ALOHA EVERYONE!!!
A WONDERFUL ARTICLE I RECEIVED ALMOST 20 YEARS AGO FROM A GOOD FRIEND.
Dear “To
whom it may concern”,
There’s so much I still want to create and
foster in my life, and yet I feel utterly beaten down. I feel like I have
nothing left to work with. I’ve been through a lot on my journey thus far, and
I’m now at a point where I’ve lost all my motivation – I just can’t seem to
find the external and internal sources of motivation I used to have. Do you
have any wisdom you could share?
Sincerely,
A Discouraged Student
Dear Discouraged Student,
It’s time for a quick story about life…
Once
upon a time there was a woman in her mid sixties who noticed that she had lived
her entire life in the same small town. And although she had spent decades
enthusiastically dreaming about traveling and seeing the world, she had never
taken a single step to make this dream a reality.
Finally, she woke up on the morning of her
65th birthday and decided that now was the time! She sold all of her
possessions except for some essential items she needed, packed these items into
a backpack, and began her journey out into the world. The first several days on
the road were amazing and filled with awe – with every step forward she felt
like she was finally living the life she had dreamed.
But a few short weeks later, the days on the
road started taking a toll on her. She felt misplaced and she missed the
familiar comforts of her old life. As her feet and legs grew more and more sore
with each new step, her mood also took a turn for the worse.
Eventually she stopped walking, took off her
backpack, slammed it on the ground, and sat down beside it as tears began
streaming down her cheeks. She stared hopelessly down a long winding road that
once led to an amazing world, but now seemed to lead only to discomfort and
unhappiness. “I have nothing! I have nothing left in my life!” she shouted out
loud at the top of her lungs.
Coincidentally, a renowned guru and life
adviser from a nearby village was resting quietly behind a pine tree adjacent
to where the woman was sitting. When the woman began shouting, the guru heard
every word and he felt it was his duty to help her. Without thinking twice he
jumped out from behind the pine tree, grabbed her backpack, and ran into the
forest that lined both sides of the road. Stunned and in complete disbelief,
the woman started crying even harder than before, to the point of near
breathlessness.
“That
backpack was all I had,” she cried.” And now it’s gone! Now everything is gone
in my life!”
After
about ten minutes of much-needed tears, the woman gradually collected her
emotions, stood up again and began staggering slowly down the road. Meanwhile
the guru cut through the forest and secretly placed the backpack in the middle
of the road just a short distance ahead of the woman.
When the woman’s teary eyes fell upon the
backpack, she almost couldn’t believe what she was seeing – everything she
thought she had just lost was once again right in front of her. She couldn’t
help but smile from ear to ear. “Oh, thank heavens!” the woman exclaimed. “I am
so grateful! Now I definitely have what I need to continue onward…”
REMEMBER:
As we journey through our personal and
professional lives, there will inevitably be periods of incredible frustration
and despair. During those tough times, it will sometimes appear to us that
we’ve lost everything, and that nothing and nobody could possibly motivate us
to move onward in the direction of our dreams. But just like the woman who
stumbled across the guru, we are all holding with us a backpack of support that
comes in many forms – it can be a simple email or text message from someone we
respect, inspiring blog posts, insightful books, helpful neighbors, and so much
more.
When we are feeling discouraged and
demotivated, our opportunity is twofold:
•To
recognize and appreciate our backpack of support – our external sources of
motivation – before a random guru (or someone with far more crooked intentions)
has to steal it from us so that we can finally see what we have always taken
for granted.
•To be
present and tap into our own hearts and minds – our internal sources of
motivation – which have the power to push us back up on our feet and guide us
down the road to our backpack of support, even when it appears to be lost
forever.
No
matter your circumstances, you always have what you need to take the next
smallest step.
As Epicurus so profoundly said, “Do not spoil
what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have
was once among the things you only hoped for.”
Be
mindful. Be present.
Keep going.
One small step at a time.
Sincerely,
A Concerned and Caring Friend
I'LL ADMIT THAT I'VE FELT LIKE THIS MANY TIMES AND I'VE WALKED A VERY TOUGH PATH WHERE I QUESTIONED THE "LOYALTY" FACTOR THAT I'VE GAVE UNCONDITIONALLY TO FAMILY AND FRIENDS WHO I LATER FIND THAT THEY ARE MY BIGGEST TAKERS AND LET DOWNS, AND EVERY TIME I FIND OUT, IT JUST MAKES IT HARDER FOR ME TO TRUST THEM AND YET I STILL FIND IT IN MY HEART TO FORGIVE AND TO CONTINUE GIVING TO THEM.
WELL THE YEAR 2017 IN THE CHINESE CALENDER IS THE SIGN OF THE "FIRE ROOSTER", WHICH ALSO MEANS THE ROOSTER IS AWAKE EARLY BEFORE THE CRACK OF DAWN AND READY TO SOUND OFF THE MORNING, SO YOU BETTER BE READY BECAUSE THE ROOSTER DOESN'T WAIT FOR ANYONE, "
YOU SNOOZE... YOU LOSE!!!"
LUCKILY FOR ME, MY CHINESE ANIMAL IS ALREADY AWAKE BEFORE THE ROOSTER WHICH MEANS I'M ALREADY AHEAD OF THE DAY, EVERYDAY!!!
SO I'LL KEEP IT SIMPLE FOR EVERYONE...
THIS IS THE YEAR OF "A'OLE" TO THE FRENEMIES!!!
YOU'VE BEEN WARNED AND WISHED WELL, DO NOT TAKE THESE WORDS FOR GRANTED.
AWWWRITE!!!
WAIPA
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