Category: Life

  • Don’t be a martyr

    Don’t be a martyr

    We act out of duty rather than conviction when the guilty martyr in us triumphs over our courage to be true to ourselves, and just to our souls.

    It is our focus on how we wish to be perceived, or how we need to meet expectations, that distracts us from our self-worth and conviction, and redirects us towards compliance aimed at earning inclusion.

    The problem is, when inclusion is claimed at such a price, we inevitably exclude peace and fulfilment from that effort.

    It is that exclusion of peace and fulfilment that leads us to believe that such sacrifices are noble in order to achieve salvation, or validation.

    What we lose sight of is that our unique contribution…our unique beauty that we are able to share with the world is also sacrificed in the process, leaving the world lacking in the very essence of what drives us towards such distractions.

    Choosing your own path does not mean exclusion. It means choosing your rules of engagement with the world around you.

    If everyone conforms to their assumptions of what is expected of them, rather than contributing what they believe to be sincere and true value, who will be the beacons of inspiration for the generations to come when the purpose of such conformance is lost in the rituals that it spawned?

  • Willingly obliged

    Willingly obliged

    This is most true for religious subscription and cultural heritage, but applies to every relationship in our life.

    Choice inspires willingness because a choice is driven by our belief in the benefit of our contribution towards others.

    Obligation inspires contempt because it is most often associated with the threat of a negative repercussion.

    What drives our choices and our sense of obligation therefore must be considered when we find ourselves growing angry at the thought of non-compliance from others, or the expectation of compliance from ourselves by others.

    It is quite possible to choose consciously to serve an obligation. But that choice must be done willingly and not under duress. Duress turns a choice into an unwilling obligation.

    Fear has a limited life span. Therefore, the moment we establish compliance with a lifestyle or behaviour through fear, we must prepare ourselves for the inevitable backlash.

    Live consciously. Love deliberately. And serve without obligation.

    Perhaps, beloved, in that lies the secret to experiencing peace in this lifetime.

  • Forever hopeful

    Forever hopeful

    Hope is born in moments when you have no reason to believe in the moment that is to follow, but something good unexpectedly lands in your lap.

    It’s born when that unexpected call changes your life for the better.

    It’s born when that stranger smiled an understanding smile in that moment that you thought the world was oblivious to your presence.

    It’s born when you wake in the morning and discover that despite your worst premonitions, you have a good day.

    Hope can be torturous when the events of your life have given you little reason to believe that the good that you experience will last for more than a fleeting moment.

    But, knowing that it’s possible for it to last beyond that brief period of joy is what makes it impossible to ignore the hope that bubbles beneath the surface.

    Hope is faith. And faith is hope.

    Both are intricately woven into the fabric of our struggles.

    When we focus on our struggles only, we lose sight of all those moments that planted the seeds of hope in our hearts so many lifetimes before the present moment.

    In forgetting, we burden ourselves with more than the burdens of life. We burden ourselves with the burden of ingratitude as well.

    Focus on hope, and faith will have your back.

  • It’s not yet time to quit

    It’s not yet time to quit

    Inspiration…if it came easily, it wouldn’t really be inspired, it would be convenient.

    It’s in those moments when everything we want to take for granted is not available that we are pushed to consider the impossible as a possibility.

    That’s when we dig really deep.

    That’s when we abandon convention.

    That’s when what we question the limits that we assumed were unconquerable, and attack it with a ferocity that reveals its irrelevance.

    Inspiration is what we discover at the end of exhaustion, when giving up is not an option.

    Don’t stop.

    Keep pushing.

    Keep believing.

    Your dream is within reach.

    Just don’t stop reaching for it.

  • Every breath is hope

    Every breath is hope

    When we undermine ourselves, we empower our enemies, and like they say, the friend of my enemy is my enemy.

    So it stands to reason that that is how we become our own worst enemies.

    It’s our efforts to subdue our hope in tomorrow, that offers us protection against yet more disappointment or heartache.

    It’s also that same effort that pushes away the very blessings that we need to let go of the pain of a life in which we were never enough.

    The only reason we need to protect ourselves from that disappointment is because we still judge ourselves against the backdrop of a tainted life, and a tortured love.

    Every breath we take is a confirmation that we’re still filled with hope. Every breath is hope.

    So breathe a little deeper than before. Because it was that tainted life that stifled your breath, suffocating your hope, and distorting your vision of what the future holds.

    Breathe a little deeper, beloved. And allow that promise of hope to carry you forward in life, not to return you to what you’ve left behind.

  • More than a wish

    More than a wish

    Wishing it’s a sunny day when it’s raining is not going to make the sun come out.

    Leaving your umbrella behind is therefore an act of foolishness, not optimism.

    Optimism without evidence or action, or both, is a delusion we use to cope with an unpleasant reality.

    Wishing away reality only allows that unpleasantness to fester and gain momentum, because natural cycles that are not disrupted by deliberate action will continue to grow in strength.

    Let your optimism be based on your belief in the effectiveness of your efforts, not in wishes that have no support in becoming real.

    And faith, of course. But faith is the basis of optimism, and faith, without effort, is simply wishful thinking.

    Start by taking action, and then have faith that your action will create opportunities to achieve your goals.

    Do this, and optimism will take care of itself.

  • A bitter trade

    A bitter trade

    We lose ourselves to the bitterness of this world when we allow the self-loathing of others to define our self-worth.

    In our desire to be understood, we willingly adopt labels that limit our expression of who we truly are.

    It is a betrayal of the contract of kindness that we have with our soul.

    The contract that compels us to treat with gentleness that which we cherish, and to handle with care those who cherish us.

    When we allow the self-loathing that drives the bad behaviour of others to define how we feel about ourselves, we replace our gentleness with their harshness, and our care with their contempt.

    The labels we use to convince ourselves that this bitter trade is warranted include convincing ourselves that we’re alone, that were powerless victims, or that we’re worthless unless our betrayer tastes the cruelty with which they treated us.

    We hope to find significance in karma, believing that if we’re not avenged, then our experience was of no consequence.

    To be of consequence, even to the most despicable, fills that void of self-worth that we created when we betrayed the contract of kindness with our soul.

    Exhale. Release the toxins of a toxic past, so that you may fill your chest with the blessings that await.

  • Dare to dream

    Dare to dream

    When we pursue the impossible, we achieve the unbelievable.

    But, we’re often so distracted by how impossible our goal might appear, that we lose sight of everything that its pursuit offers us.

    Fortune cookie wisdom tells us that it’s the journey that matters, not the destination.

    Yet, we lose sight of the growth that the journey offers, and give up the pursuit of a seemingly impossible destination.

    Today is a good day to take that step towards that impossible dream that you’ve been courting with for so long.

    No time like the present, right?