Today I am grateful for persistence.  I have an opportunity for my business that has come about simply because I’ve stuck with it.  I have the job I’ve spent years looking for because I kept going for it.  There are pieces I’m still putting together but I know that those will come to fruition as well.  This isn’t about false optimism or even about grounded optimism.  This is about knowing that the only time our journey stops is when we stop.  The bottom line is that if we keep going we are going to get somewhere.  I am the first to attest that persistence didn’t necessarily get me where I wanted to be but it certainly got me further than had I decided to give up and stay stuck.  I’d been trying and pushing for very specific results for a long time and I wasn’t getting anywhere because if things weren’t looking how I thought they should, I’d keep pushing until I got that specific result and more often than not I’d end up stuck and beating my head against the wall.  It was learning how to let go of the specifics and work toward the destination.  That’s a lesson I’m still working on, I still get to that point where I’m not sure what to do to move forward or I get down hearted if it’s not on my timeline.  But I know that if I can keep going, I will get somewhere.  So here we are.  Persisting.  Moving.  Building.

Today I am grateful for a new outlook on passion.  Everyone gets to the point where they need to re-evaluate their behaviors and priorities and I spent a lifetime putting passion on the back burner.  That was how I was raised.  I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful for that upbringing because it taught me that there is a time when we just have to buckle down and get things done.  If there’s a deadline for a goal or if something unexpected comes up, that isn’t a back burner moment.  We deal with what we need to and we learn real priority.  The only thing is that I learned to make everyone else’s priority my priority so the things I needed to prioritize in my life would take the back burner.  It led to some distorted views on things I loved, things that would help form relationships, bonds, networking, friendships, things that would create a foundation of support and knowledge, all that stuff never seemed important because I had an endless checklist of things to do.  The things I wanted to do seemed selfish and unnecessary.  But lately I’ve looked at how true it is that we only live one life in this iteration.  Why would we put anything on hold if we only get to experience it once?  There is no guarantee of time or opportunity so we need to make the most of both.  I understood that and still failed to apply it to my life.  Now I see that passion is necessary for creation and momentum and joy—and we need joy to feel that passion.  I’ve said it before and I will apply it to myself now: that passion is what inspires and stirs creativity and that creativity is the key to life.  Just because I don’t understand what makes a particular person passionate doesn’t mean I don’t understand that they ARE passionate—I still understand that feeling of passion.  Passion opens the door to life, it is life.  Whether it’s reading, cars, travel, knitting, drawing, whatever it may be—open that door and walk right in because that’s the world we’re meant to be in.  Passion is vital to life so even if it may be confusing or trivial to someone else, if something stirs that life inside, that’s all we need to know.

Today I am grateful for perspective.  We had a birthday party for my son the other day and I learned how important it is to continue to put in effort to celebrate him and pay attention to what interests him.  He is so smart and so much more mature and it hit me just how quickly this time goes.  It’s a gift to be with him.  On top of that, he KNOWS himself so well, he knows what he wants, he knows what he enjoys, he knows what he will and will not accept from his friends as far as behavior.  He’s always been a sensitive kid and I often worried he’d be too much like me where he either couldn’t handle the weight of his emotions or he would isolate and get angry because he couldn’t deal with how others treated him.  But he has shown me over and over again just how emotionally mature he is.  He is confident and assured and I don’t want to do anything to make him doubt that.  It’s amazing to see him because he absolutely knows how to handle himself and he expresses himself well—especially if something bothers him or if someone crosses his boundaries.  We are born with those instincts and, while he may have waivered when he was younger, he most certainly has learned to stand up for himself and stand in who he is.  That stubbornness is something I used to feel a ton of frustration for, especially with him, because if we had things to do I didn’t have time for any crap.  I appreciate that now, though, because it’s a solid reminder that we always know who we are, we just have to be willing to stand firm in that identity. 

Today I am grateful for being an example.  I’ve spoken for months now about how strained certain relationships became over this past summer.  I didn’t allow that to impact other relationships around me because the relationships between others had nothing to do with my relationship with these people.  I allowed them into my home for the sake of a healthier relationship/better time but I maintained my boundaries.  In having a conversation with one of these people the other day, I made it clear that I would not accept 100% fault in a situation that required multiple people, multiple actions, multiple reactions, multiple comments/arguments/thoughts/requests.  And I stood by that.  No, some of them aren’t happy and they are demanding a specific action in order to “move forward” but I am maintaining my ground.  Others are able to have and maintain their relationships while I am able to re-establish mine.  I realized that I also needed to re-establish a relationship with myself and sometimes the people we thought would be with us on our journey don’t come with us.  That’s ok.  I don’t have time to try and be every version people expect and I am no longer allowing that expectation to exist. 

Today I am grateful for opportunities.  There are still more opportunities coming my way and this is the year for action.  What is meant for us always finds us so as we cross this threshold into the new year, this is super important to remember: what crosses our path does it for a reason.  When we leave the old behind we open the door for the new.  It’s time to stop mourning the past and celebrate what it was and it is time to move forward boldly into the new.  Instead of wanting and wishing things to be a different way or to go back to how it was, honor it and let the rest go.  Welcome those who come into our lives and honor and respect who we are.  Honor those who don’t and wish them well—may they still eat but not at our table.  Big things require big action and this is that momentum.  We feel it, we need it, we move with it.  Take the opportunities that come to us because we wouldn’t have them if they weren’t for us.  Welcome the life that comes with those opportunities. 

Wishing everyone a wonderful week ahead.