my art business and my creative career. I switched my brain into realizing and accepting this is the path I’m on.

Whether you chose to be a hobbyist or artist both are valid and can be successful. Just like life your art and creativity is yours. Only you can decide how much time, effort, and emotions you put into.

If you are hobbyist that does not mean you are less passionate about your creativity. It simply means you have decided to keep it as a hobby instead of a career.

This is part of Tiff’s Tips a blog series. I have also done a goal setting video series on YouTube.

Tiff’s Tips: Define Success for yourself

by tiffanyTiff's Tips February 18, 2020June 4, 2020No Comments

Success is defined as the accomplishment of an aim or purpose. It is the attainment of popularity or profit. Success is based on achievements and accomplishments. What you aim for and strive to accomplish will be unique to who you are.

You need to define what a successful life looks like to you. Who do you want to be? How do you want your life and art to look? What accomplishments and achievements mean most to you?

No one can define success for your life, except for you. A successful life for me will look very different than your successful life. We are all unique with different passions, personalities, and life styles.

Let Me Share My Definition

In my life success is defined as living a life I’m proud of, where I am allowed to be fully me. This definition will allow me to grow, but also allow contentment as I grow.

I live a successful life by keeping a journal for self-exploration, so that I can keep in touch with who I am at my core.

One reason why I pray and read the Bible daily is so that I can learn more about my spirit/ soul and grow closer to God who made.

Living a successful life for me also means being creative often and sharing my creativity with others.

Notice, I have defined a successful life with things that I can control. I can decide to journal or not. I can focus on building healthy habits or I can ignore those habits. It is up to me.

I learned through goal setting and striving to be a better version of my self that the focus has to be with you. You cannot focus on the achievements, but that what you do to get to the achievements.

This means that it if you want to get to point B, don’t focus on point B. Focus on walking to point B and the steps. You’ll get there, but if you focus on the end goal and achievement it becomes easier and easier to see that you’re not at point B. This is especially true if point B is far far away.

Focus on your habits and what you can control and you’ll get to your successful life.

This is part of Tiff’s Tips a blog series. I have also done a goal setting video series on YouTube.

The Road (A Poem)

by tiffanyPoetry February 12, 2020June 4, 2020No Comments

The road is long.
The path is hard,
and I keep thinking
I haven't gone far yet.

Maybe I'm good,
but need to be great.
Perhaps I'm struggling in vain
and being an artist is not my fate.

I could run.
I could hide,
but then there'd be
a deadly gnawing inside.

So I'll stay my course
and walk my path.
Perhaps one day I'll look back,
see my struggles, and laugh.

I do have more poetry in the poetry section of my site and poetry readings on YouTube.

Depart Oh Darkness (A Poem)

by tiffanyPoetry January 15, 2020June 4, 2020No Comments

Depart oh darkness.
You are not welcomed here.
Storm I will not surrender to thee.
You can let me be.

I am not a flower.
I am a tree.
Though you may try
I will not bend, break, or die.
 
I am here to stay,
so depart oh darkness.
You are not welcomed here.
Storm I will not surrender to thee.
You can let me be.

I do have more poetry in the poetry section of my site and poetry readings on YouTube.

Tiff’s Tips

by tiffanyTiff's Tips January 7, 2020January 3, 2020No Comments

We all know things other do not. It’s a fact of living. You’re not going to have the same knowledge base or experiences as someone else. No matter where you are on your journey you can help other people. I have been on my creative journey for a few years now and I have been learning things every step of the way. That is why I’m sharing things I know with this blog series, Tiff’s Tips.

My experiences and my life have taught me things that you may not know. What I have to say may help someone just by the facts I share, or who I am may explain it in a different way, with a different light that makes the tip click into their mind.

Yes, some of these things may seem common place or obvious to you, but others may not realize or know those tips.

I hope you enjoy this series and I hope you learn from it. Please allow it to help your mind grow and your thinking to shift, so that you can achieve your goals. Hopefully by the end you will see your art and goals in a new light.

I will leave you now with the first ten tips of this series. In the coming months I will explain and expand on each of them.

Define Success for yourself
Decide If You Are A Hobbyist or Artist
Have an Ideal Life
Start where you are
Assess and Have Goals
Do Not Give Up
Have Creative Friends
Try Different Things
Do Not Be Afraid To Change
Regularly Reflect On Your Journey

Side note: I did do a video project about goals years ago. Check out the playlist if you’re interested.

Ending note

This is part of Tiff’s Tips a blog series. I have also done a goal setting video series on YouTube.

Without You (A Poem)

by tiffanyPoetry December 5, 2019June 4, 2020No Comments

A tiger can be caged.
A bird can live without flight,
and I can live without you.

He can hold his breath.
She can close her eyes,
and I can live without you.

Life will go on.
I will see the storms and sunshine,
and I can live without you.

But something inside longs to thrive.
Something inside longs to be free
and can only be when I live with you.

This was written on August 1, 2019.

I do have more poetry in the poetry section of my site and poetry readings on YouTube.

Poetry Readings

by tiffanyPoetry, recorded November 26, 2019November 5, 2019No Comments

I, Tiffany Joy, have started a new YouTube project. You must all be absolutely shocked! I do always feel like I’m starting new projects. This one is part of my efforts to promote what I’ve already written, by recording readings of my work. I’ve started by recording my poetry readings.

Most of the poems are from my book Growing Poems. I am starting to mix in my newer poetry that I published here.

