I remember being 19/20 thinking that I knew it all (fools despise wisdom and instruction) and how I had it all figured out, how I was so mature beyond my years. I was smarter than everyone else, people were drawn to me I cracked the code of fulfillment while others were languishing trying to come up with the formula so I thought. I planned ahead and my life was going to follow the fantasy that I created in my mind. Oh how naive, stubborn, full of pride I was, life rarely works out the way you want it to and that could be good or bad depending on the situations and lessons learned. So as I think back throughout my twenties, the humbling experiences, the situations I have been in........these are just a few things I have learned…
Life is a Journey
Life is a journey that can be short, medium or long and no one knows when it may end or where it will guide you. No one can be certain of where they will be in a week, a month or even a year from now. All you can guarantee is where you are right now and that is all that is really relevant. So enjoy the now, invest in yourself and give as much of yourself as you have to give, expecting nothing in return. Enjoy the sweetness of life, don’t worry about trivial things and just embrace life as it happens, by living it and living it well. My life has become so peaceful once I adopted this frame of thought.
The Choice is Always Yours
I've been there wallowing in despair, bitter, angry, sad, heartbroken, gutted, embarrassed, feeling like a fool, thirsting for revenge, pushing people away, putting up a front etc. etc. you name it. Even moments when I thought ok I'm 100% better now and proclaimed it to the world on the sandy beach the pain was still with me and the reminders would arrive like a tidal wave and bring me right back into the ocean of despair. Although I may sound like a broken record rehashing, I have been through it all and then some, failed engagement, infidelity, lied to, flaked on, people disappearing on me, I've heard every line in the book, I've also made every mistake possible - throwing in the towel and admitting defeat would be ah so easy.
However the choice was mine and mine alone, I could choose to live a life of self-indulging in the pain and marinating on reminders of deceit and dishonesty which in turn were putting shackles on my feelings and emotions. Take up the mantle of never trusting, never being at peace, always feeling sorry for myself, embracing the victim role and living my life walking on eggshells or I could......
Take a moment to marinate and appreciate what I went through and figure out what I have gathered and learned through the situation. Yeah that’s right appreciate, as the cliché saying goes what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Even looking back at the dark days so to speak, I was able to…………..
1. Establish who my true friends were. Many people will say they care, that they have your back, and that they will be there for you but in tough moments the definition of what a friend truly is will be defined (many are called few are chosen).
2. Learn not to judge myself for something I had no control off and to stop being so hard on myself for the past. The past is the past and can’t be changed, if I want to be hard on myself, I’ll be hard on myself for the future making things better for me, focus on that instead of what I could have done or what has happened in days yonder.
3. Realize that good old father time, purging of emotions and the daily experiences of life will cultivate the tools necessary to drag individuals down off any platform or hierarchy I may have viewed them in my mind. People come and people go, majority of individuals regardless of how I may feel or how they felt about me are evanescent just passing by. I may have had some good times and some bad times, moments that were significant, memories etched in stone. I may have loved them with every fiber in my body, but ah I can say in all honesty that life goes on, emotions fade and get overwritten and before you know it gets oh so much bette
Love yourself
The one constant person in my life until the day I croak is the person looking back at me in the mirror. So I might as well learn to like, love, motivate and appreciate myself. Criticisms that once lingered in my mind from other individuals now shifted to the viewpoint where I viewed them as chances to pay attention to how others viewed me and see the areas I could improve myself
I am who I am and I’m Okay with that!
I’ll never be (again?) a extrovert, life of the party, attention whore, womanizer, a sugar-coater, perfect, a follower, allow many into my circle, seeking validation, selling myself, free of past scars, putting others down instead of uplifting.
I know who I am at my core……..boring to some, exciting to others (I have no game just a few understand my story), honest even when it gets me trouble, “quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry”, a foundation built on strong standards and principles, a goal setter/achiever, passionate about my passions, trusting a few, a million thoughts always flowing in my head, still believing in love by my own definition, embracing the life that has been given to me and I'm totally 100% fine with that
