Persevere

Don't give up!  It has been a long and arduous year for most, compounded by personal trials and loss that we go through on a daily basis in our lives.  Our minds being overwhelmed, our bodies changing with time and abuse to the point of not recognizing our reflection as it once was as we pass a window, and our spirit  bewildered by how fast it has all gone.  Have I done my best?  Have I fulfilled my purpose?  Have I lived my life with passion?  All difficult, having not realized it was going to be so hard.

It's not too late!  Make a conscious decision today to persevere!  There may be no praise or adulation on your mission.  No matter how scared, lonely, weak and painful it might be.  I CAN, I WILL, I MUST, carry on.

You will find strength in your conviction, and the seeds of hope and dreams long sowed in the earth of your soul, will inextricably begin to grow, and will be nurtured by unseen powers and strengths from deep within your being.  PERSEVERE!

Defining Ourselves

Face it, we are a sum total of our past experiences.  Where we grew up, who raised us, did we have siblings, were we poor, middle class, or come from great wealth.  Were we born in some foreign more primitive culture, a suburban community or in a large cosmopolitan city.  No matter, we are in reaction to what we were exposed to, what we were taught by our parents, teachers, race, religion, peers and the cultural time and place in which we have been exposed.

Who we are in the moment is defined by emotional and experiential imprinting from our past.  The memorable moments of loss, fear, anger, humiliation, etc., are what we are left with.  Our actions and reactions are in response to learned behavior.  Understanding who we are in our journey toward self awareness is aided by realizing our defining experiences that helped mold us.

It is the memorable identification of pivotal moments throughout our life that defines who we are.  Moments and experiences that changed our direction, our desires, hopes and dreams.  Identifying the root of an emotion and when it took place allows us to see the source of an action and reactions we have in the present.  Example:  I went to see my first broadway play at 9 years old, right then and there I realized I wanted to be an actor.

Make a list of 12 pivotal experiences that you remember through your life, that changed your view.  From your earliest recollections to the present, recording what happened, the emotion, and what it left you with.