We all have profound moments in our life, things that just strike us and teach us something so deep about ourselves or life that they can’t be ignored.  I’ve had 4 of those in just a matter of days and it’s led to a lack of sleep and some really deep thoughts, but I’m so grateful for them.

We have a habit of getting so lost in ‘reality’ that we sometimes lose site of our dreams.  You can see it everyday in people that are stressed out and swallowing handfuls of pills for any number of stress related illness or dis-ease.  I am still guilty of this to a sense.  I still have a bottle of Ativan in my purse from 6 months ago with just a couple left JUST IN CASE.  I need to let go of that and just face life head on and you should to.  But that was a rabbit trail there.

I watched a two and a half hour documentary of compiled footage from the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami that affected much of South East Asia.  It’s also officially the largest scale disaster that has happened in recent history but arguably has had the largest impact on the world primarily because there was so much footage and documentation of it.  Over 300,000 lives were lost that day in several countries, however, the stories that we’re left with of survival and second chance are the ones that were probably meant to be taken from that if the Universe had anything to say.

One particular image that really had an effect on me that I saw from that day was an old gentleman in his 70′s who was swept up by the waves, 13 feet in the air and he was clinging to a banister of a hotel balcony while all sorts of debris floated past him, pummeling him while he tried to hang in there.  He fought for his life, in spite of the fear, the pain and everything that came with that and he survived.  The waters swept him in, he held his ground, they tried to pull him back out and he didn’t budge and he survived.  He easily could have reasoned that it wasn’t worth the fight and he was at the end of his life anyway, but he didn’t give up.  What amazed me is that he still goes back to the island again and again.  Why?  Because just because a once in a lifetime experience knocked him off his feet, he still knew there was beauty and experience and knowledge to be gained and a reclaiming of something that once was and is now arguably better than it was before.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m by no means saying the tsunami was necessarily a good thing and that the lives lost weren’t a tragedy, but I’m saying that in spite of it all, life goes on and there is always something good and positive to take out of any situation, no matter how negative it appears at first and no matter how much it hurts you and pushes you towards your own death be it cancer, or a heartbreak, the loss of a child or any other massive blow to your existence that shakes you to your core… it all has a purpose and it’s your job to find it!  It’s your job to figure out what can be done to turn this into something positive.  Think of the foundations, laws and new protections we have because of the loss of a child’s life (America’s Most Wanted, Megan’s Law, etc.).  That child did not live nor die in vain even if it seems they were taken far too soon, their life left a legacy and a purpose.

There were other profound moments too, however, I’m not trying to write a novel (don’t worry, it will come eventually) so just let me share with you some points that I have learned, and I mean profoundly touched and changed my perspective on everything, just in the past few days:

