Tag: Life’s Journey

Unconquerable Soul

Invictus

by W.E. Henley

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul.

         When the storm clouds roll in and the darkness envelopes your soul, it often feels like the rain will never let up.  You see no way out.  But, it is at these moments when you are at your lowest that you must remember that even though your body may be broken, your spirit will never be defeated.  You, and only you, are the master of your fate . . . the captain of your soul.  So, go calmly into the night, unafraid of what awaits you for you have an unconquerable soul.

Focus on the Good in Life

I have told you of the man who always put on his spectacles when about to eat cherries, in order that the fruit might look larger and more tempting.  In like manner I always make the most of my enjoyments, and, though I do not cast my eyes away from troubles, I pack them into as small a compass as I can for myself, and never let them annoy others.

~ Robert Southey

        Finding happiness in this life largely boils down to how you approach the daily ins and outs that we all face.  If you choose to treat every problem, obstacle and roadblock you encounter with a pessimistic attitude while always expecting the worse – you will find yourself living quite a bleak, joyless life with nothing to look forward to but more despair and heartache.  But, if you instead choose to approach all facets of life with a can-do attitude grounded in the ideal that no matter what cards you’re dealt, you will strive to play the best hand you can and make the most out of every minute of every day – you will begin to feel joy in the simple act of living.

Waiting

Waiting . . .

by John Burroughs

Serene, I fold my hands and wait,
Nor care for wind, nor tide, nor sea;
I rave no more ‘gainst time or fate,
For lo! my own shall come to me.

I stay my haste, I make delays,
For what avails this eager pace?
I stand amid the eternal ways,
And what is mine shall know my face.

Asleep, awake, by night or day,
The friends I seek are seeking me;
No wind can drive my bark astray,
Nor change the tide of destiny.

What matter if I stand alone?
I wait with joy the coming years;
My heart shall reap where it hath sown,
And garner up its fruit of tears.

The waters know their own and draw
The brook that springs in yonder height;
So flows the good with equal law
Unto the soul of pure delight.

The stars come nightly to the sky;
The tidal wave unto the sea;
Nor time, nor space, nor deep, nor high,
Can keep my own away from me.

            Have Patience and Faith that in the end things will work out.

         It is often difficult to accept our circumstances.  To know that you have done all that you can and all you can do now is be patient and wait for the chips to fall as they may.  But, it is at these times when you have to have faith that everything will work out. . .that sometimes it takes time for life to unfold the way it is meant to.  And, during these moments when you begin to doubt and question the path you are on, you must take a deep breath, stay the course and simply let life happen.

The Brilliant Light from Within

“It is only in our darkest hours that we may discover the true strength of the brilliant light within ourselves that can never, ever, be dimmed.”

– Doe Zantamata

          I picked this particular quote because it not only encapsulates our daily inner struggles, but also provides hope that even in our darkest hours, there is light.  As we go through struggles, it is so hard to see outside our own self-imposed, yes self-imposed, bubble of misery.  It is so easy to just sit and wallow in our despair and utter sense of hopelessness.  I get it.  I have been to the fiery pits of utter despair and desolation.  I have stood on the shore of self-doubt and self-recrimination.  And through it all, I have discovered an inner strength that I never knew existed.  I realize now that this inner strength and light is within each of us.  No matter what we go through in life, no matter how painful and devastating, our candle, the light of our soul, will never be extinguished.  It may be masked, but never gone.  It is and has always been there, waiting for the day when you can open you heart and let it shine.

Spread Your Wings & Soar

When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.

– Henry Ford

      Sometimes it seems that you can’t catch a break.  Everyone and everything is against you. . .you find yourself caught between the proverbial rock and a hard place.  It is at these moments that you need to take time to remember that to experience some of the most beautiful things in life, you have to fight an uphill battle.  I mean, one of our greatest achievement – flight – occurs in spite of having all the cards stacked against it.  Never forget that even a plane has to battle against mother nature to achieve unimaginable heights.  And just like a plane, you too must first battle the winds before you can soar.

Just Enjoy the Ride

“Life should NOT
be a journey to the grave
with the intention of arriving
safely in an attractive
and well preserved body,
but rather to
skid in sideways,
chocolate in one hand,
martini in the other,
body thoroughly used up, totally worn out
and screaming
WOO HOO what a ride!”

~ Unknown

          I absolutely love this quote (and all variations).  I am a firm believer that it is our journey through life that matters and not the destination.  I like to compare life’s journey to a really long road trip.  For those of us who have been fortunate to go on a road trip – or unfortunate depending on how you look at (can I say food poisoning on a 7 hour road trip back from the Mall of America in Minnesota or coming down with the flu at the very beginning of a 20 hour road trip to Florida) – it is the stories about getting to our destination that often overshadow the destination itself.  Life’s journey is no different.  When it’s done and over, you will remember every stumble and triumph, every smile and tear, every success and failure.  You will remember each and every pit stop, roadblock and fork in the road because these are the moments that define who we are.  The journey is what makes life worthwhile.

          So, when I reach the finish line, I want to slide into home base with holes in my pants, dirt on my face and with a megawatt smile panting “Woo Hoo. . . what a ride!”

Leave the City of Your Comfort

“You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. What you’ll discover will be wonderful. What you’ll discover is yourself.”

~Alan Alda

          In this life, we often get comfortable and complacent.  We begin to fear change.  But when you get to this place, you need to push yourself to go beyond your comfort zone.  Because when you “leave the city of your comfort,” you truly begin to discover the amazing treasures this world has to offer – the greatest one being a deeper understanding of who you are.

Emerging from the Storm

“When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person that walked in.  That’s what the storm is all about.”

-Haruki Murakami

          We each have our own storms that we must endure throughout life and as we emerge out of the darkness, we are irrevocably changed.  It is an undeniable fact that the person who walks into a storm will not be the same person who emerges on the other side.  We cannot help but to be shaped by our experiences and by the scrapes, bruises and scars that cover our soul – our very essence.  Now, whether this change is for the better or worse is for you to decide.

          As you’re standing on the shore watching the storm clouds recede, you have a choice to make.  You can choose to let the storm break you and become a shell of your former self.  OR, you can CHOOSE to fight to put the pieces of your life back together and become stronger in preparation of the next storm that lurks behind the horizon.  Okay, I get that this is much easier said than done. . .especially, when you are in the midst of your storm and can see no way out.  But, it doesn’t change the fact that it is still a choice how you deal with the curve balls life throws you.  You can roll over and wallow in your own self-pity or you can decide that your life is worth fighting for – no matter how hard or long that fight lasts.

The. Choice. Is. Yours.