If you are on the internet at all - you've seen memes such as these popping up all over the place. Inspirational quotes to get you motivated to do something with your life.
Stop thinking - just do.
If you aren't happy - do something about it.
If you want to change the world you can.
They go on and on.
Most of them I like and even believe.
I admire those people who have grand ideas and can make them take flight, those who are brave enough to go on adventures, people who do crazy ridiculous things that make life exciting.
That's why Barney is my favorite character in How I Met Your Mother. We may have "slightly" different moral compasses - but if everyone had a friend like Barney around life would never be boring. It's also part of why girls even 14/15 years later swoon over Jack Dawson (sorry, I just came back from watching Titanic and couldn't resist the reference). He knows how to live life.
I used to think of myself as one of those people. Making life fun and exciting all of the time .I've never been one to simply sit around and let things happen. I may not always be the one making it happen, but usually tend to get swept up into the wave and letting it see where it takes me.
Yet... I feel like I am not one of those people anymore. When I think about it, maybe I never was. Maybe all I ever did was simply ride the wave of the adventures of people around me.
People all around are living life. Really living life.
Traveling to different countries and making a difference in the world.
Meeting the loves of their lives.
Pursuing the job of their dreams.
Raising families.
Meeting new people.
I can't help but wonder - how many of us are truly living our lives, and not just watching others live theirs, or waiting around for someone else's wave to come by so we can latch onto the tail of it and come along for the ride?
We talk about experiencing new things and making everyday an adventure - but how many of us actually do it?
We make excuses. "I don't have the time or money" or "I really need to focus on ... right now." or "I need to be realistic."
Taking that leap of faith to do... whatever it is that we want to do... is scary.
You know - like the one Indiana Jones had to take in The Last Crusade.
You don't know if you're going to fall to a horrible death or not.
Sometimes our excuses are legitimate though. There are obligations, responsibilities, and expectations. Not everyone can pick up and leave their job, or their families, or friends, etc. Things aren't always as easy as those ever so popular internet memes want us to think.
Sometimes there are boring parts to life - no matter what adventure we are on - and we just need to learn to live with that.
There are going to be times in life when we're sad, frustrated, angry, upset, and tired. That's also part of life.
So how do we know?
How do we know when we are simply going through a "blah" phase of life and things will get better, and when we are simply sitting back and letting life pass us by?
How do you know when to take that scary leap of faith?
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I respect the sentiment, but let's be honest here... making these leaps, while freeing, is also emotionally draining.
ReplyDeleteI don't know a lot of people that can make these leaps constantly or every time they're unhappy with something. And if they are like that, I tend to think they're running from something.
So once in a while that's a good thing. All the time? That's immature.
And how do we know? I like to say it's when we can't honestly say there is an up-side to staying the way we are. But usually. God gives you a shove one way or another.
just my thoughts. xoxo
I thinking making jumps like that all of the time isn't the wisest choice in the world, you're right. Because if they are always jumping around from place to place, adventure to adventure, they're running away from something. No matter where you are or what you're doing there will be times it's boring, sad, etc. I think people really need to learn how to deal with that. Who knows? Maybe I'm just waiting for God's next "shove?"
DeleteI'm well aware that I sit by and watch my life unfold without taking any real responsibility for how it happens. I think God is hammering it home a little in the last few days that I need to be so much more proactive. I know I need to be. Thank you for this post :)
ReplyDeleteI think God has been telling me the same thing! I've been getting pokes at what he wants me to do, and thankfully I have people who said that they are going to be sure I do it. I don't reveal anything until I KNOW it's going to happen- but I'm excited!
DeleteI have been hearing this message quite a bit in the past week! I will be posting later this week on what I'm doing about it. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteOooooo. I'm excited to hear about it!
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