Photo Source: https://www.goodfreephotos.com/
She got her motor running and headed down a country road away from the city.
She felt exhilarated, driving through a splash of newly fallen leaves.
As she glanced in her rearview mirror, watching the showers of golden and burnt orange foliage caressing the wind and lining the open road like confetti thrown by a cheering crowd of spectators along a parade route, she felt liberated, popped open a can of Pepsi and cruised.
Image Credit: Alex Gruber
Life. Dreaming. Living.
So often we think about what if we had what we don’t have and wanted, then would happiness and contentment be a guarantee? Oh, the choices we make, wanting a life that is straight out of a fairy tale. But even fairy tales aren’t perfect and those happy endings can be tragic and disappointing.
Would you be satisfied if your wish for your dream house, the dream job, a dream bank account, your dream car, the dream spouse, the dream children, the dream family, the dream, the dream, the dream all came true? Would you then be happy and truly satisfied?
What becomes of our gifts and talents to create and add more value to your life and those around you? Yes, we can turn our dreams into a reality, as long as our reality isn’t based on someone else’s’ life in someone else’s world. We must learn to accept ourselves, our gifts, our talents, and even our shortcomings, as God has made us and work with what we have to be satisfied, not complacent or complicit but growing into who we are and where we are. Find “your” purpose and walk in it boldly with what you’ve been blessed with to serve.
Life is more than a dream. It is our witness, our testimony, our light, to learn, to give, to teach, and to serve with gratitude. 🙂
Ruminating, contemplating and scanning the skeleton where vibrancy once invigorated those branches with life, I stood watching its transformation in silence. During this time of each year, I would look out my window at the oak tree in our yard that has shed its leaves for the season and felt a hint of sadness. Perhaps it reminds me of those who are no longer with us, forcing us to reflect on memories but to remember that we are still living, yet to complete our life’s purpose. It also serves as a reminder that everything has its season.
With that in mind, as I sit here today looking through my window at that leafless tree, I see hope and possibility and remember that God is in control of everything, including the evolution of that tree. I embrace this moment of clarity and truth. Spring will come and whether or not I am here or that oak tree in the yard, life will go on in a supernatural way, beyond any human comprehension. 🙂
Image source: forastateofhappiness.com – The four dimensions of Ikigai. Source: Toronto Star, diagram by Mark Winn.
What motivates you to get up in the morning? What is your reason for enjoying life? How do you find satisfaction, happiness and renewed meaning of life each day, even in the midst of great adversity?
Let’s face it. If we depend on things or other people to make us happy, then that dependency is shortlived and we are sadly mistaken. I believe and have often said that it’s the small things that can make a BIG difference in our attitudes, conversations, moods, character, and conduct. Daily we are assailed with so much news that interferes with the flow of our spirit leaving us bewildered, anxious and fearful.
The Japanese concept of Ikigai means a reason for being, a source that embodies doing something with supreme focus and joy. We are bombarded with distrusting the operations of many systems that impact our lives (financial, political, educational, religious), surrounded by scathing attacks on social media, facing deception by those we love or have respected, facing health concerns and other adversities impacting our lives.
So how do we search for that meaning, and value of life? We make the time to stop and evaluate where we are and where we spiritually want to be and how to live in harmony with oneself as well as others. This video gives an overview of what Ikigai is and how practicing it will get us on the path of living with purpose. A little faith wouldn’t hurt either. 🙂
Sometimes God reminds us to pause and reflect on how truly blessed we are and how grateful it behooves us to be when we witness the brave and passionate perseverance of those who lack so much. We have to remain determined to forge ahead, no matter how difficult the path and refuse to give up.
Be thankful.
“How about scratching my back little buddy?”
What fascinates you? Sometimes big things excite us, yet oftentimes it’s the small things we tend to overlook which makes the biggest difference of them all. 🙂
Well y’all, here we are, the final month of 2019. How did the month get here so fast some of us have expressed in cataleptic surprise?
Hello December!
As we close out this last month and glance back at the last eleven months, we think about what was, what wasn’t, and what could have been. We celebrate the lives of those births and deaths of loved ones and close acquaintances we hold dear to our hearts. We evaluate the failures and victories of what worked, what didn’t and spinning the wheel of anticipated fortune.
Hello December!
While I didn’t bother making new year’s resolutions at 12:00am on the first day of the first month of this new year (I stopped with making resolutions years ago) I will continue to set realistic and meaningful goals to serve my purpose and to continue to produce the fruits of my spirit, imagination, and creativity, embodied in love so I can continue to be a viable contributor to this life God created me to be.
Hello December!
It’s good to see you. Talk about humility and thanksgiving. 😀 🙂 😀