I figured that I would share my favorites with those who either have stumbled on my site or frequent it more that Youtube. I’ll also be sharing this on my social media accounts, so I guess the post will just be spreading the word more.

Now onto the Poetry Readings

The first is one of my newer poems, but the first reading. It is called, “To Those Who Struggle.” For personal reasons, I needed to share this first. After all I always meant to have it as a reading.

Poems and Memories is a poem I wrote right after I realized what I was going to be calling my first poetry book. It reflects the idea of poems growing and being part of me.

Lady Isabella is again from my poetry book and is about my dog. I wrote it as her life was ending and it has always been a hard one for me to read. However, I do love it.

The last poem is Power. It is also from my poetry book. It is a 3 stanza poem that I wrote in college about a relationship.

There is a complete playlist of all my poetry readings, including older ones, on YouTube.

Note: This is the entire playlist.

I hope you enjoyed my poetry readings, as much as I enjoyed making them. Feel free to give me any feedback you have. All is welcomed.

Christian Camp – God Shows Up

by tiffanyGod Shows Up September 24, 2019February 12, 2020No Comments

When I was about 10 years old I went to a Christian camp named Camp Brea and . It was a standard camp experience. We camped in cabins, there was a lake, and it was in the middle of a forest. Trees surround the majority of the camp with the exception of the lake and a long building with dirt parking spaces. There was also a chapel among the trees.

One day towards the end of camp I was in the chapel, a service must have just finished. I was alone with one adult camp counselor. She and I sat on a bench and talked about Jesus. She asked me a few questions about faith and accepting Jesus. At the time everything made sense and Jesus seemed present. She guided me through a standard prayer and then we signed a paper that I could bring home with me. It was a confession of my faith; a sign that I decided to accept Jesus into my heart.

The paper was lost, along with the memory of what happened. I returned to my life and didn’t think anything else of that summer camp. It wasn’t until I was telling my testimony, after becoming a Christian that I even remembered that there once was a paper and the memory existed.

Looking back on my life

I see where God did intervene on my behalf. I could have gone down darker paths or have horrible accidents. There was a time when I was far from him, making wrong decisions, and living a life focused on fun. It was because of those wrong decisions and impurity that I was led to California where I eventually found God again and gave my heart fully and truly to Jesus.

In the end He was with me, even if I didn’t know it. Even when my life didn’t reflect Him, He was in the background waiting.

Mentally Healthy Bagel

by tiffanyHealthy Bagel, Life September 5, 2019September 22, 2019No Comments

I have primarily talked about physical health and my journey with weight loss. However, that is not actually the main focus of this journey. Instead of working towards a physical health goal, like weight loss. I have been trying to be mindful of the reasons behind my habits and my mindset that caused me to not be my physical best. Basically I am working on the inside out this time.

Your mind is where every action or inaction stems from, so you should pay attention and take care of it. Why am I eating what I eating? It is because some part of my brain said, “Yes, tuna fish is what you want to eat right now.” It could have very easy decided that I actually should go to the store and buy a large thing of ice-cream, but it didn’t. Looking at the reason behind your actions or inaction can teach you so much about yourself.

Once I fully grasped the concept that every action or inaction comes from my brain, I realized that I can control and change my mind. I didn’t have to stay stuck with the same thought patterns or reactions. This is really when I started my health journey.

Why I think Dieting fails

Yes, I had tried dieting before and living a healthier lifestyle many times. I would typically fail, because I was just doing what I thought I should be doing and not looking at the reasons. The reasons didn’t resonate deep enough for me to keep with it and what I truly wanted to change was not actually being changed.

Most of the time the reasons we want to change our outward appearance has more to do with how we see ourselves and inner minds. That is why I never saw lasting change. I wasn’t changing the foundation or inner life, so my outside appearance was only always temporary.

Let me rephrase that for you:

If you don’t change the inside your outside appearance will only be temporary.

A few months ago

I realized the need to change my inner life and thought pattern a few months or maybe even a year ago, so I started my deep dive. That is when I started “Healthy Bagel.” I wrote the first blog post, but didn’t publish it and then backed away. Something was holding me back. I realize now I didn’t really want to do the deep dive into my mind. However, that was the only way real change would happen.

When I finally did look honestly at myself I realized the real reasons why I wanted to get ‘healthy.’ I use quotes, because I have no chronic illness, I’m hardly ever sick, and can be pretty active.

Here is what I realized about my reasons for being physically fit

My BMI (Body Mass Index) defined my health in my mind and I used the BMI system as a way to keep my confidence down.
My desire is to be more attractive
I want to feel better about my physical body.
Mainstream society’s weight limits and attitudes dictated my own.
If I was a smaller size it would be easier to find a bra.
Finally, I want to prove to myself I can be as fit as I want.

To put it simply I want to feel good about my body and increase my confidence.

How am I using my reasons to get healthier?

First I am looking at the beliefs behind the reasons. Why do I equate BMI with health? Why am I not feel great about my physical body? Why do I want to prove that I can be more physically fit? Why is my confidence tied to my physical appearance?

Some of beliefs are influenced by the society and culture I am a part of; others are more personal. I’m still explore which ones are which and how to overcome the limiting beliefs.

I do know that being physically active is a good thing and I do feel better when I’m taking care of myself, so that won’t change. I want to be the best version of me and currently that involves taking a journey towards being the healthiest I can be.

For more on my health journey check out the previous blog posts.