walk outside and look into the sky – look at where you are at that place at that time – do you feel it? do you feel like you belong right there in that spot, in that city, in that town, in that state, in that country, in that place? do you feel like this is where you should be and where you feel the most comfortable – not the job, but the place where you live. does it feel like the place where you will take permanent root – where you grow old, where you are happy inside. you have been to many places, you have met many people, you have experienced joy and pain – love and hardship – stress and relief – you have lived here and there – but now you look into that sky and you say “yes” this is where i belong. you feel the heat or cold on your body and it reminds you of where you came from and what you are deep in your soul. you know that this is where you belong, that wandering around looking for something is not the answer because you have found where you belong. time is short and we can’t take it with us – so just soak it in and feel where you belong – your senses and your memories will work together to guide you to choose the right piece of the puzzle for this part of life.
Tag: life
daily focus
what you see every day in front of you is life. the big picture is good for dreams and keeping on track – but what you look at every day in the morning, at home, in the car, at work, in the evening – these are the things that make up your life. and if you just focus on what is in front of you – which are the smallest details of life in this world – then you can ultimately make change and feel fulfilled. the big picture and the big change and the big accomplishments in your life all tie into the things you consistently focus on in everyday life. so if you keep that daily focus on even the smallest things – you will feel fulfilled overall. too many people keep focusing on the big picture and spend most of their time dreaming of what can be and what will be. this can satisfy you for a few brief moments, but this focus cannot get you to the fulfillment of your dreams. you must embrace the daily focus and know that when you do embrace the daily focus, the big picture will evolve behind the scenes – like a puzzle – when you look at a puzzle up close, you cannot see what the end result will be – but you do know that each piece you put into the puzzle will get you one step closer to completing that puzzle. so embrace each piece of the puzzle and enjoy each piece of the puzzle – for that is life itself that you are embracing.
conscious change
overall you are good. you do most things in moderation and this will prolong your life. but there are some things that you have done all your life and you have occasionally done these things in excess. in the past you experienced more events in excess -and as time has gone on, you have done these things less – but still in excess sometimes. they have been habits that have not killed you…yet. and who is to say that they will kill you earlier than if you never did them. but there are people around that you love that could be affected by these moments of excess – and this is why you must make a conscious change to stop doing these things in excess. yes, you only do them 2-3 times per year – but that is 2-3 times too many now. you are getting older and you must stop these bouts of excess. it is not good for you or the people around you. it will end badly if you do not stop. you need to think and say to yourself, I will make that conscious change – even if it means you will not experience these things anymore. force yourself to make the conscious change.
right now
everything is good right now. can you feel it? right now at this very moment while i type this and you read this, everything is good. all the people you know right now are alive and safe. they know you love them and you know they know you love them. you are aware of who you are, you have your senses, you have your family, you have your friends – right now you have all of that. no matter how much money you have or don’t have, no matter that all of your dreams have not been realized, no matter that you have lost loved ones, no matter that you have lost friends, no matter that you have not achieved all your work goals, no matter that you are not doing exactly what you want to do – you have right now, right this minute where everything is ok. in the next minute you could get a phone call and things could change from right now. so enjoy what you have right now – this could be as good as it gets and is it really that bad. right now is ok. if you are reading this, you are ok – you can read, you can think, you can relate to everything being ok right now. tomorrow, people you love could pass on – but right now they are still with us – enjoy them and enjoy right now – whether you are doing tedious work or lying on a beach – right now is ok. that is a good feeling.
don’t stop
don’t stop doing what you are doing. there will be many times where you want to stop, where you want to say this is enough, where you will be discouraged, where you will not want to be there, where you will not want to deal with people, where you want to move on, where you want to take a break. but you cannot do any of these things if you want to be happy in the long run. you have to keep going no matter what, you have to keep pushing no matter what, you have to keep smiling no matter what, you have to keep your thoughts to yourself no matter what, you have to keep your head on straight, you have to keep your sanity intact, you have to smile and push on. this is the only way to keep the machine moving, the only way to feed the machine, the only way to keep your family on track, the only way to reach your goals – whether you die trying or not – you must not stop…ever – or the sane place in the back of your mind that you go to from time to time – will be gone forever. keep the sane place alive and don’t stop doing what you are doing.
