No Excuses

Every time I travel I have ah ha moments and get clarity. Yes, despite my Bachelor of Arts in English I am using every - an exaggerated definitive. But for me it's not an overuse or misuse. Getting out of my rhythms allow my mind to slow down and see things differently. As I am experiencing new things and am in new places my laser vision is turned off. All the untouched that have been sitting on my peripheral are now in view. The last five days have been no different. Being in Lake Placid, staying at the Olympic Training Center and watching Olympians has fueled my recent ah ha moments and clarity.

Olympians are competitors - no ah ha there. Some of them have been training and competing in the same sport since they were six or seven years old. Others have competed in other sports and when those careers ended they switched over. They cannot stop training and competing. It is not an identity issue. This lifestyle is their passion. With the worst of training days and the stinging of defeats in competitions or not making a team they never give up -- they feel alive in the worst of the worst because they are doing what they love, they are chasing their dream. Once they have reached the top - a gold medal or making the team - they still are not satisfied. They are driven by humility knowing that there is someone else out there working just as hard and at times even harder. They know that the day the come to a place where they think they know it all, work hard enough or don't need to learn anymore then their dream is over. The are not at the top of their game anymore. Their passion gets put on a shelf. They wake up and are not feeling alive anymore - even on the best days.

They have no excuses.

I am tired of excuses. If you want it bad enough you will find a way to make it happen - not an excuse of why it cannot. I don't want to have excuses anymore. I don't want to be around excuses either. But I cannot expect others to do what I am not willing to do and/or am not already living out. If I want to live out my passion then I have to be willing to do whatever to live it out. Not compromising my faith, morals or relationships, but willing to to lose the excuses.

I don't want my passion to be put on a shelf.

Blind Spots

Over the last week I've been hit with some hard truths. Most of them are a result of realizing that I am blind to what holds me back. Seems like a pretty obvious statement. It's not that we are unaware of our blindness, it's that we are unaware of what we are blind to. Am I so blind that what I would say are my strengths are actually weaknesses that make me who I don't want to be? As of late, yes. Now it's time to sit and dig deeper because there has to be more that I'm blind to...I've only broke the surface.

What are you blind to?

Sit and Be

We, as a whole, have become too comfortable with comfort. Pain is avoided at cost and rightfully so. But there's a difference between avoiding pain and running from it. By all means I want to avoid pain at all cost too. But pain in others is nothing to run from. Fireman, law enforcement and military run towards danger to save us. They put their own emotions aside to meet us in our most terrifying times of need. There's something deep down inside them that beckons them to silence that voice in their head that is yelling "don't go...it's going to be painful." They cannot silence it but we, as a whole, can. For the first time in my life I cannot silence the voice in my head anymore. It's yelling at me to go and sit with others in their pain. Be their comfort. Save them. I by no means am joining the ranks of our heroes but am promising that in my everyday life I am willing to simply go be with those that are in pain.

So, who are you sitting with?

Love it or leave it

If you don't love what you do then you can't expect great results...

Never Stop Laughing

Man do I miss him. Not sure why today. He taught me a lot. Much more than I thought I would ever learn. There is one lesson that sticks above the rest: never stop laughing. The latter part of his life he battled against Parkinson's and dementia yet he never stopped laughing. In the darkest of days he smiled, told a joke or gave one of those "I'm up to something" looks. He didn't get to pick his battles. He was thrown into them. He never complained. He never asked why. He just fought and laughed. Man do I miss him.

Back

Been a while since I've posted...could list a lot of reasons why and while some have been life changing events, none of them are any greater than anyone else's reasons. We all have valleys and summits and that will never change. It's not what valley or summit we come through - it's what we do while we're going through them. Life is good. Life is busy...don't let busy stop you from doing what brings you joy. Choose joy everyday. So, dust off whatever you've put on hold because of your reason...I am...

Big Lessons From Small Teachers

On a plane from Sacramento to Dallas with a final destination of Nashville, I met Taylor. He as 12 years old headed to Charlotte. He had just finished spending the summer with his mom and was headed back for the school year. He was flying alone and was in tears. His seat happened to be next to mine. 

As he told me his story of how his parents divorced and the tribulations he went through, my heart was hurting. Looking for comfort he reached into his bag and pulled out a stuffed leopard he got in San Francisco. In front of him was a girl the same age traveling with her grandparents. She had a stuffed blue jay. She spotted Taylor and instantly put her bird on the top of her seat hoping he would respond. Taylor did not notice the bird or her gesture at first. After a few minutes Taylor put his leopard next to her bird. As both stuffed animals stared at each other, I had the perfect view of two wide smiles and bright eyes. Taylor and the girl never talked but there was some connection through their stuffed animals.

Later in the flight, Taylor asked me if there were blankets on the plane. The young girl heard him asking and stuck her arms through the seats with her blanket in hand. Taylor declined her offer graciously - he didn't want her to have to give up the blanket.

In front of me were my two small teachers. Not knowing anything about each other they connected through two stuffed animals. Not speaking a word to each other but willing to give up a blanket.

24 hours later I'm still taken back how simple communication can be. How simple giving yourself away can be. How simple life can be. How simple reaching across boundaries can be. How simple living a life where we all can coexist through true unconditional love can be.