Thursday, April 4, 2013
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Risk
Today I took a chance. Maybe it was stupid but who cares. Life is too short to be hesitant and to keep it all inside. Go with your heart. I'm going with mine and I think it will lead me in the right direction.
Seriously, let go of what's holding you back. It keeps you from moving forward.
I'm not waiting to be happy anymore.
Seriously, let go of what's holding you back. It keeps you from moving forward.
I'm not waiting to be happy anymore.
Saturday, February 23, 2013
What gets me through a rough week...
Just a few things to say
1) Positivity can get me through anything. Really though. Put a smile on your face and give yourself a pep talk and your day instantly gets 10 times better. Try it.
2) If you want something to change, stop complaining/talking about it. Go DO something. Make an effort and things will change. Be proactive. It's worked for me.
3) There are some people that may not understand you, or there may be someone you don't like, or there may be someone that you're reaaaallly pissed at... but love them all the same. Give love without expecting anything in return, because we aren't here to receive it.
That's it.
1) Positivity can get me through anything. Really though. Put a smile on your face and give yourself a pep talk and your day instantly gets 10 times better. Try it.
2) If you want something to change, stop complaining/talking about it. Go DO something. Make an effort and things will change. Be proactive. It's worked for me.
3) There are some people that may not understand you, or there may be someone you don't like, or there may be someone that you're reaaaallly pissed at... but love them all the same. Give love without expecting anything in return, because we aren't here to receive it.
That's it.
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Fear
Someone told me something today that really struck me. This person told me that I should be proud of myself. Mind you... this person had no idea who I was. He had only known me for about 15 minutes. Not to toot my own horn or anything, but I think he's right.
His words reminded me of how insecure I feel about my abilities to achieve my goals. It's upsetting to think that quite often as I'm trying to complete a task, I'll whisper under my breath, "I can't do this. I really don't know if I can do this." Well, it might be time to give myself more credit. But before I can do that...I need help figuring this out.
My worst enemy is my fear. Period. There is nothing more crippling than fear. It has the potential to stop me from doing anything I've set my mind to. I really do think that if I didn't have this fear constantly knocking at my door, I would feel the most profound freedom. My new friend today helped me to chip away at my fears by making me realize that I should be proud of who I am. I should be proud of what I have accomplished and eventually I have to believe that I can do anything. If I'm afraid, I'll always be hesitant. If I'm afraid to fail, I'll never learn from mistakes.
Fear stops us from doing what we want to do. I think that's true for anybody. People are afraid to sacrifice what's comfortable to them. For example, maybe there is something I want to do that I'm really passionate about, but I'm hesitant to make that change because whatever it is that I want to do won't bring in much money. I'm giving up that comfortable life, the life that I know. I honestly think that the only way for us to grow is to challenge ourselves and to go into the zone of discomfort. We absolutely have to make sacrifices.
But I'm still so afraid. As much as I can say that I want to make a change, acting on it is a whole other ballgame. With change, there are desirable reasons for it and resisting factors against it. My desirable reasons and my resisting factors are endlessly at war in my mind. How can this be resolved? Believing that I can do something is much different than actually doing it. I need to make that transition from belief to action.
With all of this said, I'm attaching a video that I saw today that reminded me of all this. I was watching it on my way home from clinical and I almost cried. I felt an urgency in my heart to do something after watching it. I think it was my body trying to tell me that I needed to act on what I was hearing. I think my heart was on fire (metaphorically, of course). It's motivating and it's really forcing me to answer the question, What do I desire?
What if Money Was No Object
His words reminded me of how insecure I feel about my abilities to achieve my goals. It's upsetting to think that quite often as I'm trying to complete a task, I'll whisper under my breath, "I can't do this. I really don't know if I can do this." Well, it might be time to give myself more credit. But before I can do that...I need help figuring this out.
My worst enemy is my fear. Period. There is nothing more crippling than fear. It has the potential to stop me from doing anything I've set my mind to. I really do think that if I didn't have this fear constantly knocking at my door, I would feel the most profound freedom. My new friend today helped me to chip away at my fears by making me realize that I should be proud of who I am. I should be proud of what I have accomplished and eventually I have to believe that I can do anything. If I'm afraid, I'll always be hesitant. If I'm afraid to fail, I'll never learn from mistakes.
Fear stops us from doing what we want to do. I think that's true for anybody. People are afraid to sacrifice what's comfortable to them. For example, maybe there is something I want to do that I'm really passionate about, but I'm hesitant to make that change because whatever it is that I want to do won't bring in much money. I'm giving up that comfortable life, the life that I know. I honestly think that the only way for us to grow is to challenge ourselves and to go into the zone of discomfort. We absolutely have to make sacrifices.
