Miami Art Basel pt. 1

Went to get a haircut a few days ago and happened to be in the area of one of the street Art projects of Miami Art Basel in Wynwood. There was no way I was going to pass up such an opportunity. Amazing would be an understatement. Here is the first installment of pics I took, enjoy there are many more to come.....

Banksy?......

one of my favorites

Brolic Baby

That 10 point buck

Yoga....

I am not sure why but I really dig this one

All in the name of Art....

Obey wall 1

Obey wall 2

Obey wall 3

I am now officially a Peter Tunney fan

Tunney again..

and again...

No one....

Obey wall 4

Obey wall 5

Obey wall 6

Obey wall 7

Trippy

Restarurant Front 1

Restaraunt Front 2

Had so many more pics....coming soon

Happy Holidays

My apologies once again, I've been putting in some serious family time. This is a short post just to say Happy Holidays and that I hope you all are out there LYMLiving. More posts coming soon.....

And remember in these hard times "It's presence not presents"( quote brought to you by Daddy). We don't want the cards or the wrapping paper and boxes we want to see your face it means so much more. We want to hear your voice it sounds so much better.

Note To Self( and you all)

Here are a few basic rules to relationships:
1-Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.
2-Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older their conversational skills will be as important as any other.
3-Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have, or sleep all you want.
4- When you say "I love you" mean it.
5-When you say "I'm sorry" look the person in the eye.
6- Be engaged at least 6 months before you get married.
7-Believe in love at first sight.
8- Never laugh at anyone's dream. People who don't have dreams don't have much.
9-Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but its the only way to live life completely.
10-In disagreements, fight fairly. No name-calling.
11-Don't judge people by their relatives.
12-Talk slowly but think quickly
13-When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and ask "Why do you want to know?"
14- Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
15- Say "bless you" when you hear someone sneeze.
16- When you lose, don't lose the lesson!
17- Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; and Responsibility for your actions.
18-Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
19-When your realize you've made a mistake take immediate steps to correct it.
20- Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.
21- Spend some time alone.

Follows these rules when it come to relationships, interactions with others, and just in your general life and you are on your way to understanding the LYMLIFE.

Work hard, Play harder

I sincerely apologize to all of you LYMLifers out there for leaving you stranded for so long. I am dissappointed in myself its been too many days since my last post. I am not making an excuse just explaining that we have something to celebrate. LYMLIFE is officially recognized by the government as a corporation. In the last couple of days I have been working diligenlty with a few different government offices in order to guarantee a smooth start up for LYMLIFE. Our legal issues have been dealt with for the most part, just a few finishing touches to be made.

Over the past couple of days the LYMLIFE has taken me from on the phone with the IRS to the irish pub in Brickell. Its the LYMLIFE so you can never know what to expect. In Japanese martial arts it is referred to as the concept of  "no mind." It means don't plan too hard because life is unpredictable. No Mind is when your mind is completely empty thus when life throws something your way you can react faster.

Here is the evidence of the randomness in the name of LYMLIFE....

first night out in over a week had to start it off right

The funny thing is no matter how random my adventures may be it always seems to be a step forward for LYMLIFE. Shooting pool with a family friend, I ended up meeting a highly recommended photographer/ videographer who I hope to eventually make part of this LYMLIFE Movement. Who said you can't work and play at the same time?

If I had a professional photographer he would take pics like this

Even though I didn't take the picture I was there, wandering the streets of Brickell from a place named "Dolores but you can call me Lolita" to the Irish Pub. LYMLIFE: sometimes your just too busy living it to document it.

The Clevelander always an interesting experience

Home office or if you know me well DJ Booth

LYMLIFE meetings never ordinary

Moes should be called memory lane...

New nice little spot...nothing crazy just chill

Random shot of the grove

Perfect ending to a night

And the night was not over the Lunar Eclipse showed love/ LYMLIFE=experience something truly majestic

The LYMLIFE....why would you choose anything else?

Fallen Soldiers Pt. 1

In life we are guaranteed only one thing...death. If you have a beginning you must have an end. The crazy thing is most of us don't know when that end will be. Some of us live long past our expiration date and others don't live long enough to ripen. This is the punchline of the twisted joke called life. Whatever your religious preference you have some understanding of death or some kind of justification for things in order to explain life's complexities. The more unfair the situation , the greater the need for justification.

