Dreams

Dreams... I think we all have them... but how many of us actually believe our dreams are attainable?  That is where we are often at fault as to the reason that we haven't reached them.  We have to have confidence and enthusiasm and faith that we can reach the impossible.  Often the thoughts may come into our minds, "I am too old to go back to school...", or "I am to afraid to ever go skydiving..."  These may seem like some simple or extreme things, but so often we use negative words such as "I cannot" or "Unable" etc.  In order to even start convincing ourselves that we can reach a dream is starting with positive thinking.  "I can" or "I am able" is the best place to start.  We often feel inadequate but with determination we can reach anything we set our minds too.
Sometimes others words may make us doubt our attainability as well.  People may say to us, "You could never do that" or "Are you out of your mind?"  Remember you are responsible for your life... no one else is.  So if you want something in life you have to reach out and take hold of that ladder and start climbing!
I often think of MLK who had a vision of unity... he had a dream and he was killed for it, but at least we can see today that he never cared what anyone thought about his dream... it was his... and he was trying to make it happen!
May you never let fear keep you from trying to reach your goal... and I am talking about positive goals!  If your dream is to help refugees, to end AIDS, to take a journey of rediscovery, to overcome a bad habit, or whatever it may be... YOU can do it, and only YOU can.

Time

I realized today that I had not truly sat down and wrote anything in my blog for several months. I wondered where that time has gone and how there has been so much happen since my last entry.  Time is much like a feather in the hands of the wind.  It goes without so much of a sound and before you know it it is gone.  During the last several months I have experienced many emotions of time.  I lost another person that was such a great part of my life.  My cousin and amazing friend September passed away one night in October at the age of 40.  She had fought the last 15 or so years with cancer and respiration difficulties but remained a positive and uplifting person.  She had many dreams that she had and many things she wanted to do but as the song says, "It ain't fair you died to young, like a story that had just begun, but death tore the pages all away...."  But as we know life does not wait on us and we find ourselves at the top of the hill on a roller coaster. We never know what life is going to bring for each one of us.
I traveled back to where I grew up for thanksgiving this year.  The memories that flood back everytime I enter that town are many.  The home I grew up in is one place i can go and feel refreshed again.  To sit there with mom and dad makes all the difference in the world.  I realize more and more how lucky I have ever been to have them as my parents!  They have always been hard workers and shown more love to us than I can express!  They taught me what it is to make it through so many experiences of life that are brought to us by the effects of time.  Every year at thanksgiving my mom would bake a special apple pie and we would take it to September because that was her favorite pie.  This year there was a void there in knowing we wouldn't be doing that this year.  Time changes everything.
We hear often that time heals all wounds... but in reality it may heal the wound but the scar will always remain.  When we think of times that have wounded us...  and we see the scars... we can ultimately think how stong we were to make it through and what we have learned from each scar.  Maybe it is painful at times when we remember certain things, but just remain positive in knowing you made it through and you are still going forward!  Climb that mountain, Swim that river, Walk those hot coals, Run that race... you are able to... make sure you do it before the clock stops!

Appreciation

I saw a man walking down main street today. He was a young man and walked with a cane as his legs were crippled. I listen so often to others who want to complain about the smallest things that really are nothing... Anyone can fix a cracked nail, fix their hair on a 'bad hair' day, and that list could go on and on. Seeing this man made me realize again that we are a spoiled people and when the littlest thing goes wrong we freak out. This man was struggling to walk and yet was smiling... What more do we need to see to realize we don't want to be so wrapped up in nothing that we forget everything that's important in life... We all have disabilities... Some we can see in others and some are just underneath the surface... so remember to appreciate the little things in this life!

You are a part of someone's journey....

I am awake tonight thinking of this week 8 years ago.  There was deep sadness in losing 2 people who were so special and wonderful.  Often we want to ask why some things happen, but that is just our human nature.  It is always hard to see the reason, and sometimes we never do see it.  There is a part of this journey in our lives that we go through some of the deepest sorrows, but from these experiences we can learn so much and we learn strength.  We will all eventually face the part of the journey that my 2 friends did and we don't know when that time will come for us.  They may have only been 24, but there lives were full of love and compassion... they had many friends who loved them and they were beautiful, but their journey ended. We want to put the most into our life and live our lives to the fullest each day by doing what we can to help others and live for others.  What will people say about us when our journey is done?  Live so that others will miss you when you're gone, but smile at all of the awesome memories that you made together and be thankful that they were a part of your journey.  Remember when you come into contact with someone... whether it be just a smile in passing, a hello, or a full conversation and you never see each other again... you were still a part of their journey in life! So be kind, be thoughtful, be loving, be honest, and smile at everyone you meet... you can make a difference!  My 2 special friends did these things during their short life, but they left a mark of excellence behind!

Fortune

I read once that "fortune favors the brave." I could look at this and laugh earlier in my life, but at that time I was only thinking of money.  I have discovered along this journey that it is not money that they were talking about.  If we are brave, and we face our fears and we overcome what this life throws at us then we are rich in experience!  If we are rich in experience then we understand much more than anyone else, we view the world differently, we see other people different than before, and we realize we are more at peace within ourselves and therefore we have a great fortune that few know about!  Focusing on money only makes one greedy and miserable, though some may beg to differ that fact, but it is true.  Remember to stay focused on the little things in life, and the little victories... that will make us richer than we could ever imagine!

Fourth of July Weekend

The 4th of July is typically a special occasion where families and friends come together.  We all enjoy getting together and cooking out, but do we really realize the importance of those relationships? Do we cherish those moments like we should? No one knows how long we will be on our individual journeys through this life, and our families and friends are the most important part of it, because without them we are unknown.  Of course, our families and our friends are not perfect and we have our moments of being upset at each other, but those small potholes are nothing compared to some we hit in our lives. I think of my family and sometimes we look back on moments that were such a mess, we were all upset, things didn't seem like they would ever improve and yet now we laugh on those moments and think on the memories we have that changed us and made us different.  Today we look back on our times together when me and my siblings were young and all at home an we would have the time of our lives together, but those times are drifting.  We are all living our own lives now and it is difficult to get everyone together anymore. That is why you should cherish the moments you do have!  Just to come back to where I grew up makes me realize how lucky I have been in my life and makes me look forward to what lies ahead no matter how much time I have left on my journey.

Decisions

I have realized that any decision we make impacts not only ourselves, but everyone around us.  Even the smallest decisions that may seem like a grain of sand, but even sand adds up over time and reshapes the landscape and it is ever changing. I hope to make a positive impact on people's lives by my poetry and stories.  Not all of them are bright and cheerful, but they are all simply about this journey of life that we are all on.  This journey is one that doesn't have any stop signs, but it just keeps going until one day this natural life is over.  So, during this awful, wonderful, crazy, beautiful life of ours, we want to be living each moment as if it is our last.  Whether it is giving a shoulder for someone to cry on, working in a refugee camp across the world, or even smiling at our neighbor, each decision we make matters.