"The Awakening"

A time comes in your life when you finally get it...
when, in the midst of all your fears and insanity,
you stop dead in your tracks and somewhere the voice inside your head cries out...ENOUGH!
Enough fighting and crying and blaming and struggling to hold on.
Then, like a child quieting down after a tantrum,
you blink back your tears and begin to look at the world through new eyes.
This is your awakening.
You realize it's time to stop hoping and waiting for something to change,
or for happiness, safety and security to magically appear over the next horizon.
You realize that in the real world there aren't always fairy tale endings,
and that any guarantee of "happily ever after" must begin with you...
and in the process a sense of serenity is born of acceptance.
You awaken to the fact that you are not perfect and
that not everyone will always love, appreciate or approve of who or what you are... and that's OK.
They are entitled to their own views and opinions.
You learn the importance of loving and championing yourself...
and in the process a sense of new found confidence is born of self-approval.
You stop complaining and blaming other people for the things they did to you -
or didn't do for you - and you learn that the only thing you can really count on is the unexpected.
You learn that people don't always say what they mean or mean what they say
and that not everyone will always be there for you and that everything isn't always about you.
So, you learn to stand on your own and to take care of yourself...
and in the process a sense of safety and security is born of self-reliance.
You stop judging and pointing fingers and you begin to accept people as they are
and to overlook their shortcomings and human frailties...
and in the process a sense of peace and contentment is born of forgiveness.
You learn to open up to new worlds and different points of view.
You begin reassessing and redefining who you are and what you really stand for.
You learn the difference between wanting and needing
and you begin to discard the doctrines and values you've outgrown,
or should never have bought into to begin with.
You learn that there is power and glory in creating
and contributing and you stop maneuvering through life merely as a "consumer" looking for your next fix.
You learn that principles such as honesty and integrity are not the outdated ideals of a bygone era,
but the mortar that holds together the foundation upon which you must build a life.
You learn that you don't know everything,
it's not your job to save the world
and that you can't teach a pig to sing.
You learn that the only cross to bear is the one you choose to carry
and that martyrs get burned at the stake.
Then you learn about love.
You learn to look at relationships as they really are
and not as you would have them be.
You learn that alone does not mean lonely.
You stop trying to control people, situations and outcomes.
You learn to distinguish between guilt and responsibility
and the importance of setting boundaries and learning to say NO.
You also stop working so hard at putting your feelings aside,
smoothing things over and ignoring your needs.
You learn that your body really is your temple.
You begin to care for it and treat it with respect.
You begin to eat a balanced diet, drink more water, and take more time to exercise.
You learn that being tired fuels doubt, fear, and uncertainty
and so you take more time to rest.
And, just as food fuels the body, laughter fuels our soul.
So you take more time to laugh and to play.
You learn that, for the most part,
you get in life what you believe you deserve,
and that much of life truly is a self-fulfilling prophecy.
You learn that anything worth achieving is worth working for
and that wishing for something to happen is different than working toward making it happen.
More importantly, you learn that in order to achieve success
you need direction, discipline and perseverance.
You also learn that no one can do it all alone,
and that it's OK to risk asking for help.
You learn the only thing you must truly fear is fear itself.
You learn to step right into and through your fears because you know
that whatever happens you can handle it
and to give in to fear is to give away the right to live life on your own terms.
You learn to fight for your life and not to squander it living under a cloud of impending doom.
You learn that life isn't always fair,
you don't always get what you think you deserve
and that sometimes bad things happen to unsuspecting, good people...
and you learn not to always take it personally.
You learn that nobody's punishing you and everything isn't always somebody's fault.
It's just life happening.
You learn to admit when you are wrong and to build bridges instead of walls.
You learn that negative feelings such as anger, envy and resentment
must be understood and redirected or they will suffocate the life out of you and poison the universe that surrounds you.
You learn to be thankful and to take comfort in many of the simple things we take for granted,
things that millions of people upon the earth can only dream about:
a full refrigerator, clean running water, a soft warm bed, a long hot shower.
Then, you begin to take responsibility for yourself by yourself
and you make yourself a promise to never betray yourself and to never,
ever settle for less than your heart's desire.
You make it a point to keep smiling, to keep trusting, and to stay open to every wonderful possibility.
You hang a wind chime outside your window so you can listen to the wind.
Finally, with courage in your heart, you take a stand,
you take a deep breath,
and you begin to design the life you want to live as best you can.
- Author Unknown