I attended a funeral a few days ago which was as always an event for mourning and closure. There were tears  shed, songs sang, God praised, and a body placed in the ground. I, however, did not shed tears , and you may ask why. I have what some might label a weird perception of death. I am not scared of my own for one and I know that those who die are removed from the pain and suffering of this world. To all who have passed just know it is not "Goodbye" it is simply "See you later". The day people understand this, mourning will be cut short. The shorter we mourn the quicker we get back to our lives and live with  purpose in order to make the deceased proud. I don`t live for myself, I live to conquer and achieve my dreams and the dreams of those  not able to address theirs. Many in my circle who have passed never attained their true potential. The mini successes observed were a mere scratch on the surface of what they may have attained if father time were more generous.

Back to the importance of this funeral I attended, it was the funeral of a young man I once knew. An athlete who treated his body as a temple and treated people as teammates. A straight-card with nothing to lose and all to gain. In his case, time was cut short. He had numerous achievements under his belt, but I feel personally there was so much more he could conquer. The most confusing part about it is, it was a drunk driving incident. My question is how does a man who doesn't drink die in a drunk driving incident. I can answer that. Our actions in life affect more people than we think. This young man never drank but got hit by a drunken driver. That's like people who die of secondhand smoke but never picked up a cigarette. It's completely unfair but understandable.  All I can say is, it may have been an accident and accidents happen but......we can do things to lower the chances. If you knew or were fortunate enough to be an acquaintance of Roberto then you knew he was a good person. Yes, they say the good die young but that does not always have to be the case. I personally have analyzed this situation and learned an important lesson from it as should all of you. Drinking and driving don't mix ever. We all know this but do we really understand and live it. I don't drink and drive but you better believe my one beer or one drink only if I'm driving policy, coupled with my need to make it home policy have changed to an absolute no tolerance policy. I know the law says as long as you blow below a 0.08 you're fine but if you have any direct connection to this young man you will aim for a 0.000.

Show care and respect and think outside yourself. Not because I told you to but because its the right thing to do. Do it for Roberto Armenteros. This isnt a message from MADD(mothers against drunk driving) this is a heart to heart I'm having with you. If we live carelessly the consequences are unimaginable. So we here at LYMLife have taken up this no tolerance policy on drinking and driving regardless of what our laws say. We hope you will too. And to Roberto Armenteros, we salute you on your LYMLife and all you acheived in your short time. To the rest of you, remember don't drink and drive you might spare a life.

Simplify or Stress.....

As this semester from hell comes to end the dark cloud of anxiety and the heavy rains of stress start to approach. As most students load up on all sorts of crazy products to help them get through this final stretch there is one thing I think you all should remember: "life goes on".
I am currently in a do or die situation with my classes and if that wasn't enough I'm on the verge of releasing the first pieces of my clothing line. My contribution to the material world is about to be released and my graduation date is at stake. My stress level did peak for a quick moment but I quickly realized, life is not as crazy as we make it out to be. Simplicity is the mask of sophistication. Never forget to appreciate the simple things in life. I am a nature junkie at heart so the weirdest of things can bring a smile to my face.

Can't put a price on my smile

Watching clouds fly by is one of my simple past times. I lose track of time watching clouds fly by. Simplicity rules my life. I feel like simple people are the ones who have things figured out, while those who work so hard at creating complex lives are just trying too hard and are honestly more lost than the rest. So I urge you to please re-assess your life and simplify where possible.

In this past week I have experienced the taxing effects of school and love. Not first hand, but within my circle. My answer is simple, look back to when you were a child...what did your happiness depend on? Whatever your answer I guarantee you  if you ask yourself the same thing in terms of your current happiness your answer is way different and way more intricate. In school I'm happy to learn something I am not a slave to a grade. I don't sacrifice my dignity to make a grade. I'd rather fail with dignity than succeed by fraud.

When  it comes to girls call me nerdy but I'm happy to be able to hold a hand. In a world where people assume the act of sex to means you are getting somewhere, I believe you find more out about a person by just holding their hand. Sex is a child of complication, conversation is the child of simplicity. Anyone could have sex but not everyone can hold an intelligent conversation. Guys trust me good conversation will hold your girl longer than good sex and the women will agree with me. I didn't say there was anything wrong with sex i'm just saying that there are simpler intimacies out there.

 So please just try it out. Take yourself back to those simple times. Simplify your life in all aspects. Clear out the clutter so you can focus on your true goals. This post was about life but I decided to use love as the example because I felt every one could relate better. So before I sign off remember: “Simplicity is the final achievement. After one has played a vast quantity of notes and more notes, it is simplicity that emerges as the crowning reward of art.” 

LYMLIFE = SIMPLIFY

It Begins.......

