The Knowing

“I respect the man who knows distinctly what he wishes. The greater part of all mischief in the world arises from the fact that men do not sufficiently understand their own aims. They have undertaken to build a tower, and spend no more labour on the foundation that would be necessary to erect a hut.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

I took a random journey today of looking at my earliest facebook posts from when I was 19. I just wanted to delve in my younger mind and ascertain whether I have always been the way I am. I couldn’t help but giggle and go ‘wow’ at every post because even at that age, I was as opinionated and sure of what I want as I am now.

What made me giggle and gasp was actually the rage and aggression I had developed because I was always intent on fighting and preserving myself from being tainted by external things. What was I fighting? I’m not really sure but I sure am glad that I was born a fighter because I wouldn’t have made it here otherwise. But, what I can say is from the day I started writing which was around the age of 10 years, I had realized that life was one huge battlefield and that I had to figure out just what it was that I wanted and making it clear to everyone who I interacted with.

My first song, which I wrote at the age of 10/11 was titled “broken dreams”. What did I even know about disappointment and broken dreams? I could perhaps relate it to the fact that I desperately wanted to be a “rock star” but my mother swiftly dismissed that yearning. I’m glad though, because she shielded me from a lot of exploitation and uncertainty because I know now that I would not want to be a guitar-wielding girl with a raspy voice. I’ve built a very different image from that.

I have had many people tell me that I am far too opinionated and just 2 days ago I had breakfast with one of our Director’s and she was shocked that I had found my purpose. Looking back though, I acquainted myself to my ‘reason for breathing’ at a very young age. I just needed to grow and learn more about life to hone it, which I am still doing.

It reminded me of the words of Johann Wolfgang van Goethe that have been comfortably saved in my phone memo for a while. I am nowhere near where I ought to be and I am not even close to the woman my late grandfather always said I would become but at least I know what the end goal is.

A lot of people trudge along life trying to live up to other people’s expectations and wishes because they just aren’t very sure. I would rather say ‘not sure’ than ‘don’t know’ because each of us is born with a true knowing of just what we are and what we want to become – its only more obvious in our younger years.

Knowing ourselves shouldn’t be a complex journey of embarking to sacred mountains with Shamans to tap into “Self”. Self is not so far, Self is in the very breath you inhale/exhale, comfortably embedded in every heart beat. Finding who you are simply requires blocking out all external opinions and studying just what makes you tick (happy) and tock (upset).

In my life journey I have made mistakes and gotten involved in things that were not really part of my tick but the tock they sparked redirected me towards my passion: The Engineering Degree I dropped, The relationships I fled, The thoughts I dismissed etc. All very necessary ‘tocks’

A lot of our mistakes and frustrations stem from building a foundation that is too weak/wide/thick for the structure we actually desire.

My passion (part of it) is learning just what makes people tick and the materials that their dreams are made of. I have no doubt that I’m still young and still have much more to learn but the end game in my mind will never alter.

You need to know yourself well before you attempt to build knowledge about the world and even attempt to fix it.

The amazing thing about life is it accommodates our mistakes and the universe is always eager to redirect us. Just be open to learning and growth. Its never too late! 🙂

As we begin a new week tomorrow, be aware of the emotions and thoughts that your surroundings trigger. Make your breaths valuable by channeling them towards your passion. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this one.

Quote: “We worry about what a child will become tomorrow, yet we forget that he is someone today.” – Stacia Tauscher

Stay Committed.
🙂

Are You Part Of Someone Else’s Strategy?

I love how we make excuses. I love how we complain about our current state of life but make zero changes in our daily routines because ultimately, if we desire change then we should start making changes in the way we act. They say “stupidity is repeating the same action, expecting a different result.” – how many of us are any wiser?

I had a conversation, a couple of days ago, with a partner of a colleague at a social event we had. He asked me a question I tend to avoid a lot of times. He asked me this: “What is stopping you from implementing any of your plans, dreams or business ideas?” My answer was simple: “I am lazy and I am scared.” Now I’m not usually that honest, I tend to delve into detailed explanations as a writer but I guess we have the glass of wine I had to thank for my transparency that evening.

