Let's Literature

More About Carmelia

Fri, 08 Nov 2024 19:42:37 GMT

Meet Carmelia, the Founder and CEO of Let's Unite LLC.

Hello, my name is Carmelia (Car-ma-lee-a) and I want to help heal our hurting world.

Before we jump into the deep stuff like my opinions on suffering, addiction, love, hate, politics and religion, I'll start with something a bit lighter.

At the time of starting Let's Unite LLC in the year of 2024, I am 34 years old and living in Texas. I was born and raised in Wisconsin (Yes, I do like cheese but I did not live on a farm). I have one cat and one dog. I love being outdoors and find mountains, coasts, and wildlife fascinating! In my free time you can find me biking, hiking, and dancing! (Oh, and doing Yoga, because things change once you hit your thirties!)

Since I was very young, I've had a desire to help others and to defend them from anything that might bring them harm. I was raised by two divorced parents who did the best they could given their own life circumstances. I am the oldest of 4 and my personality reflects that! I went to college and earned a B.S. in Health and Physical Education.

I began my career working as a wellness consultant, and loved helping others help themselves. I did however, also need to make more money, and for those in the "helping" industry, know those two things don't often go hand-in-hand! I worked for several years as s director of wellness at a full-continuum care senior living facility and enjoyed that very much, until the global pandemic of Covid-19. I took a hike (literally) and ended up moving to Texas to pursue a relationship that resulted from it.

I worked for a year in pediatric home-health administration, serving amazing nurses and medically fragile children. What I learned from being a “helper of the helpers” is that the healthcare and insurance game is very broken. So I worked for two years as a project manager for a company that’s taking an innovative approach to make healthcare more affordable and accessible for others! It was a much needed "break" from direct patient/person care. As a "small town girl" I felt fancy going to work in a sparkly high rise building downtown.

At the end of 2023, everything changed.

I was hacked on every platform imaginable and unable to use any of my technological devices, I could not call for help when I needed it most. I will keep it at that, because the result is still the same, and that's the important part. The details could fill a book (one that I plan to finish someday) . In summary, I experienced the depths of fear I could not have imagined before, but through Divine intervention, found Faith so unwavering, I'm forever changed.

Through that experience, and the overwhelming feeling that I had "everything taken from me", I had time to sit back and redefine what "everything" really meant to me.

I have learned that the foundation I build within myself, through the strength of a Higher Power (that I call God), and that foundation cannot be taken from me. I wake up and remind myself what I'm grateful for, before checking my phone. I've gotten off social media, and have chosen to learn the names of my neighbors. I have learned to be fulfilled by the smile of a stranger, because I chose to say hello to them and not cross the street before passing them.

I've come to realize that we're operating as individual silos in a field full of silos and that many people are suffering, in different ways, because of that. We are less inclined to ask for help these days, even when we really need it. I believe we need to work together, because we all need help and we all need to be a helper. I think Bill Withers summed it up well with these lyrics:

"Lean on me
When you're not strong
And I'll be your friend
I'll help you carry on...

For it won't be long
Till I'm gonna need somebody to lean on

Please swallow your pride
If I have things you need to borrow

For no one can fill
Those of your needs that you won't let show

You just call on me brother (or sister) when you need a hand
We all need somebody to lean on"

I hope that you'll join me on this mission, and together we can make the world a better place to be, for everyone...

one thought,

one conversation,

and one person at a time.

Loving Yourself, Unapologetically.

Tue, 22 Oct 2024 12:52:47 GMT

Learning to Love Yourself

"Learning to love myself again was one of the hardest and most rewarding things I've ever done. Personally, it's something I have to consciously work on every day"

- Carmelia

Now, if you click on this post and think "Of course I love myself, I'm perfect just the way I am" then congratulations to you. Truly, that's great - I hope you use any extra in your cup to pour into others. For those that click on this post, and have already put together a list in your head of all the things you'd change about yourself, this is for you.

I'm going to get right to the point - my intentions are not to hurt feelings, but to open your eyes to the stupidity of your actions and/or the things you're choosing to view online. YOUR WORTH DOES NOT COME FROM THE AMOUNT OF VIEWS OR LIKES THAT YOU HAVE!!!! When you die (and we all will) nobody will care about how many followers you had. Are spending hours putting together "content" that doesn't benefit the world, and when you turn the camera off feel empty. THIS IS NOT HEALTHY.

You matter because you exist. You do not need someone you don't even know replaying your videos to provide you with worth, you are worthy because you exist.

Where to start?

Tell yourself 3 things you like about yourself.
Try to make these unrelated to your appearance. If you choose something about your appearance, choose something natural.
Try to find something that isn't measured externally. Example: "Other people think I'm kind." instead try "I am kind."
Try not to focus on material things. Example: "I like my cool and expensive car." instead try "I work really hard, and have achieved things I desire because of that."
Create a list of 3 things you're grateful for. (My examples from today are below)
I am grateful to have a working body, and that I could do yoga today.
I am grateful for shelter, and to be protected from the rain.
I'm grateful for the trees outside my apartment window, that remind me how resilient we as creations are.
Consider 3 ways you could be nicer to yourself, or how you could redirect a negative narrative.
This is a good time to reflect on how much value you put in the opinion of others verses what you're actually experiencing.
You could observe if you've been comparing yourself to others, personally or professionally.
You could reflect on how much time you spend judging others, knowing that is not healthy use of time.

Find Your Truth

Tue, 08 Oct 2024 15:33:48 GMT

Before you can dance to the beat of your own drum, you first must be able to hear the sound of it.

In a world full of so much external "noise", it's easy to be misled, misinformed, and pressed into a "one-size-fits-all mold." What isn't easy, is navigating your own path, and fighting for it- unapologetically!

Most of us are walking around with a little device in our hand or pocket that influences the way we think, act, and feel about "the world around us". In reality, we are so focused on the device we are actually paying very little attention to WHAT IS actually around us. Even if you've managed to break out of the "matrix" and aren't turning to your device for comfort, belonging, or information, it is likely you're still being exposed to "noise". This noise can come from marketing ads on billboards, commercials, newspapers, etc.

While I'm not a psychologist, and will not pretend to be, I do know that our belief system starts forming within the environment that we are raised in. I use "belief system" as an umbrella term that essentially means "how we perceive the things and people around us." The people who raised and influenced you and I, also had their own belief system as a result of their upbringing and the environment they lived in. While we can't change how we were raised, we can reflect on what values and beliefs we developed during that time, and whether or not those hold true to our life experience.

An example of this would be being raised to believe that a population (or group) of people were bad. That population (or grouping of people) could be based on religion, race, political stance, etc. You may have developed a very strong feeling about these people based on what other people were saying about them. We are able to develop very negative feelings about other people or groups of people, without having met someone that belongs to that population (or group) of people.

Believing in something without having a personal reason to, can result in a lot of negative thoughts and conversations about people you've never met. This may change your willingness to help that person or group of people when they're in need.

There is a lot more to say on the topic of being biased, and if you're willing to do the work, I encourage you to do some research on the topic. It all starts with a willingness to reflect on your own belief system, and whether you believe in those things because of your own life experience, or because of what others say.