Saturday, May 9, 2009
That's what I'm supposed to do in the face of adversity. If I keep moving forward, I won't have time to dwell on the negative thoughts and I will be more likely to be in a different place by the time I do have time to look back to reflect. It's hard to keep moving forward though, when everything in my life is pretty much a disappointment. I need to remember, however, that I am still very blessed to be living the life that I am now. Things could be so much worse. I should be grateful for what I have -- instead of dwelling on the negatives, BE GRATEFUL. Some people have it so much worse. How could I forget so easily? I have seen so many bad sides of life. I have been working with people with disabilities, those who were 'unfortunate' to be born with a mental illness and to live with it all their life. Just recently, I worked with a young man named Andy, at Magnolia, who said something that kind of struck a chord in me. He told me that he lives to find the silver lining in his life every day with the condition that he has.
Kevin, Dan's 32-year old cousin, just recently welcomed a new baby boy into the family. His baby however has a mental illness, possibly mental retardation. It is so tragic, and so sad to hear such news. Kevin and his wife, and his familys' lives are all forever changed because of this stroke of misfortune. My condolences go out to them.
And so as I am typing this up, I had meant to vent about all my emotional thoughts I had been having throughout the day, but suddenly it is so easy to let those negative feelings of disappointments, anger, resentment, and loneliness go. To solve the problem, I have to look at things from a more positive perspective: that is, to remember that things could be much worse than they are now. That I am so blessed to be given these circumstances, these opportunities to grow from. Without them, I would not be the enlightened hardworking woman that I am right now. Every event in my life has added to my molding as a person. And that there are people out there who have it much worse than you, therefore, you should be grateful for what you have, and not complain.
I've been dealt my fair share of difficulties in my life. But through it all, I have learned valuable lessons along the way, and I definitely, would NOT be the person that I am today had it not been for these difficult experiences in my life. What I want to do is reflect on the major difficult experiences I've had in my life, maybe not even just the difficult ones, the casual ones too, and reflect on what I have learned or gained out of each and every single one experience. There is a lot to learn from your past experiences, mistakes, and it is important to define how each event in your life had helped mold you or enlightened you.
It's time to be bold about who you really are.
You should understand that being different is fantastic. In fact, rejoice in all those things that make you different. Ultimately, it’s not how you look or what group you’re in that will determine your success in the world. I think you can carve new territory, you can do something completely out of the box, and if it is an act of love and goodness, it will be completely embraced---as bizarre as that may seem.
If you have faith in your real self, you’ll suffer less. You won’t waste valuable time that could be spent on more important things. There’s no time to waste. It’s time to be bold about who you really are.
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Life is short.
Life comes with no guarantees, no time outs, no second chances, you just have to live life to the fullest. Laugh as much as you can, spend all your money, tell someone what they mean to you, tell someone off, speak out, dare to be different, dance in the pouring rain, hold someone's hand, comfort a friend, pig out, fall asleep watching the sun come up, stay up late, smile until your face hurts. Don't be afraid to take chances or fall in love and most of all, live in the moment because when you look back someday, knowing you have no regrets it's going to be what makes you smile.
Have a good day!
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Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate, but that we are powerful beyond measure.
© 2008. Chi Nguyen, all rights reserved