What rocks are in your bucket? If you are walking along the beach, hopefully, the answer is none. If you are trying to decide between different courses of action, you may want to consider what’s in your bucket. It may alter how you evaluate your next life-changing decision.
A blank page, that is what each day is. Every day we get the chance to be the type of person that we want to be, the freedom to pursue the goals that we want to achieve, and the liberty to indulge on yet another bowl of over-priced ice cream. If you’re anything like me, you believe you can best realize the fruits of your labor, and fulfill your purpose, when you are the one driving the bus, when you are in control of your destiny.
Today, I am preparing to leave the house with my blank page to see what radical new ideas will fill my page. If the wisdom of Solomon holds, I suspect very few; his take is that there is nothing new under the sun.
Still, there must be something out there that we need to experience to be transformed from who we are to the type people we are destined to be. If not, why the restlessness; why is there tension?
Allowing self-destructive thoughts and words to take up residence in my head, and giving credence to what others say about me, I will permit someone else’s opinion of me to shape who I think I can be. Heeding that little voice that regurgitates the lie that I can’t overcome this challenge because I have that condition, will lead me to believe that I am something less that human.
If I want to be a person of conviction, faith, and courage, I need to live like I can be. I must believe that I able of being a person of conviction, faith, and courage.
It is said that time is a precious commodity. While others assume my time is their precious commodity, my time is not a commodity to me. Time is finite and fleeting. I cannot produce time, but I can capture the uniqueness of each moment and each day.
Why should I pursue this goal today and not wait until tomorrow? Why should I exercise today, upload this post today, read this book today? All vital questions that speak to the uniqueness of today and the uncertainty of tomorrow.
At times, I invest more energy in this hobby than I should. After all, it’s just a hobby! But what if I want it to become something more, something bigger than 600–800 words delivered to your inbox once a week? I will need to expend more of me to capture the uniqueness of today and communicating the uncertainty of tomorrow.
Today matters, it must matter or else why would we be here, and why now; at this point in time and this place in history? We were designed to be so much more than placeholders for those who follow in our footsteps.
Speaking metaphorically, what should I consume and what is nutrition for my soul? Consuming thoughts of weakness and entertaining stories of failure, will leave me fearful of what lies ahead, paralyzed by the unknown and unable to act when glimpses of my future are presented to me on a silver platter.
If I gorge myself on a steady diet of bitter herbs, vile gossip, back stabbing, and innuendos, I too will become bitter, toxic and untrustworthy. If that is the sandbox that I chose, I will undoubtedly find kindred spirits.
If I succumb to the daily lure, the almost audible calling of another bowl of Salted Carmel Vanilla Ice Cream, I do so at my peril.
Today, with my blank page, I will make every effort to be that person I hope to be, not bound by who I was yesterday. Today, I will ignore comments made by those that thrive on personal destruction and will pursue something that is worthy. Lastly, I will be influenced only by the people and ideas that I want to emulate and will do so at the expense of those that don’t. Lofty goals? Yes! Attainable? Absolutely!
I have been forging my worldview for a while. It’s time to put it into an actionable statement, one that aids clarity of thought and facilitates intentional living. It begins with it this acknowledgment — I have a degenerative condition with no cure; that is the point from where I start and not my reason to stop.
I believe that everyone, regardless of the words contained in their medical records and the number of digits on their bank statements, can and should be the ones to determine how they want to be remembered. What do you need to do to write the narrative that will become the story of your life? You’re driving the bus, where are you going?
We all have our reasons, some are even legitimate, why we think that our life is difficult, the challenges are all too frequent and insurmountable, and the resources at our disposal, too scarce. Welcome to adulthood, to humanity; it’s a place where those that wish to conquer, do.
Remember, it is your call. No one is forcing anything on you.
Thanks for reading, liking, and sharing,
I see that Ivy made it back. She heard the word ice cream; she brought her personalized bowl. No, you can’t use my spoon.
Al and his faithful, but gluttonous sidekick, Ivy the wonder pup.
Did you know that this phrase has nothing to do with the four-legged variety? The idiom, Every Dog Has It’s Day, makes reference to a dog but has nothing to do with a dog! Has the world gone mad? Ivy is going to be ticked. All this time, she thought it meant that if she is obedient and faithful, she will have unrestricted access to the 72 bottomless containers of ice-cream now locked in the freezer.
What do inspiration, perspiration and desperation have to do with this weeks post? All are needed to ensure that I am not churning out content that can only be described as mindless twaddle. I have discovered that these common threads connect my thoughts and words to your interests.
This week, we are going to take a break from our normal programing so that I can introduce you to another one of my projects. Welcome to Musings after Midnight, an eclectic mix of shorts written during the early morning hours; the part of the day when my thoughts are free wander unencumbered by what work expects from me or my family needs of me.
How can we leave a legacy that matters if our focus when we get out of bed is to go to work, come home and do chores; rinse and repeat? Not much excitement in any of that, is there? This morning, I am hard pressed to answer that specific question. What would our legacy be if we committed to do what is right each day, and to string all those days together? Would we leave a legacy that matters?
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