For a very long time, I was relentless about posting on this blog. I would find something to write about every day or very close to every day. I will be the first to admit that I have been, let's say, lax in the more recent months.
I have come to realize that at the beginning, this blog was not just a way to vent or share my story... it was a means of discovery, of learning, of creating. Now, don't read into this as meaning that I don't want to learn, discover or create anything else new about myself. That is far from the truth. I do not need to rely on this blog as much as I once did, and I have stopped looking so hard for reasons to write. But that doesn't mean those reasons aren't there.
Many of the resources I used to help move me forward, I still follow. Quotes are still very important to me, and I enjoy pulling deeper meaning out of seemingly unrelated scenarios. There are many bits of information floating around inside my head, and many of those are mentally bookmarked as being extremely useful and pertinent. Big life lessons. Things I need to pay attention to and remember daily.
Everyone has these life lessons that strike them. Some are the big, blaring siren type and others are much more discreet, but they are still there. So, instead of trying to cram an hour of blog writing into each already-too-short day, I'm going to give myself a little leeway. Stockpile these ideas and memorable moments for a week or so, then put them all together. It's kind of like a "6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon" game for life lessons. Many things that happen to us can be grouped together - they either lead us to something, away from something, prove what we already know, or show us how to improve ourselves. You can create as many categories as you'd like for yourself. Adapt as necessary, this is not a one-size-fits-all kind of formula.
Embody who you want to be. We cannot always control what happens to us, but we can certainly control how we handle it. Yes, life has it's downfalls and disappointments. That still doesn't mean we have to bow down and submit to each one. We can choose to find happiness, choose to make ourselves the type of person we want to be. Think about who you admire: Superheroes (fake or real), relatives, mentors, teachers, gods/goddesses, etc. Why do we admire them? What traits do they possess that we do not? What qualities allow them to deserve our attention? Dissect each one, and learn how to adapt that trait or quality to fit into your own life.
Live fearless. This is different from living without fear. We all have fear... big or little, real or imagined, fear is a part of life and no one escapes that. Instead of allowing our fears to swallow us whole and spit us out again, leaving us helpless and hopeless, we can learn to embrace that fear and turn it into something positive. We don't always realize it, but we do have the capability to stop fear from stopping us. We have to recognize that we have that power, then allow ourselves to actually use it. Here's the blog that inspired this particular little lesson: Living Fearless and Free. It's not very long, and quite poignant. Go ahead and read it, I'll wait...
Love the moment. I've heard it lots, and I'm sure you have too... Live in the now, Be in the present, Enjoy the moment. I want to take that just a little further and say love this moment you're in. You have never before been in this exact moment, with this exact knowledge, this exact timing, and this exact environment. And never again will you be. So, no matter what is happening, always do your best to look past the crap, to look beyond the smoke and mirrors, to see through the negative and find a reason to love where you are, right now. Every time we find a reason to love the moment, we give ourselves more reasons to love more moments. And thus begins a snowball effect to keep on loving.
So, where's Kevin Bacon? How does this all tie together? Easy... We can take control of our lives. We choose the qualities and traits that we want to exude. We choose to wrap up fear in a blanket of hope. We choose to love where we are in life. We choose the outlook we have on life. If we want to live a great life, we can. If we continuously think that our life sucks, well... so it is. This doesn't mean we can sit on our behinds and wish ourselves into millionaire status or perpetual happiness. There is definitely work involved. Overcoming negative forces in our lives can be very demanding and difficult. But it can be done. Thinking and wishing alone are not enough to get us to where we want to be. But it's a great motivator, an excellent start, and way better than living the alternative.
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