Slowed Down But Not Run Down

Image Credit: Jiří Mikoláš

There are teachable moments throughout our phases and stages of life, but there are also learnable moments that penetrate each chapter we go through. I realize there are things I am not able to do now as effectively as I once did through my formative years, but there are things I can do now that would have been impossible to do during those formative years.

We are familiar with the quote, “It’s not the destination, it’s the journey”  by Ralph Waldo Emerson that makes us realize every single thing we endured and celebrated to get to where we are now. We are at a different level of awareness and acceptance, and even if we cry about missed opportunities, we can’t wallow in the mud of failure.

So, what will the next chapter in our lives bring? I haven’t the faintest idea what my next chapter will look like but it will be steeped in lessons learned and an opening for more lessons to be learned. We will cross those mountains somehow if only we will try. Perhaps we will not get there as swiftly but the more we focus on a different approach and pace, we will rise with a renewed sense of purpose and position.

From The Prince of Egypt Score 1998 – Boyz II Men

Shelf Life

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I sometimes wonder how ‘long’ items have been sitting on a grocery store shelf before they decide it’s time to put them on sale. So here’s the deal. I often purchase things like apple sauce and buy a few jars, especially when they are on sale. I am reluctant, however, to do that anymore if I am not planning on consuming it shortly after I buy it. Now, this non-perishable item shouldn’t spoil in the refrigerator after opening but about a little over a week later when I went to scoop out the last servings in the jar, I noticed it looked strange. The top was securely on, but the contents had darkened quite a bit. How could this be?

When I opened it up it did not have mold in it, but it just didn’t look right. So I checked the expiration date on the container, but there was none. Huh? What I saw on the label, written in a 0.1 font was, “Best results when used within 7 days after opening.” Okay, so this was around the 9th day after opening the jar, but how did I not notice this before? Could it be that I ate it quicker than I did this time? So, are they saying that after 7 days of opening the jar, I will get mediocre results? Uh, yeah. Or would what’s left in the jar morph into some science experiment? Hmmmm, quite possibly. But this got me thinking about myself and whether or not there is an expiration date on my purpose, talents, and gifts if I simply store them on the ‘shelf’ of no return.

I admit there are times, and sometimes many, when I begin projects I am passionate about and I somehow manage to keep these unfinished projects in my open pile of procrastination. As they say, “If you don’t use it, you’ll lose it.” But my apple sauce debacle made me think about completing anything that I feel is meaningful before I am unable to do anything at all to exude its usefulness and purpose.

I cannot allow my purpose to wane unpurposefully, especially when I know better and can do better! I refuse to take up shelf space when I must make room for others. I cannot allow my shelf life to expire when I don’t have to. Have you been shelving something that if you don’t do something with it soon, it may expire on you, becoming a wasted opportunity?

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Destination: Straight Ahead 👉🏽

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Point me in the right direction

towards the path of growth and development

Point me in the right direction

towards hope, joy, love, and peace

Point me in the right direction

where I can build the bridge of life

Point me in the right direction

to lead others to a land of promise and vision.

©2020 Kym Gordon Moore

Image Credit: kai Stachowiak

We ask for directions on which way to go, so we can get to our destination, and serve our purpose once we reach it.

Originally published on From Behind the Pen, August 29, 2020

What’s Going On?

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Our purpose is specific. Trying to live up to other people’s standards can cloud and shroud our thinking, our worth, and our merit. It seems like the world is on fire with wars of weapons and words of brutal destruction. It’s so disheartening as we wonder what’s really going on, and how can we make a difference?

As Marvin Gaye sang these words “What’s Going On?” in 1971, they still seem to be questions that disrupt our spirits, grip our hearts, and resonate in our day and time. We’ve got to find a way to continue making a positive change because we only have one world. Once it’s destroyed, there is no Option B! Where is love and understanding? We got to dig it up and mobilize it.

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How Do We Use Our Time?

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It’s not always about how much we do, but what we can do with the time we have. It’s not always about what we didn’t get done with the time we had, but how much we got done with the time we used.

It’s digestible to utilize time when we understand our purpose, our mission, and our path. Do we linger too long or too short in a space of time, where activity versus productivity are at odds?

In our circle of influence let’s expand our sphere of love, compassion, goodness, and hope. Through acts of kindness and service, let us not waste our time or our talents. 

