STRONG by Angelica AngelicaGanea --SPLENDID

"STRONG", music & lyrics by Angelica
From original album "Remember Who You Are - the Story Behind the Song" (CD & BOOK)

Here is the story behind "Strong": "There was a time in my life when I believed that things were happening for a reason; that I was destined to meet certain people and go through very specific emotions. It seemed everything was beyond my control and as time passed I began to shut down my feelings and convinced myself that it was all happening for some mysterious reason... A reason I would never find the answer simply because it was not meant to be found. So I was living each day humbly accepting what was unfolding for me, while suffering inside tremendously... I put my trust and dreams in the hands of someone who I thought wished only the best for me. And he probably did; only his "best for me" did not match my version... I unknowingly gave away the power of being in charge of my own life, which in turn made me so vulnerable to the point where I was no longer deciding anything I was about from the moment I awoke until I fell asleep at night; I was no longer deciding my own future. The moment I accepted the pretense of being someone else (which was the moment I did not voice my questions and my truth), I felt as though I was endlessly falling. Despite feeling that way, I did what I was told and allowed myself to be uprooted from the life I'd been building since I was a child— I stopped doing what gave me peace. The illusion built around me was so strong that I never questioned anything. I simply took the circumstances as they were, and in order to find some relief, I almost convinced myself that it would be wrong and selfish of me to continue being who I am. Even though my feelings were constantly signaling me to reconsider the choices I was making, I kept disregarding them. I didn't know that I shouldn't allow anyone to structure my destiny or let myself be blinded by a smiling face telling me that his vision was the life I wanted but I just didn't realize it yet... I didn't know that sometimes people put limitations on their loved ones in order to hide their own weaknesses... I didn't know that by not taking charge of my own life I was hurting not only myself but also the people who loved me most dearly, my parents and siblings... I didn't know that by allowing my gift of free choice to be taken away I was creating a bigger and bigger gap between myself and God. When we do something because someone else wants us to and we feel negative emotions, we are not being true to who we really are— we move away from our center. We can never actually break the connection we have with our divine Selves, but we can stray quite far from it and as a result endure the strong emotions that follow. In doing this, not only are we not doing a favor to ourselves but we are not helping the other person as well— he or she will never learn one of the most valuable lessons in life: to find their happiness within themselves not in trying to change the other. When somebody affects anyone in a negative way, when they act from fear rather than Love and understanding, they don't feel the benefit of giving, and therefore experiencing security and peace. Also by being allowed to interfere in someone else's experience, they never learn. And so they keep hiding behind this mask they've adopted along life's trail, a mask that becomes harder and harder to bear. Their negative outbursts are actually a scream for help ... Living in this continuous struggle, having lost sight of their divine nature, they are the ones who feel powerless; they are the ones who truly need help. When I found myself with my back against the wall and had nowhere else to go, when I was forced to unwillingly take a break from punishing myself by allowing someone else to do so, when machines were hooked up to my heart showing me what I had done to it, that's when I recognized I had come to a fork in the road. I had to make a choice. Supported by faith and hope, my mind searched further for an answer. And there it was. . . waiting patiently within my heart shining in all its glory: it was absolutely no one's fault that I was where I was. No one's. I had asked for it— very clearly. I had asked for it every single time I believed myself to be a victim, every single time I thought I was not appreciated. I asked for it every time I believed that there was no perfect relationship and that I had to constantly be on my toes working at the one I had. I asked for it every single time I didn't think of myself as a person worthy of finding someone to accept me as I am, believing the delusion that something like that didn't exist... " To purchase STRONG at iTunes please visit:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/remember-who-you-are/id319549915
To purchase "Remember Who You Are - the Story Behind the Song" (BOOK&CD) please visit http://www.iamAngelica.com