This year has been such an adventure! One of the things that stands out a lot is the development in my choices as to how to live my life. I got off to a rough start, some issues from the tail end of 2011 rolling over momentarily, but what happened had to happen. I'm not upset...life is a constant process of change, and discomfort signifies the opportunity for growth. It's a matter of perspective and choice. You have to actively make a choice, and from there, growth will take its course. Progress and forward mobility are products of fully living in the now. The past is back there not here, and tomorrow is out there - hasn't happened yet - and, again, not here. NOW is what we have and NOW is right here where we're living and NOW is where we can do the most!
I used to try to plan every move, so much so that it became a required routine I had to perform every day. If anything was out of place, my day was a disaster and I would have to fight to rectify the mistakes. It pained me immensely if I didn't check something repeatedly, if I didn't mentally chant specific mantras perfectly, if I didn't do something the exact way I thought it needed to be done. This mandatory disciplinary schedule developed into a monster that played like a incessant hiccup in my mind. I'd be paralyzed by self-judgment and on most occasions I'd be late to any event because I was so preoccupied with performing these rituals perfectly before I could even leave the house. It held a cloud over my head, no matter how sunny the skies were, for over a decade of my life. My OCD was a dictator and a control freak.
But in my early 20's I made the conscious decision that it would no longer have any power over me. You gotta fight for the things you love, and the first step was learning to love myself completely...not only for my great qualities but also for my flaws. Then came the fight, and I'm a scrapper!
I broke down whatever self-imposed walls that confined my spirit from shining out brilliantly from within. I actively would go against the grain and would face whatever would come. And most times, if not all times, I'd be alright. Sometimes we need to deconstruct to reconstruct a bigger and better foundation. We all have the strength and ability to make this life exactly what we want it to be.
Play chess by understanding the moves you have to make, but move one piece at a time, as that's the only thing we can do. Act and react. Talk and listen. Don't get ahead of yourself and just enjoy what's going on right now. Live absolutely in the moment. As my buddy once put it in a very funny rant: "You can't live two days at a time, so let's try to just live one day at a time." Haha! The now...this is where the golden moments, the treasure, truly lives.
I wanted to share this because I know that most people who read my blog are often given the impression that I'm the happiest guy alive. That's not too far off from the truth! But we all have pains that have played a role in our lives, and this is one that has shaped me to be the life-loving dude I am.
The second act of 2012 has already begun, and so far it's been a thrilling, fantastic adventure filled with excitement and memories. With that, I leave you with some wise words from Deepak Chopra, whose "Seven Spiritual Laws of Success" book I highly recommend. Live good, live happy, live in love. Let's get it...NOW!
- "What happens is supposed to happen"
- “Don't try to steer the river.”
- “Even when you think you have your life all mapped out, things happen that shape your destiny in ways you might never have imagined.”
- “There are no accidents... there is only some purpose that we haven't yet understood.”
 |
| Bruce Nauman's piece that caught me at the Philadelphia Museum of Art |
But in my early 20's I made the conscious decision that it would no longer have any power over me. You gotta fight for the things you love, and the first step was learning to love myself completely...not only for my great qualities but also for my flaws. Then came the fight, and I'm a scrapper!
I broke down whatever self-imposed walls that confined my spirit from shining out brilliantly from within. I actively would go against the grain and would face whatever would come. And most times, if not all times, I'd be alright. Sometimes we need to deconstruct to reconstruct a bigger and better foundation. We all have the strength and ability to make this life exactly what we want it to be.
Play chess by understanding the moves you have to make, but move one piece at a time, as that's the only thing we can do. Act and react. Talk and listen. Don't get ahead of yourself and just enjoy what's going on right now. Live absolutely in the moment. As my buddy once put it in a very funny rant: "You can't live two days at a time, so let's try to just live one day at a time." Haha! The now...this is where the golden moments, the treasure, truly lives.
I wanted to share this because I know that most people who read my blog are often given the impression that I'm the happiest guy alive. That's not too far off from the truth! But we all have pains that have played a role in our lives, and this is one that has shaped me to be the life-loving dude I am.
The second act of 2012 has already begun, and so far it's been a thrilling, fantastic adventure filled with excitement and memories. With that, I leave you with some wise words from Deepak Chopra, whose "Seven Spiritual Laws of Success" book I highly recommend. Live good, live happy, live in love. Let's get it...NOW!
- "What happens is supposed to happen"
- “Don't try to steer the river.”
- “Even when you think you have your life all mapped out, things happen that shape your destiny in ways you might never have imagined.”
- “There are no accidents... there is only some purpose that we haven't yet understood.”