go the distance
if you have decided that you will do whatever it takes to be successful – then you must stick to that plan and go the distance. you must put yourself into uncomfortable situations – you must come out of your shell – you must open your mouth and start speaking – you must not think about being afraid to say what you need to say to get others to listen – you must not be quiet and shy – you must speak up and be heard – you must look into the mirror and know that you will just walk into that meeting and command attention – and when you do – you must be calm and clear and concise in your words and actions. but of all things you must do – it is the all encompassing idea of going the distance that you must maintain and even try to embrace. this is all that you can ask of yourself when all is said and done – you did what you needed to do so that you could live with yourself – regardless of the final result. this is why you are here on this earth – to go the distance. otherwise, what is the point to all of this thing we call life.
be relentless
i have found that you need to be relentless in life to get what you want. and even then it is not guaranteed that you will reach your goals. that is how hard it is to get to where you think you need to be. you have to be relentless in your actions to succeed. you have to be a robot that keeps the pressure always on. you have to not even think about it, you have to just do it – over and over and over. and then hopefully you wake up one day with a feeling of hope that you are getting closer – that being relentless is the only way to get there. you have to keep smiling and thinking the corner is coming – you will get to that corner and be able to look around to what is ahead. right now you just see a long road ahead – you don’t see anything in the distance – you only see endless road. you can’t stop because there is nothing to stop for – it would be pointless. so you have to keep going on and on – you have to be relentless in this pursuit of finding a glimmer in the distance to reach for – finding a corner to the road. it is the only way to live. it is a painful way to live and sometimes a boring way to live. but if you do stay relentless, if you do keep pushing no matter what – then you will reach a destination. they say that you never reach a destination and i can believe that. they say that the journey is the real destination, and i can believe that. but there is complete satisfaction in completing the task you are on now. it may not be the end of the journey, but it is a mindset to keep being relentless. you will reach mini-destinations and you will feel satisfaction. that is all we can hope for in life – to be satisfied. to say in that moment “i am satisfied” and “i did it”. and even if you don’t get satisfaction by not completing the task – the next best thing is being satisfied that you tried and that you were relentless. that is all you can ask for from yourself in life and you can find satisfaction with that result as well. we want to be satisfied and to be satisfied, we have to be relentless. if you are relentless, regardless of the result, you will be satisfied.
cherish them
it came to me last night when i pray each night for my loved ones. i go through the names of all my relatives. i then realized that there are only 3 immediate family members left that are in the golden age of life. we need to cherish them in these final years because when they are gone, there won’t be anyone left at that age – only you marching towards that time in your life. it will come quickly – like everything in life. you will one day soon be that older person. you will be the one your younger relatives pray for. keep praying for them while they are alive so you can know that you have a limited time with them – to enjoy now before it is too late. pray for them because you will be them soon. they need you as much as you need them. they were there for you when you were younger – and now you must be there for them. it is the right thing to do. you know it – you just have to do it. cherish them.
safety
you must always be safe. you must always be alert to your safety and the safety of your loved ones. take that extra step and watch out for your loved ones. when a loved one is not able to always be safe, you must keep an eye out for them. one lapse in your safety watch could mean life or death. death can happen at any moment and it is always a surprise. you will not be warned that death is near. you will not have time to think about life or death. you must not hesitate in the moment of life or death. you must let your instinct take over. you must act without thinking to save a life. to avoid more moments like this, raise your alert level to a higher point. make the conscious effort to look again – to watch out for your loved ones. this will help prevent life or death moments. without saying, safety is the key to living longer. be on the lookout for danger at all times and you will be safe most of the time.
stop cursing
i have had a dirty mouth since i was a kid. i used to curse all the time just like the kid from the bad news bears. i even had my mouth washed out with soap at summer camp. maybe it was because my parents were divorced and it was another way to express my frustration or get attention. either way, i still curse a lot, especially when i drink. i am sure people look at me and grimace when i do this. the point is i need to stop doing this once and for all. it only makes me look like a fool. i recently realized that it is a childish thing to do and i need to stop acting like i did when i was a kid. it is not good for my kids to see me cursing all the time. i will stop cursing around other people and my kids. i will, however, reserve the right to curse around other folks that curse and if needed in a business environment to fire someone up. it is part of who i am and will not kill it off altogether.