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January 28, 2007
Your life is the only thing you will never lose. Even after death, the things you did while you were alive will remain forever, for all eternity. The tough question is how should we live our life so we leave an impact on the world, for everyone to benefit from into the indefinite future? To answer this question life must be broken down into the past, present, and future.
The past includes everything you have already achieved, your memories of both failures and successes. Depending on how you have lived your life thus far, it may seem dark and gloomy or bright and sunny. However, the key to realize is that no matter what has happened to you before it does not have to control what will happen to you in the future. You can overcome any obstacles that you have previously faced and achieve newfound success. The past does not need to hold you back. Stop believing you will never amount to any worthy task, and free yourself from defeat. Have faith in yourself because you are greater than you think. You are worthy of all the good things that the world is ready to offer you.
Philippians 3:13-14 - Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal.
Margaret Fairless Barber - To look backward for a while is to refresh the eye, to restore it, and to render it the more fit for its prime function of looking forward.
People worry because they are unsure of how they will accomplish something. They want to control everything they encounter so they can be sure of what is to come. Worry stops us from enjoying our lives fully. It is silly to worry about things that you cannot control because doing so will result in no good. It will only make you feel bad. Therefore, have faith because all things will work out for the best.
Romans 8:28 - And we know that to them that love God all things work together for good, even to them that are called according to his purpose.
Matthew 21:21 - And Jesus answered and said to them, I say unto you, If you have faith, and doubt not (do not worry), you shall not only do what is done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, be taken up and cast into the sea, it shall be done.
The present is everything in your life that is now true, your current circumstances, also called the status quo, the current state of affairs. Everything you encounter has both a bad and good side. It is your responsibility to take only what is good from the world. Find the good in every situation and you may discover that everything is not quite as bad as you originally thought. There is always light at the end of the tunnel. You are united with the world around you because anything you do to hurt yourself also hurts others and anything done to hurt others also hurts yourself. Therefore, stop taking everything in the world at its face value. Stop reacting to all those bad circumstances and instead take action to make things better.
Genesis 27:4 - And make me savory food, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat, and so my soul may bless you before I die.
Morrie Schwartz "Tuesdays With Morrie" - The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love, and to let it come in.
Hate is the other side of Love's coin. Hate stems from the belief that there are not enough good things in the world to go around. That is completely untrue. Evil is the lack of good, just like darkness is the absence of light. Therefore, everything is made up of good things, or the lack of them. There is an abundance of everything in the world and if people learned to share good things then there would be no poverty. You must stop separating yourself from the universe because all bad things that you send into it come right back to you, just like all good deeds come back. Often referred to as "what goes around, comes around," Karma is a popular teaching of the Buddhist religion. Stemming from the idea that all things are connected, we discover that giving someone hate steals from the good that we can bring to others. Spending all that energy giving away a lack of good can wear you out very quickly, so stop seeking revenge on your enemies. Reconnect with the world around you.
Leviticus 19:18 - You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of his people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself.
Sri Chinmoy - You hate someone whom you really wish to love, but whom you cannot love. Perhaps he himself prevents you. That is a disguised form of love.
The future includes all your goals of what you want to accomplish and dreams of what you would like to become. Goals and dreams are the plans for your life. Hope is the belief that you can make life happen through your actions. It is the acceptance of the responsibility for what you will do with your life. It is the constant striving for excellence in being the best you can be that allows you to make a positive difference in this world. Make plans of what you want to do with your life and begin to bring them into reality little by little. Do something today that brings you closer to your dream, no matter how insignificant that one thing may seem. Dreams do not come to pass over night but with a strong will and a trying spirit they will soon be your reality because time is only an illusion.
Matthew Kelly "Mustard Seeds" - For God, time is the unfolding of truth that already is, the unveiling of beauty that is yet to be.
Lanston Hughes - Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken winged bird that cannot fly.
Fear is the belief that life happens to you. Believing that you have no control over anything gives you a passive attitude, thinking it is okay to live your life without any positive contribution to the world. You should be actively creating value, anything that is made or any action that is performed with good intentions, in the world, no matter how insignificant your contribution may seem. Stop being fearful of what your future will bring and instead use that energy previously wasted in fear to create your future. Though fear can be minimized it can never be truly eliminated so it is your job to take a bold step, despite fear, toward creating the future of your dreams.
Eleanor Roosevelt - You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing that you think you cannot do.
Sarah J. Hale - There is no impossibility to him who stands prepared to conquer every hazard. The fearful are the failing.
Your life is overflowing with potential. You can be a great person. No one is perfect, and no one will ever be perfect, but you can and should let out your full potential, your light, for the whole world to see. Your life will never be the same. Have faith, love, and hope, and nothing will ever take your happiness away again.
Arlo Guthrie -You can't have a light without a dark to stick it in.
Willie Tyler - The reason lightning doesn't strike twice in the same place is that the same place isn't there the second time.
Joshua Schwarz