I have always thought to myself: “I will do X when I have more cash flow and more experience” ; “I will complete Y when I have a car” ; “I will start planning Z when I have more time.” All these excuses being absolute cowardly ways of escaping any way in which I can work towards my dreams.

When I talk about dreams I’m talking about the aspirations beyond the normal mundane drone of every day life. To some people the daily mundane is the dream, no offence (I hope I am far from right on that front) but to some people the dream stems beyond that to silent moments spent pondering over the ultimate life in our solitude.

So I love how we make excuses, how we have majestic dreams and yet ‘complement’ them with below-average decisions and actions. You may not have enough “capital” yet to put into your business but if a potential investor walked up to you with enough capital would you have your business plan accurately drafted and researched? You may not have the ‘time’ to put work into your passion/hobby/initiative but if you could substitute 2 hours spent infront of the television with 2 hours of research and practice would it not make a difference & sharpen your strategy?

I know it is easy to say, I know because it is a battle I too am fighting right now but it can be done

Alvin Toffler said: “If you do not have a strategy, you will be part of someone else’s strategy.” I respect this man a lot so I do take his words seriously, especially because they are so true. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to wake up at 40 and realize I spent a good part of my best years to thrive, being part of someone else’s strategy.

Hope you’re having a great week and that this has caused you to ponder over your dreams and act on them a little.

Quote: “Hope is not a strategy.” – Timothy Wilson

Stay Committed.

🙂

Pursue Your Dreams & Prepare Yourself For Them

Life is not just about dreaming about the destination, it is about preparing ourselves for the destination by running the race.

Throughout our life journey we have been told to dream & dream big. I am not contesting the importance of having a vision, in fact I live by that. We cannot wander aimlessly without an idea of where we are headed or where we would like to get in life. It is highly linked to how much value and purpose we place on our breath. That is only the beginning though, the crucial part comes in when we have to prepare for the destination.

If your dream landed right here and claimed you would you be ready? The purpose (if you have identified yours) that you base your life on: if it finally found you and clung to you, would you be able to carry out your role? If you were offered your dream job right now would you be competent enough or at least mentally ready to do it?

We need to prepare ourselves for our dreams. Not only by studying towards them & reading about them, but by preparing ourselves mentally & emotionally for the resilience & qualities that they will require of us.

What are you doing everyday to get you closer to the person you need to be to do what you aim to do? Whether it takes reading a chapter or two everyday, Linking up with a mentor/elder to impart wisdom to you, creating a profile of your role models or simply actively making decisions and choices everyday that mould you into the holder of your dreams. Whatever it is, just do it. Get ready. Get prepared. Start growing.

Stay Committed! 🙂

Thought for The Week: Prepare yourself for your destiny

Quote: “In the fields of observation, chance only favours the prepared mind.” – Louis Pasteur

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PERSEVERANCE

I will be reposting my blogs from my very first blog found on Google+. The journey didn’t begin here. I am also still astounded by the lessons I learned. Now that I’m at my 2nd stage of healing and learning: the one of applying lessons and growing I will revisit and share the insight.

Happy Reading and Introspection.
Here is one on Perseverance 🙂

****

You cannot complain about the shadows when your back is constantly turned towards the sun, life is exactly that. The line “life is what you make of it” means exactly that. You are here now, you and all your weaknesses and fears, scars and painful past – you are here. You and all your confusion and remorse – you are still standing. Within the chaos and trauma you are still breathing. Am I the only weird person who sees a warrior within all of us? That a powerful force resides within our souls that simply wants to survive?

Olympic champions seldom ever rest to get that medal. Why then do we want to savour the succulent fruits of life without lifting a finger or giving up before we reach the finish line? Read any success story out there of some powerful person and it will be lined, grounded and laced with blood, sweat, tears and raw perseverance.

