Urban Thought Collective

About Me:

Norma Stanley is the mother of a daughter born with cerebral palsy, whose life has propelled her to realize her dreams, fulfill her many passions (writing, music, travel, cooking and of course, her husband) and submit to her one true purpose. That purpose is using her gifts, talents and professional background to advocate for and generate awareness about the disability community. As a result she wrote "The Elected Lady--Finding Victory in the Challenge," an inspirational book for and about mothers of special needs children. She is also the host of online radio talk show "Exceptional People, Exceptional Lifestyles," about the disability community and consults with companies on reaching this emerging consumer market.

Relationships of all kinds go through turmoil, ups and downs, ins and outs, where both parties have to decide if it’s in them to forgive, particularly when they believe they’ve been wronged beyond measure.

I’ve recently become a fan of Keyshia Cole whose first CD you can tell comes from some personal experiences. One of my favorite songs is “Heaven Sent,” for both the music and lyrics. The song says, “I want to be the one who you believe in your heart is sent from (sent from heaven), ‘cause there’s a piece of me who leaves when your gone, because you’re sent from (sent from heaven).

There are some who might think being meek in a marriage equates to being weak—spineless, too submissive—basically allowing yourself to be treated as a doormat. On the contrary, being meek requires more strength of character and self control than being combative, onerous, or just plain spiteful.

I have a friend I’ve known for over 20 years who’s been married five times. She’s also been put through the ringer each time, yet is still looking forward to finding “Mr. Right,” and says she would marry again. She’s been married multiple times, yet there are women I know who have yet to experience their first marriage—go figure.

Why is it? How is it that so many women don’t love themselves enough to allow themselves not to be really loved?

I heard a preacher say once that there’s a difference between joy and happiness, and I’ve come to discover he was right. The difference is that happiness is fleeting, because when those times come and life knocks you flat on your face, you quickly lose your happiness.
Joy on the other hand, stays with you [...]

In this blog I’ve been sharing how critical it is for married couples to become “one”—forsaking all others and looking to each other to fill each others’ needs in all areas, and that’s all true. However, as some couples work towards achieving that desired level of “oneness,” one or the other can lose themselves, [...]

I’ve always wondered why marriage is sometimes called an “institution.” Was it because it’s supposed to be strong or confining? Perhaps it depends on how you look at it—I’ll take strong. We’re increasingly hearing about men and woman going mental when finding their marriage is beyond repair, and can’t calmly and rationally [...]

It had to come up sooner or later, so I might as well deal with this now. The possibility of being betrayed by someone we love is very real and ever on the minds of those in serious relationships—married or not. Adultery and financial difficulties are the top two reasons marriages break up [...]

You would think it would be easy, falling in love with that special someone and actually knowing how to show your love for them, while showing them how you need to be or feel, loved…and I’m not just talking about sex. You would think so, but it isn’t and if not careful, it’s one [...]