I was speaking with a friend the other day. He went out on a date with a widow. She lost her husband on 911, he was firefighter. She shared a poem she wrote in order for my friend to know get a better idea of who she was.
After reading the poem, my friend came to a realization that he is not so sure he has the ability to write something that reflects who he is, because he is not sure he knows the answer? Honestly, how many of us know who we really are? Most of us live in a very comfortable world when juxtaposed with years past. We live in a world where we have so much time that we use in ways that makes us feel we don’t have enough. The feelings of not enough have distracted us from finding our personal truth. Instead of using what we have, we complain about what we don’t while using it as an excuse to not take meaningful action.
Not all of us subscribe to the problem above all the time but we do struggle with it at times.
Who are we is such a complicated thing to answer. From our 1st breath to our last, the world will do everything it can to transform us into what it wants us to be. Our daily battle comes down to embracing who we are, or ignoring it. We can strip away the layers of distraction and figure out what this moment means, or we can embrace the clutter and live on the surface.
I know for myself, when I embrace what I feel I was born to be vs chasing what i think the world will be happy if I do it, I find much more success and happiness at every level. When I let go of doing things for material gain and focus on the value exchanged in relationships, I always find success to levels I was not confident to be achieved.
My struggle is to be myself, to give as much as possible without expectation, and to not be distracted by the surface clutter that surrounds us all. I, same as are you, am constantly faced with opportunities to fall off my path and get consumed by distraction and doubt. I challenge myself to stay connected longer each day. I hope you join me on this quest to stay connected more, distracted less, and on our personal paths to peace and success.
Brian Wright