Joy

"No dark fate determines the future. We do. Each day and each moment, we are able to create and re-create our lives and the very quality of human life on our planet. This is the power we wield."

-The Book of Joy (Dalai Lama & Desmond Tutu)

Katy Perry

I am currently having a statement I heard flash through my head. I can't remember who said it, but it stuck with me. He was a smart man and he said something along the lines of, "God help you if you take life lessons from a Katy Perry song."
I didn't think too much of the statement at the time, but over the past few months it has stuck. I want to know why, why can't we take inspiration in whatever form it comes in?
I think there is the misconception that if you have money, you don't understand the struggle. If you have money your emotions are no longer valid. Nobody ever sees the work, just the results, so it makes it easy to dismiss. But, why? Do we really believe that anyone can just become famous without putting any kind of effort in? I think we can all agree that it doesn't work that way.
While I don't know Katy Perry's whole story, I have heard that she came from a deeply religious family with very strict views. That she started singing seriously when she was nine, and released a Christian album when she was a teenager. When that fell through she kept going. It took over a decade of hard work, to keep going when others were telling her to give up. It took breaking away from her parents views and stepping into being the person she wanted to be. It took stamina.
So if you listen to a song of hers and you can say "I am a fucking firework," then take it. If you don't hear a message in her songs, that's fine too. But can we agree that it isn't fair to dismiss the inner strength it took for her to get where she is? And that in itself is inspirational.
I believe this goes for people in general, everyone's life has value, even if they place their values in a place that is different than what you value.
If we can realize that your or my right to be on this earth is just as valid as another person, then we can begin to support each other. Hearing their stories instead of focusing on the small picture that we see of another person's life. This is life, and it's amazing and hard and we all have an equal right to live it.

The Long Way

 

"The long way is the shortcut."

-Seth Godin

Love the reminder from Seth Godin; shortcuts rarely work out and if we are always looking for the next shortcut, the work never gets done. 

Rough Draft

Today I have been thinking that in life, we take steps as the come. When we are little we don't have a lot of say in the choices that become written into our stories. When we get older and begin to make our own decisions, we are making them with little to no experience. Our stories were written through those experiences, and how we handle situations becomes habitual.
I am starting to think of life as a rough draft.
When we are young we have an outline of how we think life will go. But, when has life ever turned out the way we imagined? Unknown situations arrive and our inexperience can leave our stories full of plot holes (because we don't always have the full story) and spelling errors.
I am just realizing that I have been building my life on the habitual experiences that have been written into my story. Anger, frustration, self-doubt, self-worth, have been on automatic for much too long. Making decisions without even realizing the reasons behind my choices.
Now, as I am coming to the end of my twenties and approaching my thirties, I see that my life is in need of a second draft. I need to let go of the lines that are no longer relevant, and add in the experiences that will determine how my story continues.
I wish it was as easy as hitting backspace along the lines of what I no longer need; in reality it is taking a lot of self-reflection. It is opening old pains that need to be sorted through.
Believe me, I would rather leave some of the old lines alone, and pretend they are not part of my book, but that is not how life works. Opening those old pages is more difficult than I knew it would be. However, the alternative is far worse. The alternative would be letting my rough draft define this next part in my life; I won't let it. I am not a victim in my story. I am beautiful and I am love and I am a warrior. And though my body shakes while I write this, my heart knows I am more than my circumstances. I am strong and I am my own author, illustrator, and narrator. I will not be quiet and small and let someone else write my story for me. Yes, life come at me, the good and the bad always will, but I will not shy away from joy in the good, and the lessons in the bad. I will make my way through this, and the life I am meant to be living is waiting for me on the other side.

Remember Love

I feel like there is this moment right now and, we as a country, are looking into the unknown. And for the first time in my adult life, I don't know what is coming next. There are a lot of stories of hate, and it seems like those are the stories that are highlighted. I don't want to narrate on them, I think there is enough of that going around.

This time, right now, is when the seeds are being planted, and what grows from you is your choice. Notice the seeds you are planting. I am planting love.  I'm setting the intention behind all my actions, and my intention is love. Remember love.

Resistance

Resistance is funny, just when I think I am able to see it and step forward anyways, it finds new ways to sneak up on me. These last few days I have been mentally walking through mud. I came across a little quote that said "what are you doing now that's keeping you from your important work?" I almost had to laugh because this is what my mind looks like right now, "I started a 30 day writing challenge for myself (online and in a journal), and I need to stick with it. What should I write about today? Maybe I should look around for a prompt."
Five YouTube videos later (none of which were relevant) and resistance is still sitting on a blank page waiting for me. Meanwhile, my mind is throwing excuse after excuse at me on why I shouldn't be sitting here, finishing the challenge I started.
Recently, I have learned that my mind has never been my best judge. If the work isn't inspiring, my mind wanders. If I am inspired enough to put my energy into a project, my mind relentlessly throws self-doubt at me. If I want to try something new and exciting, my mind shows me everything that could go wrong.
How will we ever know which areas deserve our time if we never get past the initial resistance we feel towards it?
This post may be short, but it took over an hour for me to sit down and write it. Today that is the best that I can do, and today that is okay. 

"The office is closed.How many pages

have I produced? I don't care. Are they

any good? I don't even think about it.

All that matters is that I've put in my 

time and hit it with all I've got. All that

counts is that, for this day, for this session,

I have overcome Resistance." 

Steven Pressfield The War of Art.

We are...

We are stronger than we are given credit for.