This isn't a chain letter. It's me asking you from the bottom of my heart to spread the word...LYMLife

walkandlive.blogspot.com Read it, Comment on it, and most importantly LIVE it

Twitter: @LYMLIVING Follow It

Email: jm876empire@yahoo.com Reach out

Support us because if you are chasing your dreams we support you. Make it a trending topic, post your favorite post on your Facebook, tell a friend to tell a friend. Do your part because this movement is bigger than you and me. To live or to exist? I chose to live its time to make your decision.... 

Hopefully you decide to walk with me...together we can make a lasting footprint in the sands of time.

Trapped In my Mind...

Following up on my last post I have been motivated to open up a little to all my believers. I say believers because I don't want fans or followers I want believers. I want to know that I am speaking to those people who believe in the LYMLife project. If you are an avid LYMLife reader, then you should undoubtedly be a LYMlifer. To be a LYMLifer is to be the driving force in your own life while driving others to achieve great things in their own life. When you are done reading this post do something, let me know your out there, show me I'm not alone on this highway of potential. I have hope in humanity, I have not given up yet, and don't plan on it ever. I am dissappointed in those who are spectators in this game of life. Get on the field and make it happen. I am not sure who exactly is in these trenches with me but I would sure love to know who I can call a teammate. Someone who is down to fight for what they believe in. Someone who knows where they have come from and know where they want to go.


Taking a break from inspiring you all, its time I give you a peek at the chaotic war going on inside my head.
At my age I have experienced some things that have changed me forever. I have been through the highs and dipped down into the lows and still I stand. When I began this project I had a specific vision for what I wanted out of it. My vision is still same general concept except it has grown. With this growth has come more responsibility, stress, and opportunity. If you know me you know I have been scared of my own light for some time now. I am so afraid of failure that it puts a short leash on my success. Or am I afraid of what might come with success?
LYMLife is on the verge of releasing the clothing line and I won't lie I am truly scared. This project is like my child, I want to bring it into a positive environment and nurture it so that it can reach its full potential. My thoughts is the world ready for this movement, can I find positive supporters to help push it or will the overwhelming negativity of the world shut it out. I can't be sure but what I can tell you is I will be following through this time. "I will never progress if I never try, all I ask is let every word I birth never die".
I have sat down at the table of life with all my failures in life and tried to find out where I went wrong but the silence was unbearable. I guess only time will tell. I question myself a lot in all aspects of life, but I know I am not alone in that. I wonder who am I?  What makes me so special? Why support me? Why am I different? And the questions go on and on. The best answer I have come up with: Why not?
I have fallen into the horrible habit of setting my life up like dominoes. One domino gets hit and they all fall. I have brought the failures of my school, relationships, and finances into my LYMLife project. These things have caused me to walk on eggshells when it comes to the movement. This stops right now. School is something you give your best and thats all you can do. Your best effort and dignity is all that is asked. Relationships have always been a source of confusion, men can't figure out women and women think they have men figured out. If your not good enough for someone chances are it just wasn't meant to be. One thing my mom taught me you can't make people love you. Lastly finances are always shifting, money comes and goes but family remains. Through the good and the bad times remember to spend your real currency (time)  wisely, don't be consumed by the concept of "Cash is King". After putting all these things into perspective I have come to peace within myself.  Finding peace within yourself doesn't necessarily take time it just takes a lot of thought. Life comes at you fast but its only 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react.

We tend to create our own hells on earth. All I can say is its all in your head. Those of you who support the movement let your voice be heard. Take your mask off and show the world your true self. Share your struggle. This post is what we call venting and I thank you for listening.
So I end this post with these phrases:

"Simplify your life"

"Take the chance"

"Love unconditionally"

"Live, don't exist"

"The simplest answer is to act"

Our Deepest Fear

Just thought I would share this because it applies to me just as it applies to all of you. My struggle and your struggle its all the same just with different reference points. Never down another like they have it easy worry about your own battle. I have battled myself and my demons for some time now and the battle is far from over, but the more I learn, the more prepared I am to continue this battle. This is the battle that I fight far from the crowds, alone in the dark. No one cheers in this battle, there is no trophy. The reward is the peace you will find within your soul. The reward is enlightenment and the freedom to live a more complete life. So never quit the fight keep it up because the day you quit is the day you stop living. Here is some material that drives me hopefully it awakes you from that zombie slumber your in. Don't settle thats what cowards do. Get up, get out and get something. Don't do it for me do it for yourself.

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn’t serve the world. There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us, it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” This was a speech given by Nelson Mandela, but written by  Marianne Williamson. I have been afraid of my own light for a long time now but its time to embrace it. I suggest you do the same. Goodnight LYMLifers...

