Promises

From a young age, we are told that if and when you promise something, you must deliver. Your credibility, loyalty and image depend on your deliverance. This embedded notion sticks to us just as saying thank you or apologizing. Promises carry a heavy connotation that we lean on for many reasons.

Sometimes we lean on a promise because the person who created that bond said they would deliver. We want to believe that person will never disappoint us or let us down. There is a great deal of emotional investment behind a promise. Take emotion and the relationship out of the picture, and all you are left with are words strung together, just like any other statement. Promises have emotions and values behind them.

Breaking a promise leaves permanent stains of bitterness accompanied with a gulp of the harshest liquid of disappointment. We call this moment, a reality check. Your belief in that person, whether it is yourself or another, begins to wither away. Doubt, confusion and fear settle in and you are left with thoughts of what could have been if that person or you would have delivered.

We are left believing we can never trust the person who broke that promise. Whether it was a promise that was to last an eternity or one to be kept for just a few moments, breaking a promise is a pivotal moment in each person’s life. We have all broken a promise or two, whether we choose to acknowledge it or not.

The only solution to this problem is forgiveness. While it may not seem feasible or appealing at first, forgiveness is the key to move on. Finding your peace will allow you mobilize your heart, mind and soul towards a better tomorrow. This task is the hardest because it requires you to let go of the negative and indulge in the positive. Behind every great catastrophe lies a possibility to move on. We have the choice to forgive and we have the choice to resent. Promises carry a heavy burden which forgiveness is the only solution if they are not kept.

“I know it is a bad thing to break a promise, but I think now that it is a worse thing to let a promise break you.” ― Jennifer Donnelly, A Northern Light

The Blind Eye

Whether it is a goal we hold so dearly or an expectation we have about a specific person in our life, dreams and desires can sometimes bring on a blind eye. Casting a shadow over reality, pragmatic and rational decision-making can be lost because we seek to not see past the flaws and caveats of our deepest desires. Now, dreams can turn into realities. Through persistence, constant visualization and belief, you can attain your deepest desires and goals. But, there is always a need to rationalize your reality. There is a need to wonder if what you are doing or seeking is truly beneficial in the end.

Dreams can be blinding. Sometimes we want something so badly; we are willing to comprise other parts of our lives. Now sacrifice tends to be a word we throw around when we talk about our journey to the success of our goals, our relationships or even our friendships, but this concept is misused. We say sacrifice to justify our blind eye. We desire the realization of our dreams or ambitions, but we tend to forget how harmful they can really be.

Sometimes it is difficult to see that what we are seeking is harmful. We have friends or family that attempt to tell us that what we are doing is detrimental to the fabric of our lives, but our blind eye turns these opinions from loved ones into personal attacks. We let anger invade us, and justify our decisions and journey by saying it is our destiny. Now, I know sometimes it is difficult to see whether or not we our goals or desires are difficult to attain but healthy or just flat our damaging.

I like to believe that our gut feeling tends to feed us some truth about the reality of our dreams. Most of the time, our intuition derives from something within us that desires to tell us whether what we are doing is good or bad. Sometimes we must persist with our goals and know that in the end, our journey has made us progress as individuals. Sometimes we have to make peace with our blind eye and seek to rebuild the path towards a life with fruitful and healthy endeavors.

In life, we find ourselves investing in our blind eye. Some of us live it through our journey to a great career; others may live it through the desire of having a perfect relationship with their partner. Regardless, we have the choice to take a moment and seek a sign or even a feeling telling us to keep calm and move or end the chapter of your life story. Be the one to seek the answer before your blind eye paralyzes all other senses in your body.

The Race

The race is not given to the swift, but to the one who endures. (Ecclesiastes 9:11)

Perseverance, persistence, tenacity and resilience are traits you gain. You are not born with a sense of grit or stubbornness. You gain them through experience. You gain them from success. And above all, you gain them from failure.

Throughout life, you will encounter success, failure, beauty and chaos. You will witness miracles and you will live through catastrophes. This medley of great and horrible experiences defines the qualities you will pick up on the way. Moments unravel with neither a script nor a structure. Unable to control your environment, your surroundings or the people that will impact a specific situation, you have the duty to live through the moment itself. You must see it through. Only after will you have time to assess the situation. Only after will you come to conclusions. Only after will you pick up on gratefulness or bitterness, kindness or evil, humility or pride. Sometimes living and learning during the journey will open your eyes to certain realities but it is only after you step away from the situation   you will truly understand what has come out of your experience.

