Inspired By Cruelty, Thoughtlessness, And Dishonesty
Inspiration doesn’t always come from the joys of life. It sometimes comes from cruelty, sadness, and pain.
Image by Annelise Lords
I am inspired by life and the cruelty of my mother.
As a child growing up, I was the only child of six children who didn’t eat white rice. Most days that were all my mother could afford with some meat. The meat was often called the ‘watchman,’ because it was so small.
Rice was also cheaper.
There were other foods I didn’t eat. Since we were poor I either eat what was provided or go hungry.
I was stubborn.
I endured a lot of hunger.
My mother didn’t care.
More than thirty years later, I can hold my hunger like a well holds water.
Thanks to my mother’s cruelty, poverty, life, and living I think economically, using creativity and innovation to manage my finances so well, I am never hungry again. I carry that economical way of thinking to my marriage and learn to bake and cook everything I want to eat for myself and my family adding a healthy lifestyle to the menu.
This bread is made with dates, raisins, prunes, apricots, extra virgin olive oil, vanilla soy-powered milk, vanilla, almond essence, whole wheat flour, and white flour. It’s delicious.
The pain of hunger never visits again, and it’s passed on to my kids. I save thousands of dollars cooking instead of eating out and am healthier too.
My twin boys watched me cook and bake bread. I bake and decorate their birthday cakes, and make pizza and delicious sticky buns that they enjoyed.
They have been cooking their own meals since they were eighteen years old. They are twenty-three years old now.
Thanks to my mother, I solved the hunger problems for my generation.
I live with my mother, but I raised myself. I was sent to school, if I wanted to learn, that’s my business. She doesn’t know how I learn in school and if I failed or succeeded.
I wanted to learn because I had lots of dreams without the means or resources for any of them to come through.
Children with dreams don’t think that their dreams won’t come through.
I made sure that my children’s dreams came true by providing the means and resources for them.
I did the opposite of everything that she did to me for my children. I am involved in their lives providing opportunities for them that weren’t available to me.
Her lack of love and the negative and dishonest ways she raised us and treated us inspired me to be better and do better after witnessing the consequences of her actions.
By doing the opposite of what she did, it aids in removing regrets in many areas of my life. I am stronger, smarter, good with my finances, and a better mother to my children. In the process, I slowed down the cycle of poverty thanks to her.
Today, I want to thank my mother for the inspiration.
Life taught me that if you love where you are now, thank your journey and inspiration.
Inspiration doesn’t always come from the joys of life or the ones we care about that are good to us. It sometimes comes from sadness, cruelty, and pain — Annelise Lords
Thank you for reading this piece. I hope you enjoy it.