if you press pause

You can only capture the moment accurately through being present. If you press pause commemorates that moment. I hope to encourage my audience to slow down and take moments for themselves each day. Join the movement! Use the hashtag #ifyoupresspause when you capture your daily moments and remember to press pause.

[imaninailah]

[imaninailah]

🇬🇭: Mama Africa 📷: Cape Coast, Ghana #ifyoupresspause #photography #happyindependencedayghana #Ghana #Africa #community #family #Photo #photooftheday #photographer #life #imani

[imaninailah]

Good morning! Happy new month!!! 🐛 #ifyoupresspause #smile #blackgirlmagic #lifeisgood #loveyours #march

[imaninailah]

We do not grow absolutely, chronologically. We grow sometimes in one dimension, and not in another; unevenly. We grow partially. We are relative. We are mature in one realm, childish in another. The past, present, and future mingle and pull us backward, forward, or fix us in the present. We are made up of layers, cells, constellations. -✨ Anaïs Nin ✨ #ifyoupresspause #blackgirlmagic #Saturday #selfcare #selflove #yoga #growth #mastery #mindfulness #moment #namaste 🌍

[imaninailah]

Art is the conversation between lovers. Art offers an opening for the heart. True art makes the divine silence in the soul Break into applause. Art is, at last, the knowledge of Where we are standing – Where we are standing In this Wonderland When we rip off all our clothes And this blind man's patch, veil, That got tied across our brow. Art is the conversation between lovers. True art awakes the Extraordinary Ovation. - ☃ Hafiz #smile #writing #ifyoupresspause #plantingseeds #winter #wonderland #revolution #movement #building #sunshine #dumbo #nyc #openyoureyes #openyourheart (at Brooklyn Roasting Company)

[imaninailah]

#TeachTheBabies ok last post ✌🏿️but I think that the importance of teaching our youth about their ancestors is enormous. Without the knowledge of those who have come before us, we would all be lost. Please sit your children down today and teach them the truth about #MLK not the watered down version. His legacy also includes many people who coached him to be the man who he became. People around him saw his genius and encouraged him to become he great leader that he was and that his legacy represents. I believe Noura will be a leader and will do everything in my power to teach and protect her until she can speak and stand up for herself. Continue to teach the babies, not just on holidays but everyday. #ifyoupresspause #auntietime #mlkday #moment #light #blackgirlmagic #theyouthshallinherittheearth 🌍🙏🏿💡💓✨

[imaninailah]

Martin Luther King, Jr. - black leader - was a man for all people. The killers of the dream could end his mortal existence with a single bullet, but not all the bullets in all the arsenals can effect his death. We will not have to search for him. Listen for him in the protests of the poor - black and white. Look for him in the places where social evils are nonviolently resisted by proud, brave people. Listen for him in the ever increasing chorus of committed individuals. Remember him as a man who tried to be a drum major for justice, a drum major for peace, a drum major for righteousness. Remember him as a man who refused to lose faith in the ultimate redemption of mankind. -Coretta Scott King (May 1, 1968) #corettascottking #ifyoupresspause #ihaveadream #martinlutherking #mlk #mlkday #justice #trumpetofconscience #auntietime #moment

[imaninailah]

#TeachTheBabies while visiting my grandmother on Saturday I found Noura standing on the couch pointing at #MLK. She told me that she learned about him in school so we sat down and talked about him. 🌍✨💓 #ifyoupresspause #moment #martinlutherking #ihaveadream #auntietime

[imaninailah]

Spent the day at the @metmuseum with my sisters seeing the Ancient Egypt Transformed exhibit it is closing January 24th. It is a must see! Definitely eye opening. cc: @makeda_t @daughterofthediaspora #themetropolitanmuseumofart #ifyoupresspause #arting #sisters #sundayfunday #nyc #selfstudy @metropolitanmuseum (at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York)

[imaninailah]

🙏🏿 Happy Sunday #progressnotperfection #prayer #ifyoupresspause #life #mindfulness #selfstudy #nyc #gratitude #simonedebeauvoir (at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York)

[imaninailah]

I often ask myself what is the purpose of our lives and I conclude that life's purpose is to be happy. We have no guarantee what will happen in the future, but we live in hope. That's what keeps us going. - Dalai Lama 🌹 #happyfriday #ifyoupresspause #faith #hope #mindfulness #selfstudy #dalailama #future #fbf

[imaninailah]

This photo was taken when I was around 6 years old in Montessori School in Cleveland, Ohio. I was blessed to be in Mrs. Oliver's class and am happy to say that I am still close to her and her family. Throughout my life My parents strategically placed my sisters and I with teachers who didn't just teach us concepts but also mentored us taught us things about about life. My past teachers inspired me to become an educator taught me the importance exposure and mentoring. January is national mentor month. How will you make an impact? I found this quote by Maya Angelou this morning and it inspired me to reach back into my memory and recall how far I've come. Not focused on milestones but waking faithfully on my journey. Love and light ✨ 💡 #tbt #ifyoupresspause #mayaangelou #selfstudy #imani #faithoverfear #mindfulness ⌛️⏳ "The joy is in the journey. There is joy in the journey. There are ups and there are downs, but there is joy in the journey. I believe that we live in a society where we are so caught up with achieving milestones that we end up missing the moments. Milestones are a beautiful thing, but it's these moments that really make life worth living. So don't be so caught up in chasing milestones in your career that you miss the important moments along the way." - Maya Angelou

[imaninailah]

Things not going the way you want them yet? Don't worry... Have faith (someone has to). It will all work out (it always does). 1st New Moon of 2016 🌚 I woke up like this. #wakeup #ifyoupresspause #brightfuture #faith #goodmorning #happysunday #faithandaction 🙏🏿 #godsplan #newmoon

[imaninailah]

I ain't panicked. I've been here before. 💪🏿 #gymflow #sweatingitout #ifyoupresspause #fridayturnup (at Blink Fitness Utica)

[imaninailah]

🌻 Solitude is the soil in which genius is planted, creativity grows, and legends bloom; faith in oneself is the rain that cultivates a hero to endure the storm, and bare the genesis of a new world, a new forest. - Mike Norton, White Mountain #inbloom #growing #faith #ifyoupresspause #flashbackfriday #fbf #theuniversespeaks #godisgood #selflove #missingthesummer

[imaninailah]

✨ You know it's going to be a great day when you are walking down the street and see your sister walking towards you. Totally unplanned and she just got back from out of town this morning. ❤️Love you @daughterofthediaspora #goodmorning #grateful #godisgood #theuniversespeaks #sisters #love #ifyoupresspause (at Starbucks)

[imaninailah]

You do not have to do anything to be loved, and being who you are does not let others down. This needs to be repeated, and often. Simply be who you are, and love what is before you 💓✨ #ifyoupresspause #awakening #goodmorning #marknepo #meditation #moment #positive #mind #spirit #haveagreatday #namaste #ameen #ashe