Something that I’ve learned lately is that the thoughts that run in our minds can really rob us of our joy.
This past Summer has been one of the most chaotic, the most unsettled, the most confusing and also the most unnerving times for me.
Yet, it has also been incredibly amazing.
Though I have really ventured into the Unknown this year and have been all the better for it…many times…my fears and thoughts have kept me from really enjoying moments and being fully present.
Let me explain that in a different way.
Life can be bumpy. Full of ups and downs. But whereas events happen and we can feel very unsettled…Life is happening too. The thing to pay attention to though is…where are you putting your focus.
I have learned during this Summer…that I allowed events, how people thought of me, and my fears of the future take up far more time than they should have.
I’ve let things that happened months before, still, cloud my days…and I have allowed what I thought of those things to run in my mind over and over and over again.
Robbing me of my joy.
If this journey has taught me anything, it is to ride with the ups and downs of Life but not to forget to live forward.
Our lives are happening no matter what is going on. Allowing the events to happen…without labeling them good or bad….finding a way of LIVING…WHILE things are happening…is important….and is one of our greatest Lessons.
You can go through a stressful moment and still enjoy yourself. You can still go have a walk while listening to music (or silence), stopping to smell flowers or to feel your feet on the ground. You can go watch a movie. You can take a moment away from the drama. Your mind might not think so. Your mind might constantly remind you that the problem isn’t solved. But you don’t have to continue to listen.
Yeah, things happen, but days happen too.
…and let’s not forget that our Lives are created from the culmination of our days.
This Life…our path…is a Journey.
…and it’s not about the destination or even the things that happen to us along the way. It’s about who we become on the way to get there and what we gain through the things that happen. I have learned that when I Live my Life in this Presence…it Allows me to Wake up. It Infuses the work I do in the World…and who I can Influence. My experience Allows me to help the person coming up behind me who is about to go through the same experience themselves.
…and, that is one of our greatest purposes