But I'm still so afraid. As much as I can say that I want to make a change, acting on it is a whole other ballgame. With change, there are desirable reasons for it and resisting factors against it. My desirable reasons and my resisting factors are endlessly at war in my mind. How can this be resolved? Believing that I can do something is much different than actually doing it. I need to make that transition from belief to action.
With all of this said, I'm attaching a video that I saw today that reminded me of all this. I was watching it on my way home from clinical and I almost cried. I felt an urgency in my heart to do something after watching it. I think it was my body trying to tell me that I needed to act on what I was hearing. I think my heart was on fire (metaphorically, of course). It's motivating and it's really forcing me to answer the question, What do I desire?
What if Money Was No Object
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Express yourself
I have come to the realization that I am not a pen and paper kind of person and the best way for me to express myself is to type it out. I have been thinking a lot lately about my recent experiences and I want to share them with whoever is interested. I know that the best way for me to formulate and articulate my thoughts is to share them with others. If you feel like giving me advice or even talking about anything, let me know. I've been yearning for conversation.
I haven't been doing any blogging since my Ecuador experience and it's funny to think that traveling internationally has suddenly revived my interest in this form of expression.
For those of you I haven't talked to in a while I recently took part in the Arrupe International Immersion Program at Boston College. I traveled to Nicaragua and stayed there for a week. I saw many things and had many powerful encounters, experiences, conversations... This blog will hopefully give me the chance (or maybe force myself) to continue these conversations. If I don't continue to talk about it, I fear that my memories will remain in the past, and I want to keep them alive in my heart and in my mind.
I've been grappling with the idea of social justice (as many people do after doing Arrupe) and how it can be incorporated into my life forever. I don't want to forget the extreme poverty that I witnessed or the unconditional love given to me by my host family. Ultimately, I want to figure out ways that I can make change, whether it be big or small. I understand now that change will always begin with a small step. However, even that one small step can be very intimidating. So, the desire to change is always on my mind, but I guess I'm still trying to figure out how that change will come about or take shape.
I fell in love with Nicaragua. Probably one of the ideas that I fell in love with was simplicity, and how simplicity can bring so much joy. Sometimes I think that living here in the United States can be so complicated and frivolous. Material objects can control our lives. In Nicaragua, I learned that lacking material possessions can actually be rewarding and it potentially leaves room for things that really matter like love, laughter, hope, faith, and meaningful conversation.
So this is all I have now. I'm basically throwing up all the thoughts I have in my head into this post. Whenever I think of something, I'll continue to add.
I will add a quote that has really been on my mind and I hope that it always will be:
Nothing is more practical than finding God,
that is, than Falling in Love in a quite absolute, final way.
What you are in Love with,
what seizes your imagination,
will affect everything.
It will decide what will get you out of bed in the morning,
what you do with your evenings,
how you spend your weekends,
what you read,
who you know,
what breaks your heart
and what amazes you with joy and gratitude.
Fall in Love, Stay in Love, and It Will Decide Everything.
-Fr. Pedro Arrupe, SJ
I haven't been doing any blogging since my Ecuador experience and it's funny to think that traveling internationally has suddenly revived my interest in this form of expression.
For those of you I haven't talked to in a while I recently took part in the Arrupe International Immersion Program at Boston College. I traveled to Nicaragua and stayed there for a week. I saw many things and had many powerful encounters, experiences, conversations... This blog will hopefully give me the chance (or maybe force myself) to continue these conversations. If I don't continue to talk about it, I fear that my memories will remain in the past, and I want to keep them alive in my heart and in my mind.
I've been grappling with the idea of social justice (as many people do after doing Arrupe) and how it can be incorporated into my life forever. I don't want to forget the extreme poverty that I witnessed or the unconditional love given to me by my host family. Ultimately, I want to figure out ways that I can make change, whether it be big or small. I understand now that change will always begin with a small step. However, even that one small step can be very intimidating. So, the desire to change is always on my mind, but I guess I'm still trying to figure out how that change will come about or take shape.
I fell in love with Nicaragua. Probably one of the ideas that I fell in love with was simplicity, and how simplicity can bring so much joy. Sometimes I think that living here in the United States can be so complicated and frivolous. Material objects can control our lives. In Nicaragua, I learned that lacking material possessions can actually be rewarding and it potentially leaves room for things that really matter like love, laughter, hope, faith, and meaningful conversation.
So this is all I have now. I'm basically throwing up all the thoughts I have in my head into this post. Whenever I think of something, I'll continue to add.
I will add a quote that has really been on my mind and I hope that it always will be:
Nothing is more practical than finding God,
that is, than Falling in Love in a quite absolute, final way.
What you are in Love with,
what seizes your imagination,
will affect everything.
It will decide what will get you out of bed in the morning,
what you do with your evenings,
how you spend your weekends,
what you read,
who you know,
what breaks your heart
and what amazes you with joy and gratitude.
Fall in Love, Stay in Love, and It Will Decide Everything.
-Fr. Pedro Arrupe, SJ
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