You must not rush through the aftermath and assess too quickly. Sometimes you live certain experiences, witness certain moments and meet specific people with no meaning at that point and time; yet they all change your life when you least expect it. That, itself, is one of life’s best feelings. Sprinting through the finish line will leave you winded and your mind blurred causing you to miss the big picture. Enduring a few more miles with your body feeling every step along the way will allow you to truly understand the process and enjoy the finish line.

Gain perseverance, gain persistence, gain tenacity and gain resilience. At the end of a race, you gain a time, a medal, or a prize. At the end of an experience, you make memories, acquire skills and above all you gain traits that make you, well you. 

Humility Over Pride

It’s full of happiness, sadness, success, failure, hope and grief. Yes, it is life. Our colorful, unique story is constantly in action. Never ceasing to amaze us, it unravels into the product of our imagination whether it is a positive outlook or a negative image. While we cannot always predict or control what happens in our lives, we can always control one thing, our reaction.

Life has a funny way of taking a turn for the worst. Whether we expect it or not, we go through life faced with adversity, obstacles and failure. While these contingencies seem uncontrollable at times, we can learn and grow from them. The only factor holding us back is our pride. Sometimes, we hide behind our fear and embarrassment, which can seem as an abrasive appearance of arrogance and pride. Pride is not bad, but it is when you use it to mask the reality of failure or adversity. Therefore, pride becomes a cowardly quality instead of a powerful trait of character.

When faced with failure or undesirable outcomes, learn from it through humility. Let yourself understand how you got to where you are and learn how to pick yourself up and move on. It will make you a stronger and more compassionate human being. There is nothing more human than setbacks, as successes come in abundance when we humble ourselves from those drawbacks.  

Life has a way of humbling us through its experiences, the people we met and the choices we make. Face adversity, humble yourself through the process and enjoy the abundance of happiness and success when you step out of the shadow of pride and arrogance. Humility is a quality we should take pride in. Boastful pride is a humiliating quality we should stay away from at all times. Furthermore, if you find that you are losing yourself in pride, acknowledge the presence of your fear, and control the only thing you can, your reaction. 

Open-mind + Open-heart = Open-doors

We are accustomed to our daily routines. Whether it revolves around our jobs, our school, families or activities, we set our schedules according to the responsibilities and duties that derive from what we have committed ourselves to. We become a product of our methodical and systematic routines. With that in mind, we sometimes, consciously or unconsciously, become automatic robots living stagnate and planned lives. While this can be fulfilling at times, we close ourselves off to other opportunities and experiences that can come out of life.

You can think, well, I have a job, a family, a nice house, a fulfilling hobby, what more could I want? My answer would start off with, we are humans, and we always want something more. It’s a normal feeling. Those desires, ambitions and goals can add up. They can include being more wise, writing a book, contribute to a club or getting a promotion. These desires can range from tangible objects to the pursuit of humble attributes. You may be asking yourself how you can achieve these wants and needs? Well, I believe it begins with having an open-mind and open-heart. There is no dream, no desire, and no project too big for the body to complete.

The creative process towards open doors to your deepest ambitions, desires and goals has to be flexible. You must be able to communicate your true beliefs towards what you seek with those you trust and connect with. Whether that person is a friend or someone you just met who share common interests, creating an environment to share these ideas can help the progress towards accomplishing or reaching your goals. Now, I am not saying that you should go out into the world telling everyone about every little thing you want to do or get, but I am saying to embrace your personal story and pursuit towards getting what you want out of life. Your open-mind and open-heart will allow you to open the doors to opportunities and experiences that you may not have encountered with a closed mind and heart.

As a witness of opened doors, I make it a point every day to embrace my environment and the people within it. You never know whom you are going to meet and how they could change your life and lead you towards the right direction to your goals, ambitions and desires. As you take on your day, remember to learn and enjoy everything within that environment. Release positive energy out into the world and you will receive a reciprocal abundance of this positive energy.