Despite all the bumps,
stumbles,
trips,
and falls
along the way…
the journey is what makes us
But every now
and again
on your journey,
take a moment
to pause…
look back
and see just how far you’ve come
and
say to yourself,
“Hey, I’ve done alright so far.”
Stand tall,
and be proud
of where you started,
where you are at this very moment
and
where you’re destined to be.
“Hope“ will always dictate your effort!
“Time heals all wounds” they say but a lot of us cling to the past which makes it quite difficult to move forward in life. Memories of the past is like a double edged sword. Many of the experiences we hold so dearly are often ones of joy, love or laughter that was shared with family, friends and loved ones which can never be replicated. Others are of fractured memories that bring sadness, pain and loss that we try so hard to forget but to no avail. Often times when we’re in a different setting, we encounter a similar situation or experience and expect it to follow what had happened in the past. When it doesn’t live up to the hype, to our expectations, the end feelings leave us disappointed, discouraged and depressed. Or when it brings about the same feelings of sorrow it just fuels our doomed outlook on life.
It’s truly hard to move past these things and I for one can admit that I find it challenging to do so. But everything that we experience makes us into who we are and really does help us to become stronger. Time really doesn’t fix things, it just add more to our already full plate and lessens the degree of our greatest or most horrible past memory. It really just finds a way of taking us out of our comfort zone and pushing us beyond our limits. Whether we bend or break is all up to us. I for one take it by its horn and wrestle it aside.
So if you find it hard to find happiness in life or just trying to make it day by day, take solace in knowing that you’re not alone. We’re all grinding it out the best way we can. There’s a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow for all of us, it’s out there waiting for us to discover it. If things are not going your way or your ready to throw in the towel, take stock in where you are right now in life. You’ve made it this far, just think how much further you can go. It hard to stay positive but if you just have a tiny spark, it’s all you need to start that fire in you to go out and take action!
Keep your hopes alive
Venture beyond your limits
Let your passion soar
Destiny intact
You have a purpose in life
Share it with the world
We each have a dream
Special gifts that change our world
Inspiring all
When the chips are all down
and your luck has run out,
take several steps back
cast aside any doubt
There are often times
when things don’t go your way,
you choose wrong, you fail
making mistakes throughout the day
You’ve just hit a rough patch
in this journey called life,
just roll with the punches,
bid adieu to the strife
In the midst of this insanity
there’s always a ray of hope,
that light at the end of the tunnel
is what helps you to cope
You’ll get through this dilemma
and will reach the other side,
problems encountered hereafter
is taken all in stride
Take pride in yourself
you’ve fought the good fight,
your character has mettle,
inner strength shown outright
So take charge of your life
when things go awry,
head straight forward, show no fear
wave those bad days goodbye.
There are times
when I often wonder
“What is my purpose in life?”
This conundrum,
this perplexing dilemma
hinders my daily progress
“Do I continue as I’ve been?”
“Or do I alter my path?”
With deep contemplation
and extensive introspection
I’ve learned that
I have no real true goal
As long as I let my heart
guide my intentions
and lead my actions,
my journey has meaning
Striving not for
fame, wealth or success,
but achieving self-worth,
being of value,
spreading my love and light
Contributing to the pool
of goodwill and positivity
in this world
is what I was meant to do.
Looking back on everything I’ve done in my life, whether it be good or bad, there are definitely things that I would’ve done very differently. But I guess that’s how we all would feel if given the power of hindsight. Some would say that what we did was supposed to happen in order for us to learn a lesson or set us on the right path to where we’re going to end up.
For someone like me who’s a control freak, especially when it comes to my choice of jobs, it’s truly frustrating when you’ve made a bad choice. After making that critical decision, whether intentionally, hastily or ill-informed, it feels like an eternity trying to get my life back on track. Everything seems to be in overdrive just to get back to normalcy; but now every turn, every move I make I second guess myself.
“I shouldn’t have done this!”
“What the hell was I thinking?!”
“What have I gotten myself into?!”
“Am I going to get out of this jam? And when!?”
All these thoughts run a continuous loop in my head and I beat myself up over making that error in judgement. We’re all human, but I have high expectations of myself and feel like the whole world just came crashing down on me. I feel trapped with no option in sight.
We talk to our family and friends about our predicament to get their advice but it turns into a therapy session where we pour our hearts out in hopes of a quick and easy solution. We’ve all been there…and we’ll all go there again.
The one thing that keeps me afloat is the prospect of something better on the horizon. Yeah, I don’t know how long it’ll take to reach that destination but the idea of finding something better keeps that hope alive. AND I always hold out for hope! I always err on the side of positivity. Why? Because at my lowest point, that’s all I can do. It’s much better than the alternative; I can’t just give up. Throwing in the towel and being resigned to the fact that I failed somehow is not an option.
There is always a way out of every predicament I put myself in. Strength and faith is all I need to have to know that it’ll all work out in the end. Nothing’s impossible to overcome, I just have to be willing to take the first step forward…AND I just did.
What do you do
when the carrot that’s been dangling
in front of you
gets ripped away
It’s like a punch to the gut
that just sucks the life out of you
Your whole world turns
upside down
Where do you go from here?
How do you cope?
Your battle worn
mind, body and soul
wants to give up
and throw in the towel
But your heart refuses
It is life!
No matter what,
it knows that you are made of sterner stuff
It pumps hope into your core
The source that keeps you alive
that wills you to move forward
past the disappointment,
and the pain
It becomes a shot of adrenaline
that courses through your very fiber
that makes your determination,
your drive
ten times stronger than it was before
and gives you the resolve
to take on greater things
and gives you a true sense of peace
knowing that you’ll overcome
the next disappointment
with strength and inner confidence
and a heart that can
truly stand the test of time.
While channel surfing couple years ago, I happened upon a channel that featured a 2014 movie called “A Most Violent Year”. Although I consider myself a movie buff, I’ve never really heard of this movie until that one fateful day. I won’t tell you what the plot was because I stumbled upon it and really didn’t watch it till the end. But I did happen upon a scene where a man by the name of Abel Morales said “When it feels scary to jump, that is exactly when you jump, otherwise you end up staying in the same place your whole life.”
This one line totally resonated with me and I just had to write it down. I turned off the TV and soaked in those words. I took it to heart and it quickly became etched within my subconscious. You could almost say that I had an epiphany of some sorts.
This one quote, this one line from a movie I have never seen told me that in life, you need to take chances regardless of the outcome. There are times when you’ll succeed and there are times when you’ll fail, but you must learn from it in order to grow into the person that you were meant to be. Life is too short to play is safe, it needs to be explored with eyes wide open. Life if full of endless possibilities with the potential to be great.
I took this to heart and felt that I needed to try anything even if it took me out of my comfort zone. I lived by the code of being open to different things; doing so would broaden my horizons both mentally and physically. Living by this way of thinking helped me to try different things; just facing the impossible or the uncomfortable with complete abandonment. Living this way made me realize that to do these things require both strength and faith; the will to pursue what your heart desires with the self-confidence to know that you’ll achieve something positive from it regardless of the results.
Ever since then, I’ve been bestowed with nothing but great outcomes. I dared to take a chance and came out a winner so to speak; I count my blessings everyday for doing so. So if you are faced with doing something that takes you out of your comfort zone, go all in and bet on yourself. The first step will be scary, terrifying even…but the end results will be much more rewarding. Take that leap and dare to be great!
Midlife, Maniacal & Me 