Quotes on Talent

I've been studying the idea of talent recently and what I've learned is that we spend a disproportionate amount of time focusing on our weaknesses. We take our innate strengths for granted, but it is time that we stop. Here are some quotes to get you thinking about the nature of talent.

Talent hits a target no one else can hit; Genius hits a target no one else can see.
Arthur Schopenhauer (1788 - 1860)

Mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself, but talent instantly recognizes genius.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859 - 1930), (Sherlock Holmes) Valley of Fear, 1915

Literature is an occupation in which you have to keep proving your talent to people who have none.
Jules Renard (1864 - 1910)

Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan 'Press On' has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.
Calvin Coolidge (1872 - 1933)

If you have a talent, use it in every which way possible. Don't hoard it. Don't dole it out like a miser. Spend it lavishly like a millionaire intent on going broke.
Brendan Francis

Everyone has talent. What is rare is the courage to follow the talent to the dark place where it leads.
Erica Jong

Quote: Dr. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi from "Finding Flow"

“If we do not take charge of its (life’s) direction, our life will be controlled by the outside to serve the purpose of some other agency. Biologically programmed instincts will use it to replicate the genetic material we carry; the culture will make sure that we use it to propagate its values and institutions; and other people will try to take as much of our energy as possible to further their own agenda – all of this without regard to how any of this will affect us. We cannot expect anyone to help us live; we must discover how to do it by ourselves.”
-Dr. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi – Finding Flow

Quote: Fritz Perls from "The Gestalt Approach and Eye Witness to Therapy"

“Modern man lives in a state of low-grade vitality. Though generally he does not suffer deeply, he also knows little of true creative living… Instead of it, he has become an anxious automaton [1]. His world offers him vast opportunities for enrichment and enjoyment, and yet he wonders around aimlessly, not really knowing what he wants and completely unable, therefore, to figure out how get it. He does not approach the adventure of living with either excitement or zest. He seems to feel that the time for fun, for pleasure, for growing and learning, is childhood and youth, and he abdicates[2] life itself when he reaches ‘maturity.’ He goes through a lot of motions, but the expression on his face indicates his lack of any real interest in what he doing. He is usually either poker faced, bored, aloof, or irritated. He seems to have lost all spontaneity, all capacity to feel and express directly and creatively. He is very good at talking about his troubles and very bad at coping with them. He has reduced life itself to a series of verbal and intellectual exercises; he is drowning himself in a sea of words. He has substituted psychiatric and psuedo-psychiatric explanations of life for the process of living. He spends endless time trying either to recapture the past or to mold the future. His present activities are merely bothersome chores he has to get out of the way. At times, he is not even aware of his actions at the moment.”
-Fritz Perls – the Gestalt Approach and Eye Witness to Therapy
[1] A self-operating machine or mechanism, especially a robot.
[2] To relinquish (power or responsibility) formally.

Quote: Sharon & Gordon Bower from "Asserting Yourself"

“An Anthropologist interviewing the average person today would come to a startling conclusion: despite our societies economic abundance, cultural opulence, and technological sophistication, many people think they aren’t getting enough satisfaction out of life.

When asked what is wrong, people point to different things: their bodies, personalities, jobs, bad habits, and so on. Nevertheless, improving how they feel about these parts of their lives doesn’t necessarily make them feel more satisfied.”
-Asserting Yourself – Sharon & Gordon Bower