What Is Your Story?

“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” Mary Oliver

 It’s an early Sunday morning in January and the new year is in its 14^th day. The temperature outside is   -8 with a windchill of -35, perfect conditions to enjoy a warm cup of coffee and reflect on what kind of person do I want to be.

With the jolt of caffeine, my mind begins an internal dialogue.

List the qualities and make it your life’s purpose to be guided by them. For instance, when you find yourself responding in a way that is not in keeping with your image, stop, breathe, and adjust.  

Rebel thoughts and behaviors should be encouraged, it’s important to let our thoughts and actions roam free on the Plains of Individuality.

Sit quietly and consider these intuitive thoughts as they become your guideposts, soft slips of clay molding your heart into the person you want to be, no longer pulled by the actions of others, no longer an emotional puppet reacting to circumstances.

Reflect on how you are acting now and dive into change. Here is the fertile soil of your growth. At times it will be painful as you expand and crack your existing shell and metamorphosize into the soloist of this symphony we call life.

When someone hurts you and your immediate response is to defend yourself by striking out in kind, mirror your path of being a loving person, then choose forgiveness and let go. I believe this is what Jesus meant when he said, “turn the other cheek”.  Not becoming a weak victim but staying strong and true to your being.

We are the stories we tell ourselves. It is never too early or too late to ask, What kind of person do I want to be?  Avoid the trap of becoming someone you really don’t want to be just to please. Share your ignorance with glee, so you can learn, then share your knowledge with gratitude, so you can teach.

We only have so many heartbeats. Our purpose is to make every beat count.