Change takes time

"Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience." - Ralph Emerson Waldo

It is human nature to try something new if what we are doing doesn't seem to be working for us.

It is true that if we want something different, we cannot expect different results if we keep doing the same thing over and over.

It is equally true that when we make a change, the benefits may not be immediate or at the depth we were expecting.

If we want something better and we make a change to achieve that goal, we need to plant the seeds and then be patient.  It takes time for a tree to bear fruit.

Begin with one step

It is said about ideas, that they are a dime a dozen.

How easy it is to come up with a great idea and we never bring it to fruition.

As many millions of great ideas we can think of, we can also come up with a million ways that we might not successfully grow the idea into something valuable.

The difference between people who achieve their dreams and those who settle for mediocrity is taking that first, small step towards the dream.

What if?

Most of us have heard the Gandhi saying, "Be the change you wish to see in the world."

How many times have you said to yourself, "What if...?"  We dare to dream.

If you consider it, the world as we know it has been built on "What if?"

+ What if we built a temple?
+ What if we could travel faster than a horse?
+ What if we could fly?
+ What if we could cure an infection?
+ What if we could cook food without heat?

How many "What ifs?" are in your life?  What if they came true?

When we realize that the world was created by what if's, then we understand the future will be created by what ifs.

Consider this.  All of that is because someone said, "What if I...?"

What if you would be the change you wish to see in your world.

Where is the love?

Philosophers have ruminated over this topic from near the beginning of time.

Is love a feeling?  Is it an action?  Is it something we can give to someone?  Does it have substance and form?

Where does love come from and can we just go out and get it?

What...  is...  love?

Love is a word.  It is ascribed to feelings of profound joy, gratitude, and spiritual wellness.

Love comes from within.  It is not a tangible object that we can wrap in silver paper, with a bow, and hand to someone else.

Yes, we can act in loving ways.  We can share our loving feelings with others.  Love ultimately is a very personal, internalized thing.

Where is the love?  It is within each and every one of us.

If you want love, it is up to you to create that love within yourself.

Be profoundly joyous.  Be profoundly grateful.  Be profoundly, spiritually well.  And you will find love.

Love comes from within us.  How we use those feelings is up to us.

Be Happy With What You Do

We've all heard the saying, "Do what makes you happy."

It's a great saying and the understanding people generally get from that saying is if we are doing something and we are not happy with it, we should do something else.

When we look at investing, we eventually find out that investing is about long term gain.  Not tomorrow, not next week, not next month, or even next year.  Investment gains take decades.

A young man had finished school and decided that he really wanted a fancy, red convertible sports car.  He KNEW that if he had that sports car, he would be happy.

He got a well paying job and went to work every day and saved to buy a sports car.  He researched all the cars he thought he might want and eventually, when he had enough money, he decided which car and went out and bought it.

And he was happy.

The car was gorgeous.  It had leather, heated seats.  A top of the line stereo.  It was the perfect, red convertible.

And then he had to insure it and he wasn't so happy about that cost.  And then he burnt off the tires and wasn't happy about that.  And he needed to take it in for maintenance and wasn't happy.  And he had to get the paint chips repaired.  And so on.

And as the year wore on, he started thinking that his junky red car wasn't so great.  He decided that a NEW TRUCK would make him happy.

The moral of that story?  The kid found out he wasn't happy with his truck, either, for the same reasons.  The person who bought his car?  Was happy with all the car was.  Enjoyed taking care of the car.  Even found pleasure in the 5 mile walk he had to endure when the car broke down as the scenery was nice,  and he eventually caught a ride with the woman who would become his wife.

We will not find joy and happiness outside of us.  We find those things within us.  In our most tragic hours, we may not want to find pleasure.  That's understandable.  Yet in any given situation, we choose how we feel.

If we forget to find enjoyment and  be happy, it does not matter what we do.

Doing Something Different

Have you ever noticed that your life seems to be on automatic?  Living like a zombie.

You wake up, get ready for work, go to work, do your work, leave work, go home, eat, do chores, try to relax, go to sleep and repeat.  In your day, every day, there are no moments that are memorable.

First, it is important to understand that is OK.  Life has no rules and it is up to us how we live our lives and what we get out of our lives.  There are plenty of people who live very content lives in their automatic mode.  We all know these people.  We might even envy them.

It is when we wake up one day and get that sense of mundane.  That our lives aren't as full or rich as we had hoped.  We want something more, something different, something better.  And we wonder why we have not achieved those things.

Maybe this story might sound familiar:

"At a work site, three burly men sit down for their lunch break as they do, every day.

The first chap opens up his lunch and yells out, 'YES!!!'

As the other two look at him, he explains, 'My wife made me a wonderful lunch today.  I have all my favourites:  Fried chicken, french fries, iced tea, and apple crisp for desert!"

The next gentleman opens his lunch and gets up and does a happy dance.

He explains to the other two, 'I know my wife loves me so much.  She made me my favorite lunch:  Pizza, a caesar salad, lemonade, and cherry cheese cake for desert!'

The first two watch as the last guy opens his lunch bag, frowns, throws his lunch on the ground and starts to walk away.

They ask him what's wrong, to which he states 'I have peanut butter sandwiches again...'

'Why don't you ask your wife to make something different?'  To which he explains, 'I'm not married.  I live alone and make my own lunch.'"

If we are tired of our routines, we need to change things up.

If you drive to work, change your route once in a while.  Drive to work on one route and drive back on a different route.  Wake up earlier in the morning and do something different like going for a walk or make yourself a special lunch.  Do something different in the evenings or the weekends.  Try something new.

Doing something different can change our outlook on things and get us out of automatic.  It is consistency that makes the greatest difference.  Try brushing your teeth with the opposite hand for 7 days.  Not only is it a challenge, but it gets you out of automatic mode in the morning which can change your entire day for the better.

What is life all about, anyhow?

There is no set answer to this question.  Each person has their own answer to this question. We are born, we die, and it's the bit in between that is our life.  Our path being unique, to each individual.

If you came here to read this article and web site to find the answer to that question, you have learned the first thing that most people come to understand.  The answers we seek are not out there.  The answers are rather within us.

An old, aboriginal story goes something like this:

"A European hunter went out one morning with his aboriginal guide.

Their day went about as planned and the hunt was successful.  It was time to return to the camp.

They walked for what seemed like hours to get back to the camp and the hunter realized they were lost.  He turned to the guide and accused the guide of getting the two lost.

The guide was confused by this accusation.  'It is not us that are lost, we are right here.  It is the camp that is lost.'"

It is also said this way, "Where ever we go, there we are."

No matter where we go in life or what we do, there is always and only one common denominator.  That is ourselves.  When we seek outside of ourselves to find our answers and do not, it is because the answers are not out there.  They are within ourselves.

The act of life is a journey and an experience.  Without which it is said, we have not lived.  Along the journey, we do not find love.  We do not find happiness.  We do not find ourselves.  Rather, it is how we choose to experience the moments during the journey that we find what we are looking for.

Why Amor, Lux, Vitae?

Latin words Love, Light, Life.  There are certain things in our worlds that are simply important.  These words bring to my mind some of the most important things.

Being here, now.  Stop and smell the roses.  Carpe Diem (seize the day).  The qualities that make life worth living.

I hope to provide value to any who pass by this blog and read the posts.

Cheers!