Youthful Life: X

" The failures that you beat yourself up over are the ones where you experienced warning signs and can connect the dots backwards after the fact." Caroline Ghosn Searching, yearning, looking for a sign. In the world around us, and the people that occupy it, we look for signs. Some kind of guidance, advice on who to be, or just affirmation that we are doing what we should be. There's this pressure, learned, and applied liberally that tells us there's both a right and a wrong way to exist. There's a values judgement applied to us and who we are. There is an assessment that we are constantly placing on ourselves, and onto others, and them unto us as to the righteousness of what we do. We look for signs to make sense of what goes on around us, about why the world is working the way it is, and about who we're meant to be. Signs have this power to both obscure, and to provide clarity when we seemingly need it most. Signs are all open to our interpretation. We ...

"The only thing you sometimes have control over is perspective. You don't have control over your situation. But you have a choice about how you view it." Chris Pine Reframing makes the picture different. Reframing is a powerful tool that we have in our arsenals to view our experiences in the ways that we dictate. Reframing let's us craft the narrative, and the story we tell ourselves about our own lives. So much of our lives can be dictated by fear. Fear is paralysis. Fear is a blockade. Fear is holding us back. Fear is not a way to live. Fear prevents us from living. Oh, what our lives could be if we lived in spite of fear. Fear, apprehension, nervousness, and all their dastardly cronies that prevent us for the fullness of life can sometimes be overcome through reframing. We can take a hardship presented to us, and make it small. We can take it is a challenge that will benefit us in the process. We can turn it into something of our own creation. It's taking ...

"I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do." Leonardo Da Vinci We live in a society that has come to value expediency over substance. It doesn't matter what we say, just that we say something, and be the first to say it. Knowledge has lost its gravity. Knowledge needs context, always. Contrary to what we're seeing continually, patience, self-restraint, and perspective matter just as much, if not more, than expediency. What does it matter if we're first if we're false? Pause. Wait to respond. Think. Think! Think!!! Before we speak, think. Our answers are more thoughtful and thorough we give ourselves that time to properly formulate them. We get to speak with precision instead of haphazardly. And, and, and we don't have to know everything. In fact, we should NOT know everything. Life would be pointless if we did. Learning is what life is, in essence.  Be teachab...

"Learning how to be still, to really be still and let life happen - that stillness becomes a radiance." Morgan Freeman People keep saying that they can't sit still. Are we addicted to being busy? The constant go, the organized chaos of it all, and being productive - is that where we derive personal value from? There is something to be said about us being incapable of being still. This need to go, go go - where does it comes from, and what do we let it drive us. Much like most things in life, stillness is a learned practice. It takes patience, diligence, and persistence to normalize being still. Especially in a society that communicates to us that stillness is wasted time that we could be doing something else, when in actuality, stillness is part and parcel to us showing up in all other capacities. Stillness let's us breathe, be where we are, and take note of how we're doing/feeling. Stillness let's us pay attention more closely, notice the world and pe...

" When you've seen beyond yourself, then you may find, peace of mind is waiting there." George Harrison There's something to be said about being seen . By that, I mean when others take the time to honor your humanity. It's people stopping to give you their undivided attention, gifting you their time, and devoting their energy to you, and you alone. It's this moment of intense human connection. It's purposeful. It's entrancing. It's meaningful. Oh to see, and to be seen. In a world where we see very little beyond the confines of our viewpoint to truly see another person, even if only for a moment, is something significant. People are used to not being seen. Who takes the time to notice them, to recognize their existence, and to celebrate their humanity just because? It can be a rarity. We expect people to treat us largely with indifference, let alone prioritize us in a fleeting moment. When people do relish in our presence, grace us with the...

" The great thing about getting older is that you don't lose all the other ages you've been." Madeleine L'Engle Another year has come and gone , still I am here in this life. What a journey year 25 was. Birthdays serve as a milestone in our narrative. They are a pause to let us a take a beat, take account of all that has occurred, and reflect on who we've been + who we still want to be. We don't spend enough time taking in what we've experienced, feeling it, and mediating on it. There's something to be said about taking stock of what we've been through, the choices we've made, and our impact on the people/world around us. What does it mean to be us? Why do we matter? How are we significant? Pondering those existential crisis may be feel overwhelming at moments, but when we are able to clarify who we are, and articulate our meaning then answering those proposed questions becomes an exercise in identification rather than deciphering. Wh...

" In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing." Theodore Roosevelt Making decisions becomes more prominent the further along we go in life. Day by day we are tasked with choosing what is best, or right for us. Try as we may, ultimately, much of the choices we face are left to us within our own capacities. To some, that can seem daunting, whereas others welcome the opportunity to make decisions. Decision making can be a nuanced process that utilizes elements from both ends fear/eagerness spectrum. Careful consideration means evaluating, forecasting possible outcomes, and calculating impacts in the near, and foreseeable future. Taking time to make decisions helps us feel confident in our process to get to a point of clarity, better understand complex emotions, and unearth the root cause of our potential indecisiveness. We must be vigilant to ensure our painst...

" Let us be about setting high standards for life, love, creativity, and wisdom. If our expectations in these areas are low, we are not likely to experience wellness. Setting high standards makes every day and every decade worth looking forward to." Greg Anderson Something is different. Everything is different. In an instant, my life, and my understanding of it changed. Have you ever met a person that radically changed your perception of what was possible?  Everything is brighter, more hopeful, and greater now. The bar has been raised for the better. I am without words to describe this feeling. Wow, just wow. There is something special to be said about the people who enter or pass through our lives who expand the realm of possibilities, hell, somethings they show us a whole other world of opportunity we never knew existed. We are woefully limited by the scope of what we know to be possible. Much like self-fulfilling prophecies where our predicted behavior determines ...

" It is only through labor and painful effort, by grim energy and resolute courage, that we move on to better things." Theodore Roosevelt Time heals most  wounds . As I progress further into adulthood those words ring true. Much of the things that used to bother me, be on my mind, or take up my time don't anymore simply because most of them are temporary. Temporary issues warrant a proportionate response, oftentimes acknowledging it exists, and minimizing it. Oftentimes issues truly get blown out of proportion when with a little bit of time their impact is short-lived. If things only last a little while then those things really don't need to matter that much. Having more time to focus on what does matter means making the most of that time in the best of ways. Happiness by way of healing I am realizing happens when I'm not paying attention. One day heaviness is on my heart, I process through it, learn from it, and depart from it, but still a bit of weight re...

" An apology offered and, equally important, received is a step towards reconciliation and, sometimes, recompense. Without that process, hurts can rankle and fester and erupt into their own hatreds and wrongdoings." Margaret MacMillan Stop apologizing for the harm other people cause you . Stop forgiving people before they have done the work to ask for it or to change. Stop letting well-meaning people or “good intentions” dismiss their impact. It’s their job to own their impact; not yours to rationalize it away. Hold people accountable for their actions and their impact. People don't get to barrel through lives or the world without being prompted to look back and see what they've left in their wake. When we don't address the harm and its cause we deny ourselves healing, and closure, and let someone continue their behavior without knowledge of its impact. If we care about people, particularly those close to us, we will hold them accountable. We are obligated ...