A thought on failure.

One of the questions I always used to find myself asking was "What is my purpose here?" I used to have this plan for my life: where I wanted to be, how my family would turn out, what job I was going to have, even what kind of home I wanted. But I never could get all the pieces to fit together just right. If it wasn't one thing, it was something else. I went from always knowing success to all of a sudden knowing failure, defeat. No matter what I did, something would happen to dash my ambition. Failure. Its an interesting word. Its so negative, so final. I used to say that I'd never fail at anything I really wanted. I've learned that that's not true. In life, we will experience failure. We will be defeated. We will fall, sometimes through no fault of our own. That's just the way life works. But the true test is this: Will we get back up? No failure no matter how devastating and overwhelming is complete if we refuse to give up. I don't know if our destiny or fate is predetermined or not, I don't believe it is, but regardless, we must always retain hope that things will turn out however they are supposed to be. This has been such a hard lesson for me, but I think that perhaps I've finally come to understand it. Keep your hopes alive. Keep dreaming. Keep fighting!

A thought on choices.

Each and every choice we will make in this life comes with consequences, both good and bad, intended and unintended.  These consequences become our experience. When we make a choice, it becomes part of our history, of who we are. We become the sum total of our experiences. The key though, is to not let our past define us but rather to teach us how to become our better and best selves. Take each problem, each controversy, each argument, each dilemma, each trial, each puzzle, and each choice and learn from it. Put in your best effort, stand for what you believe in, and always try and do what’s right. Then move on and let go. Plain and simple.   

Unanswered prayers

The topic of unanswered prayers has been on my mind as of late. Its funny, I used to hope and pray, beg, plead, and negotiate for a particular outcome in matters that have arisen in my life. I used to believe that somehow, someway, if those outcomes could come to fruition, then my life would magically become happy, and that I would be fulfilled and satisfied. Well, as you can imagine, a lot of those prayers went unanswered, or so I believed. It now seems to me that had those prayers been answered in the way I'd wanted them to, I'd be a lot less happy than I am now. So, in a way, if happiness was what my prayers were truly about, then it seems as if they were indeed answered. Its a strange feeling to know that you were wrong about your own personal feelings and desires, but nonetheless, its one that I seem to be growing happily accustomed to. I guess these experiences are to become a testament to me of Divine wisdom.

"Be still and know that I am God." Psalm 46:10

A Thought on Courage and the Courageous

In today’s world, many qualities are admired: wealth, power, beauty, even sarcasm.  Things like honor, and duty, and integrity are often undermined in the all-consuming rat race that now dominates the world. While wealth, power, and beauty are not inherently bad things, there are qualities that are more important, and that time is better spent pursuing. One of them is courage. Courage. One simple, two syllable word that represents so much of what the human spirit is comprised of. It never ceases to amaze me how much courage a single person can possess. I don’t speak of the false image of courage that society has painted for us; courage painted by a manipulation of facts, or exaggerated through embellishment and then paraded on T.V. , the newspaper, and over the radio. On the contrary, I speak of the quiet, determined, courage that only manifests itself under the direst of circumstances. This courage is as a chunk of coal; refined, and purified through tremendous pressure until a stunning diamond is created. This courage is rare. This courage does not manifest itself in victory, but far more often in failure. The courage that I speak of is found in those lonely souls who always seem to fight, and fight, and fight, and yet never seem to gain the inches that they so valiantly strive for but who continue to keep fighting anyway. The indomitable spirit, the need to persevere no matter what; that’s courage. You want to see courage? Don’t look for the mountain climber who climbs the tallest peaks, after all, he likes to climb mountains. Don’t look to the warrior who runs into battle, he’s trained to fight. Instead, look to the youth who has been dealt the lowest hand life has to offer, who has had his dreams trodden on for as long as he can remember and yet he still maintains his hope for a better life and seeks to change his circumstances.   That’s courage.  Often, the truly courageous are those who endure mortality’s hardships without complaint, with a smile upon their lips, thankful for the hope that this life provides for them.  They are often the quiet ones, going about their business without pride or vanity, seeking to make the world better than they found it.  To many, they may seem ordinary, unremarkable, and not worth a second glance. But underneath the exterior, lies the diamond in the rough. So the next time you need a hero, try and fine one of these people. Chances are you know one.    