A Moment of Real 1 (Thanksgiving pt. 2)

Over this Thanksgiving break I took a moment to experience the real. This real I speak of is family and friends. In life I feel we get caught up with the superficial and material that seems to fill our every waking hour. We are caught up with so many things that distract us from what's real. We tend to be driven by our wants all the time and we don't concentrate on what we have. Yes for the most part our wants alter our lives for the better but that is not always the case. Wants feed into human nature and honestly we become consumed by our own greed. Family and friends are the antidote. I think people have forgotten what really matters in life. Being surrounded by family and friends this break was like a breath of fresh air, that much needed timeout from the everyday struggles.

This year at my house Thanksgiving shrunk from the usual extravaganza to a small family dinner. The funny part though is that no matter how exclusive we tried to make the event we still ended up with a few what I call "stragglers". Regardless of what we were expecting we still accepted everyone with open arms. It wasn't until we got to our Thanksgiving ritual of going around letting everyone say what their thankful for that I realized my family had grown. The stragglers were no longer stragglers they were full fledged members of the family. Everyone should spend Thanksgiving in a loving environment.

Wise birds-no straggler left behind

Continuing on though as we went down the line we heard the usual answers "I'm thankful for family, health, friends...etc". Eventually it came around to my mom and she simply said "I am thankful for time". At first my aunt took it as holidays and the time we get to spend with each other, but my mom began to explain exactly what she meant. She explained that people whether it be family/friends or whatever in all relationships we have assumed responsibilities and minimum requirements to keep up with people. Time is the one thing that sets everything apart. Those around you who invest time are the ones who truly care. Those are the ones that matter. Someone who invests time in you is someone who truly cares. Time is the only thing we have no control over it never stops for anything. We could die any day and when we die we can take nothing with us, but what do you want to leave behind? Everyone around me knows that one of my biggest fears is being a "shoulda woulda" type of person, my mom especially. When my mothers card is called I will be sad but I wont regret anything because I will have invested the time and the return will be infinite. I invest as much time as possible into the people I love and care for. Whether they want to give me their time too is totally up to them, but I make the effort, because they are worth it to me. So I say to you if you love someone and care for them invest the time, trust me you will not regret it. Time is the currency that we never truly know are worth in. So spend it wisely, because when bankruptcy hits you want to know that your investments will continue to progress long after your gone. LYM(leave your mark) on lives its the most permanent thing you can do. It lasts longer than anything you can see, hear, or touch. So spend the time; invest it in family, friends, or whoever else is worth it. Save money, spend time....

Thanksgiving Part 1

And so it began... I woke up put my running shoes on and ran to starbucks to meet my mother for breakfast. After a grueling run and an absolutely pleasant breakfast it was time for the real battle to begin: Us vs time. We had set Thanksgiving dinner to be at 5:00PM and we started preparations the night before. So at 10:17:43AM we resumed our battle against father time and his merciless clock.

Had to keep it light because of the food that my near future had in store.

The uninvited breakfast guest sadly wandering off :(

All I can say is I envy the man/woman who just shows up to Thanksgiving. Don't over exert yourselves picking up that pre-made pumpkin pie or bottle of fine wine from the store on your way to dinner. Just joking, its all love. I'm just letting you know that I wish I had your responsibilities on this lovely holiday.

If your family hosts Thanksgiving at home and invites all the others to come over you know the struggle I lived through, but in all honesty the preparation is three quarters of the fun. All the cutting, basting, seasoning, cooking, and tasting can all be considered parts of the bonding experience. Not even two days back from college and I was knee deep in turkey gravy, candied sweet potatoes, and a mountainous pile of chopped scallions. Being in the kitchen with my parents, younger sister and grandmother was like stepping inside a time capsule. I was instantly teleported to the old times when I lived at home and the team was tightly knit.

For such an ugly raw thing turkey can be so good cooked

sweating over an open fire....

We yelled, ordered, sweat, stressed, laughed, danced, cried, thought, fried, roasted...etc. We lived through the tiring process of preparing a Thanksgiving dinner. It was the best, most tiring, horrible, "wouldn't trade it for the world" experience ever. Its one of those things that sends you on a roller coaster of emotion yet after its all done you realize how much fun you actually had and would not hesitate to do such a crazy thing again. Thanksgiving dinner preparation is not for the weak stomached, hearted, or minded. When people ask how was Thanksgiving dinner I simply say....."Amazing, I survived"
P.S. the battle ended at 5:01PM Father Time thought he had it in the bag, but we pulled a Kansas City Shuffle on Ol' boy.

Always worth it....Heavy dose of self induced sleep