What we do with our time and how we utilize it is part of our legacy. How will we be remembered for what we did and what we contributed with our time? Become the salt and light for the whole world to taste, savor, and see.

Walk Courageously Today

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She walks slowly, but still, she walks. Even during traffic jams, or in areas where the speed limit is reduced, you have to slow down, and perhaps pause here and there, but you still continue to drive ahead. Your walk is to thrive with determination and curiosity. Never allow anyone to steal that from you.

🌟🌞🌟

Pursue some path, however narrow and crooked, in which you can walk with love and reverence. –Henry David Thoreau

The gateways to wisdom and learning are always open, and more and more I am choosing to walk through them. Barriers, blocks, obstacles, and problems are personal teachers giving me the opportunity to move out of the past and into the Totality of Possibilities. –Louise L. Hay

Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness. –Martin Luther King, Jr.

One may walk over the highest mountain one step at a time. –Barbara Walters

The soul that sees beauty may sometimes walk alone. –Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Diversity is about all of us, and about us having to figure out how to walk through this world together.- Jacqueline Woodson

Those who have learned to walk on the threshold of the unknown worlds, by means of what are commonly termed par excellence the exact sciences, may then, with the fair white wings of imagination, hope to soar further into the unexplored amidst which we live. –Ada Lovelace

What is Required of Me Today?

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Keep calm, don’t worry, stay alert, and listen. What is the higher calling required of me, to serve my purpose right now, right here? What will I face today? Where will my path lead? What difference can I make that is positive, encouraging, and uplifting for someone who may not even know that they need it?

I can’t get thrown off
being distracted by the distractions
where worry replaces calm
like deeply pitted pains of contractions
as I look inward
deciding the approach to my reactions
the things that don’t fit
aren’t additions but subtractions.

©Kym Gordon Moore

Stop, watch, look, feel, and listen.

What Can I Do?

Image Credit: Randy Fath

There are so many men and women who hold no distinctive positions but whose contribution towards the development of society has been enormous. –Nelson Mandela

What is my purpose

how can I step up and step out

what is inside of me to stand up

and be an agent of change

not to put bandages on problems

but to unwrap the gauze of solutions.

© Kym Gordon Moore

Life is not accumulation, it is about contribution. –Stephen Covey

Hiatus: We Interrupt our Regularly Scheduled Program

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Many of us are hitting the pause button for the next several days to take a hiatus from our regularly scheduled writing posts. Now, while this does not mean we have stopped writing by hibernating completely from our writing, art, crafting, or photography, we are simply stepping away to regroup, revamp, and revive.

As we pause from posting, we are taking a moment to heal from the hurts that herald open wounds of pain and focus on restoring our health and well-being. That is important to do year-round, and you don’t need an excuse to do it. So, whatever your reasons are for taking a brief or extended hiatus, relax from the stress, release those signs and chokehold of toxicity, and relate to that inner peace that surpasses all understanding.

HALT – HIATUS – HURL HINDRANCES – HEAL…

your overall health depends on it! 🥳

No More Wasteful Spending

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At this moment, we have the opportunity to…

We often think about acquiring lots of things instead of fulfilling essential needs. We tend to focus on our wants, not giving much thought to the needs of others suffering by the wayside. We sometimes boast about self-reliance instead of a collaborative effort to improve the quality of life that others may benefit from. Yep, at times we can be a little selfish. Yet, sometimes being a little selfish in certain situations can work to your advantage and be your saving grace.

In this moment we have the opportunity to…

Don’t buy into the propaganda that in order to be somebody special or to be accepted, you must come from a specific zip code, township, financial background, or a particular tribe to make a difference in society, and to be an asset, not a liability. You are already somebody, a mover, a maker, and a shaker. No more wasteful spending to allow misinformation to persuade you to misrepresent who you are and what you can become.

At this moment, you have the opportunity to…

* Embrace joy
* Love more
* Intensify your humanitarianism
* Make a positive difference in someone’s life and in the world
* To create a safe haven for the least appreciated

Right now, at this moment, we have the opportunity to…

Be better than we were yesterday. Make a change that will “make” a change. We hear the use of wasteful spending in terms of governmental spending. Personally, no more wasteful spending on the frivolous. Spend your time wisely. Use your time productively.

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