Live Life

I saw this today and it made a big impact on me. Don't take this life for granted, whatever you do. Enjoy each and every moment, both the bad and the good. They will never come again.

"As we grow up, we learn that even the one person that wasn't supposed to ever let us down, probably will. You'll have your heart broken and you'll break others' hearts. You'll fight with your best friend or maybe even fall in love with them, and you'll cry because time is flying by. So take too many pictures, laugh too much, forgive freely, and love like you've never been hurt. Life comes with no guarantees, no time outs, no second chances. you just have to live life to the fullest, tell someone what they mean to you and tell someone off, speak out, dance in the pouring rain, hold someone's hand, comfort a friend, fall asleep watching the sun come up, stay up late, be a flirt, and smile until your face hurts. Don't be afraid to take chances or fall in love and most of all, live in the moment because every second you spend angry or upset is a second of happiness you can never get back. " -Unknown

A Thought on Standing for Something

I was reading a book entitled "Standing for Something" earlier today. One of the chapters is on honesty and integrity. These phrases might not mean much to some, but their importance could not be more paramount in the society in which we live. Far too often honor, virtue, integrity, and honesty are undermined and devalued by those whos' greed and lust for power demand the shortest possible route to "getting ahead," regardless of the consequences, the people they hurt, or the sacrifice of their own moral character. Fulfillment of personal desires become the all-consuming purpose of these peoples' lives. Promises are broken, character eroded, covenants shattered, families destroyed. Lies, greed, and lust become their cohorts. It is a never ending spiral downward into a life that is sure to be filled with heartbreak, despair, and mourning. Unfortunately the world we live in has made this type of life an all-too-possible reality for us all.  At our colleges and universities it has become almost expected for students to break underage drinking and illegal drug laws or to cheat on a test or two. At our businesses, it has become acceptable to cut corners in order to increase profit margins.  In our personal lives it has become OK to lie to our loved ones. Nearly daily the news services carry a story on some CEO or unscrupulous business man defrauding his company or his clients of money, or of some masked man holding up a store or bank. The picture is dark and bleak. It has been said that no man can be honest all the time. I disagree. It starts with an individual choice, a choice to stand for something! 

"Very Simply we cannot be less than honest, we cannot be less than true, we cannot be less than virtuous if we are to keep sacred the trust given us by those who have gone before us, or if we are to merit the trust and confidence of those with whom we live, work, and associate. Once it was said among our people that a man's word was as good as his bond. Shall any of us be less reliable, less honest than our fore bearers? Those who are dishonest with others canker their souls and soon learn that they cannot trust even themselves." -Gordon B. Hinckley "Standing for Something"

So my friends, stand for integrity and honesty, stand for honor and virtue. Stand for the truth and what is right. Plant your feet where you stand and refuse to yield even an inch to lies, deception, and greed. Seek after the good in life. When faced with a dilemma, always do the morally right thing, even if it isn't easy or popular. Be courageous in the fight for truth and justice. Be the person who's word really is as good as their bond, for if a man's word means nothing, of what worth is the man?

Carpe Diem

We are where we are in life because of the choices we have made. Both good and bad. Are you who you want to be? Are you living up to your potential? What would our childhood selves think of what we have become? Have you lived life to the fullest? When we reach the end, will we be able to say; "I've done the very best I can?" You have one life to live and at times it can be frustrating, depressing, and down right hard, but its YOUR life! You make it what it is. No one else. Seize the opportunity! Go out and live your life! Today is a brand new day, a gift from the heavens to go out and do something wonderful, or kind, or charitable. Its an opportunity to have an adventure.  Its a fresh start and a new chance. Seize the day.

"I dare you to move."