Life has an innumerable number of possibilities and greatness – only if you will turn around and face the sun. It gets hard and we want to give up – we are human. However, whether you are running, walking or even crawling – you simply have to keep moving.

Let’s challenge ourselves to making the best of this moment that we are in. Forget about the shackles that hold us to our past and they will release themselves, don’t worry about the future ,because if we savour and take care of the present wholeheartedly, the future will take care of itself.

Smile, laugh and dream. Love and appreciate the beauty around you. Commit to your life. 🙂

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK: *PERSEVERE – WHOLE HEARTEDLY AND RELENTLESSLY*

QUOTE: “Where there is no struggle, there is no strength”- Oprah

Let’s have a good week

🙂

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Re-igniting, Re-newing, Re-growing: The Seed

“The hardest part of ending is starting again” – Linkin Park (Waiting for the end) – A line from one of the saddest yet beautiful songs that Linkin Park has released. I rate them as one of the greatest lyricists when it comes to giving the hurting soul a microphone with which to sing out its tragedies and sing about hope for the battered Self. Besides that though, it brings a message that is loaded with so much truth; that life may not always go along with our plans and we might find ourselves in a completely new reality and then we have to start again and we have to be again; breathe again; walk again and believe that things will be okay again.

For most of my life, the only real “re-birth” that I had to face was waking up in the morning. Everything else followed a comforting regular pattern, which contributed to my sense of calm and joy, gave me ample time to be myself and pursue what makes me happy. Be it art, academics, writing, music – I lived in my own perfect world, a perilous “virtual reality” because the day I had to face true reality I crumbled. Dreams shattered, life questioned, strength stripped, Earth shaken and a need for questioning and rebuilding.

So how do we do it? When Dream A crumbles how do we find Dream B when we didn’t even know that it existed? I believe that sometimes it may take us a while to find our purpose and if we are lucky enough to notice it, the pressures of society and family will sometimes make us suppress what is our rightful path.

How sad is it when most of us simply toss our dreams aside to pursue what is deemed as worthy by the world? Because how can you pay your bills with your art, feed your children with your dance and waste an intelligent mind on poetry? But how dare we listen to people that will not have to live out the rest our lives and take each breath with or even for us till the last. Maybe we need to put the onus on what our future will look like on us instead of who has the biggest opinion.

And sometimes existence will realise how great your purpose is that it will close off your current path and force you take another or lie there hoping that things will change: the former is what is required of us.

Change is not always brought about by our actions or fate, but sometimes it is simply a sad case of tragedy and pain. Be it losing a loved one, suffering an accident, contracting a deadly disease, losing all that you possess…the list of possible natural disasters are endless. When we find ourselves plunged to the ground, stripped naked and void of all that we once were, it is then that we start seeking strength from what matters most, and what cannot be destroyed and that is inner-strength. I appreciate challenges because if life was one plush journey of bliss what growth or meaning would we ever be able to add to our lives? Maybe sometimes we need to acknowledge our weakness in order to find our strength. I for one have been told that I fear my strength because I will focus on what I CANNOT do instead of what I CAN. This fear of the strength and faith that can move mountains is just as dangerous as the devotion we give to our weak points.

If skin cells can multiply and repair damaged skin, I believe that our hearts, souls, spirits and minds can recover from our past hurts too. Yes, the skin aches after the burn and we think we may never really look or feel the same again, but we have to continue to wash and clean the damaged flesh, and apply healing ointment and salve to soothe it till it heals. The same is with the damaged Self, it may hurt but if we trust in healing and make an effort to re-ignite ourselves we will rise again.

Let’s have a great week! 🙂

THOUGHT: A seed can grow into a tree, burn down, get cut down but if it just finds solace in the ground again, it can grow again. We are all seeds.

QUOTE: “Keep seeding, not only where it is most likely to grow, but also in seemingly impossible places… Many of us have seen a tree, a flower break through solid rock” – Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes