I am often amazed at the simple messages life throws at you. You look for signs, read for portents, dig for answers, and all the time, they were right in front of you. Sometimes we simply don't see it. Until it simply slaps you in the face, of course.
Too many of us walk through life shrouded in fear, and cower from opportunity because of it. We don't take the chances we ought to because we are afraid of not being able to do the things necessary in life like pay rent, other bills, etc. And, as a result, become bitter and jaded that life didn't give us the things we wanted to have. We believe that these things are only dreams, meant only for the truly blessed and the lucky few, and we live vicariously through these people and characters, while we huddle in the dark corners of our safe little world surrounded by the things we despise and yet hold so closely because they are the things we know.
It seems we would rather ensconce our lives in misery rather than take the plunge and trust in faith to grasp at the opportunity to become more than we are, to rise above, to reach for the stars. We fear failure, and therefore make no attempts to become what we dreamed of as children.
We were built, the wisdom of the divine, to fulfill a purpose in life. Some of us given a wide range of skills, and some of us a very narrow set. But these gifts were given so that we may bloom like the morning glory and shine upon the world around us, and we can - only if we let go of fear, embrace our belief that we are doing what we were meant to do, and accept that life will give us what we need.
What we need. Not always what we want. Or told we want.
So many of us spend our time in pursuit of things that aren't really necessary to our core being. Sure, big houses, fancy cars, and flashy clothes are nice - but are they really necessary? We chase after the affluent, the decadent, the luxurious. We are told that we aren't successful if we don't have 3 kids, a mortgage, 2 cars, and a job that pays $100k or more.
I was humbled by life when I was laid off two years ago. I was already in pursuit of my dream to be a musician, so I chose to make that my living. It was good for a little while. Then I faltered. And then I fell.
I blamed the economy, since live music is one of the first things to vanish when money is scarce. I shouldn't have. I lamented my life because I couldn't buy all the books I wanted, or play the games I wanted, or eat dinner at restaurants all the time. But I learned, through some very hard lessons, that I can, in fact, live very basically, very simply. And as long as I had my music, and I was sharing it the way I was meant to, that life provided the means for me to live. To pay my rent, to pay the bills I needed to pay.
This past year saw a great deal of suffering for me, due to the loss of a business partnership and the attempt by one very vindictive and invidious individual to destroy my reputation and career, and I am once again back in that dark corner.
I have a choice - to crawl back into the rat race of humanity, chasing after a piece of cheese that only a few of us will get; or I can throw myself back into the maelstrom, send out my press kits, make the phone calls, and stay on it, traveling across America (and perhaps beyond) with nothing more than hope and a prayer, solid in the belief that, as long as I continue to do what I was meant to do, be what I was meant to be, I will be provided for by the mystery of life.
I can choose fear, or I can choose love. Fear of failure, or love of who I am. My music will never grow if I do not take that chance, and that risk, but I know my misery will grow without it.
I am surrounded by friends and family yet that I know will help me if I need it, in those moments of crisis, and that if necessary, what I will give back to them will be as great or even greater - as long as I stick to my belief that it is what I am meant to do. You see, all things we be taken care of as long as you pursue with all your heart the thing that you were meant to do. I will get big contracts to play at shows. I will sell thousands of CDs. I will touch the hearts of millions. Maybe more.
When I do, I will have not only what I need to live, but what I need to give back to those who helped me get here.
Do not fear. You are loved. You have a safety net far vaster than the tightrope upon which you walk. Stop hiding in the shadows. Be who you were meant to be. Live as you were meant to live. Fly.
Happiness is not a dream. It is real and waiting for you.
Too many of us walk through life shrouded in fear, and cower from opportunity because of it. We don't take the chances we ought to because we are afraid of not being able to do the things necessary in life like pay rent, other bills, etc. And, as a result, become bitter and jaded that life didn't give us the things we wanted to have. We believe that these things are only dreams, meant only for the truly blessed and the lucky few, and we live vicariously through these people and characters, while we huddle in the dark corners of our safe little world surrounded by the things we despise and yet hold so closely because they are the things we know.
It seems we would rather ensconce our lives in misery rather than take the plunge and trust in faith to grasp at the opportunity to become more than we are, to rise above, to reach for the stars. We fear failure, and therefore make no attempts to become what we dreamed of as children.
We were built, the wisdom of the divine, to fulfill a purpose in life. Some of us given a wide range of skills, and some of us a very narrow set. But these gifts were given so that we may bloom like the morning glory and shine upon the world around us, and we can - only if we let go of fear, embrace our belief that we are doing what we were meant to do, and accept that life will give us what we need.
What we need. Not always what we want. Or told we want.
So many of us spend our time in pursuit of things that aren't really necessary to our core being. Sure, big houses, fancy cars, and flashy clothes are nice - but are they really necessary? We chase after the affluent, the decadent, the luxurious. We are told that we aren't successful if we don't have 3 kids, a mortgage, 2 cars, and a job that pays $100k or more.
I was humbled by life when I was laid off two years ago. I was already in pursuit of my dream to be a musician, so I chose to make that my living. It was good for a little while. Then I faltered. And then I fell.
I blamed the economy, since live music is one of the first things to vanish when money is scarce. I shouldn't have. I lamented my life because I couldn't buy all the books I wanted, or play the games I wanted, or eat dinner at restaurants all the time. But I learned, through some very hard lessons, that I can, in fact, live very basically, very simply. And as long as I had my music, and I was sharing it the way I was meant to, that life provided the means for me to live. To pay my rent, to pay the bills I needed to pay.
This past year saw a great deal of suffering for me, due to the loss of a business partnership and the attempt by one very vindictive and invidious individual to destroy my reputation and career, and I am once again back in that dark corner.
I have a choice - to crawl back into the rat race of humanity, chasing after a piece of cheese that only a few of us will get; or I can throw myself back into the maelstrom, send out my press kits, make the phone calls, and stay on it, traveling across America (and perhaps beyond) with nothing more than hope and a prayer, solid in the belief that, as long as I continue to do what I was meant to do, be what I was meant to be, I will be provided for by the mystery of life.
I can choose fear, or I can choose love. Fear of failure, or love of who I am. My music will never grow if I do not take that chance, and that risk, but I know my misery will grow without it.
I am surrounded by friends and family yet that I know will help me if I need it, in those moments of crisis, and that if necessary, what I will give back to them will be as great or even greater - as long as I stick to my belief that it is what I am meant to do. You see, all things we be taken care of as long as you pursue with all your heart the thing that you were meant to do. I will get big contracts to play at shows. I will sell thousands of CDs. I will touch the hearts of millions. Maybe more.
When I do, I will have not only what I need to live, but what I need to give back to those who helped me get here.
Do not fear. You are loved. You have a safety net far vaster than the tightrope upon which you walk. Stop hiding in the shadows. Be who you were meant to be. Live as you were meant to live. Fly.
Happiness is not a dream. It is real and waiting for you.