Rise from the Ashes like A Phoenix

As a child, I always hated it when people asked me what it was that I wanted to do when I grew up. I always feared that I would be laughed at because my dreams were silly or perhaps out of my reach and I was flying too close to the sun. I have experienced days when my heart just wasn’t there like it used to be and the thought of giving up on my dreams slowly seemed like the best option that I had. I felt an emptiness inside, an uneasy feeling that I just couldn’t shake off.

 

Today as most days, the sun rises up, taking its normal position high up in the sky. Every day without fail the sun does what it is supposed to do no matter what. This is motivation, inspiration and aspiration that we all require to fulfill our daily goals and dreams. There is no such thing as ‘I can’t.’ We all have the strength and ability to fulfill our purpose in life. It’s within all of us, we just need to find it and manifest it. Sometimes all we need is a push in the right direction. A little motivation never killed anyone, so don’t be scared.

 

We don’t go through life to amass worldly things, the important thing is to be happy and live a fulfilling life. When you look at all you have done to get to a certain point in your life and not focus on how much you still have left, you begin realizing how far you have truly come. When you feel that you are about to crack, take a deep breath, and remember there is no greater gift than life itself. As Jerry Gilles said, “Make sure you visualize what you really want, not what someone else wants for you.”

 

At times we might not be able to see the sun, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not there. Just because we don’t see things, it doesn’t mean that it’s not happening. In life, we either succeed or fail. You choose what you want in life. The thing about life is that you don’t know what’s going to happen and sometimes not knowing what to expect can be difficult but what’s the fun in knowing everything.             

                                                                                              

 

Whatever comes your way just stand firm and grab it with both hands. God doesn’t give you a challenge that you can’t handle. So, I end this hoping that I have motivated you in some way. I also hope that you find the strength to succeed in everything that you do. Remember, stay strong, stay positive and most importantly believe in yourself!

You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have.

 

My mind seemed to resonate with that one, core question, what does it mean to be strong?  For some, it’s being able to open that 2Lt coke bottle when no one else can, it’s when our fathers carry the shopping bags after our mothers’ crazy day of shopping or it could be when our mothers throw us with their slippers when we misbehave.  Then again, we all have our own definitions of what the word ‘strong’ might be.

I then sit and wonder what about all those people that have no arms? Does that mean that they are not strong? I then realized that being strong is more than physical strength, it includes emotional and mental strength. There are people out in the world that fight every day for the things that they believe in, for the things that are right. Submissive workers standing up to their domineering masters, unbiased civilians uprooting their crooked government, loved ones being shielded from harm’s way.

 

Just because we lose a soccer match or cry after being yelled at, doesn’t mean that we aren’t strong. What truly defines us is how well we rise after falling. Everybody falls, everyone is beaten down by life and the challenges it has, everyone has those bad days but not everyone lets their bad days define who they are and what they do. A strong person moves on from the things that break them and they live their life trying to stay strong.

 

I always prided myself on being a strong person but I never imagined the extent to which my strength would be tested.  We do not know the full ability of our strength until we find ourselves in a situation where we have to be strong. Then it all comes out, most of us can look back and be like wow, I didn’t know I was capable of that. It is in that moment, when we truly start to create the person that truly defines who we are.

As Ralph Waldo Emerson said,” Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising which tempt you to believe that your critics are right. To map out a course of action and follow it to the end requires courage.”

Stay positive, stay focused and most importantly stay happy.