| Do
you want to find that deep source of energy, creativity
and passion that exists inside of you?
Are you living someone else’s
life thinking it is your own?
Many of us get caught in the world of “shoulds”
and old beliefs that do not serve us. In fact we have built
our lives around them. Lost in the busyness and expectations
of our lives, we forget that we can choose what we want
and change how we are living. Our fear of change captures
us and we lose our real lives.
A
Story
I sat next to an 80 year-old woman on a plane flying from
Detroit to Virginia last month. She lives on a hill high
above a lake in the state of Washington. She lives alone.
As we spoke I saw that she did not feel alone. She is a
widow and her children are married and live in other states
or cities and she has learned to balance the art
of living alone with the need to be with others.
I learned
from her that she sees her life experiences as blessings
from the birth of her grandchildren to the death of her
husband “who did not have to suffer”. After
listening to her story and talking with her I realized that
she lives with gratitude in her heart, an appreciation
for nature, an eye for beauty, an interest
in those around her, a sense of humor --- a twinkle
in her eye, a willingness to exercise
and a sense of determination, which is exhibited
in her daily walk almost 700 feet down from her house on
the hill to the lake below. (I did not realize the effort
she must expend in that walk until I walked with her off
that plane and down the concourse.) The difficulties of
others are not always apparent.
How
committed are you to living a full, rich life? |