• Color is it’s own reward – color is a reward.  The colors of life, the colors of love, the colors of the universe.  Just the ability to be alive and experience them and have the opportunity to appreciate a thing of beauty in and of itself is a miracle.  Treasure every moment.
• 1% of your existence is form – the other 99% lives on a plane most of us don’t understand.  If we would stop focusing so much on the form, our physical presence, and realize our metaphysical and spiritual presence, we can thrive!  There’s so much for us to create, so much for us to allow, so much for us to observe, why waste a single moment distracted from all of that possibility by focusing on our physical existence only?
• Love is ALWAYS the answer – again, no matter what your situation is, love is always the answer.  Always.  Just today I explained it using a couple as an example.  Let’s say they’re at a crossroads and don’t know what to do.  The way I see it is that there are only 2 options.  Admit to themselves and each other that they have not been serving each other as should be done in a relationship and then take the steps needed to love that person (as a verb, not just an emotion) and yet on the other hand if they can admit that they just cannot serve each other, even if it’s just one of the individuals, they have to be able to love that person enough to let them go and wish them their happiness instead of keeping them in a miserable place because it’s simply comfortable.
• Don’t expect, instead accept – People will almost never live up to your expectations, whether your expectations are good or bad.  It rarely happens in life.  Time and again people I didn’t trust ended up being my best allies and people I trusted ended up hurting me more than I care to revisit.   Instead of expecting anything out of anyone, just accept them for who they are and allow them to be who they wish to be as opposed to who you wish them to be.  By doing this, not only do you alleviate them from the obligation to live up to your standards, whether they realize it or not, you are also allowing yourself to take in some learning and observation that might teach you something quite valuable that you wouldn’t have seen before.
• Honesty is not always the best policy and silence is golden – this goes back to choosing love.  Sometimes, our thoughts or feelings or even our past experiences are better left unsaid.  It’s not necessarily always the most loving thing to share information that we know will only hurt someone and serves no purpose to them.  Why would you point out a birthmark on someone when they already know it exists and probably aren’t proud of it?  Why instill more insecurity and disapproval into them.  The loving thing to do is to leave it alone and put it away and instead show them true love by allowing them to be comfortable in your presence without judgement.  At the same time, sharing past experiences from former partners, for instance, doesn’t always serve the receiver of that information.  I’ve always been one that wants to be in on all the gory details but I realize now that sometimes, those details will only hurt me or others and there’s a reason certain things are none of my business.  After all, as the saying goes, it’s better to be thought a fool than open your mouth and prove it.
• You have to die at least once in your life – I don’t mean the physical death where you move onto the spiritual dimension, but truly, a devastating blow that makes you feel like you’ve died inside.  Facing our fears and succumbing to them once in awhile.  Donald Trump and many others that are easy to admire have said there is no truly no success without failure and I’m seeing now how that is true!  There is risk in everything in life.  Just breathing the air around you puts you at risk of illness, but you can’t stop breathing!  And you might think you’ve been successful living your life playing it safe, but then you’ve never really risked that amazing jump out of a plane either.  Experiencing a set back in life should not be the end of your life.  It should be the end of one chapter and the beginning of a new one.  A new chapter that now has lessons and inspiration behind it to create any dream you desire and something even better than what you would have had before if you had never let go in the first place and surrendered to that moment.  It kind of goes against what I said earlier about fighting on the surface, but when you really think about it, it’s the acceptance of that moment where you ‘die’ and become something new.  Dig deeper inside.
• There’s always something to be grateful for – until you take your last breath of this physical form, there is absolutely no reason to choose to be anything but grateful, even if it’s just the gratitude of opportunity and chance.   The opportunity and chance that you will/can turn it all around.  Until that last breath is out of you, there is beauty around you, contrast, something to learn, something to experience and all of that is enough to be grateful for!  Even on your deathbed, don’t face that with death, be grateful for the time you had here and grateful for the next phase of existence.  Even in the most difficult, challenging or painful situations, there is plenty to be grateful for and unfortunately too many of us fail to see that and I waited far too long to realize it.  The more things you appreciate and are joyful about, the more that expands in your life.  What you focus on is what you get.  You are what you think all day long as a wise man once said and so focus on the good things so you can have those good things and much more of them.
• Variety is the spice of life – we didn’t come into this world to do the same things day after day after day.  We came into this world with countless trillions of opportunities to experience something and yes that number is correct!  We have the opportunity to experience trillions of different things. That was really hard for me to wrap my mind around at first but I get it now.  We have to step out of our comfort zones once in awhile to try something that will add to our experience in life.  If you don’t try anything new and break the ruts in your life, how will you ever find anything that is better than what you already have and no matter how good you have it, it can always be better.  Don’t get stuck in something comfortable.  Challenge yourself and if you fail, refer back to Donald Trump.
• Keep your focus forward – there’s no use for rear view mirrors and I know I’ve talked about this in other blog postings.  It’s not just about not looking back, but looking forward, as in the future and it’s progression in a positive way.  There’s no reason to look backwards on life’s hard times or hurts.  There’s no reason to veer off in a negative direction dwelling on negative ‘what if’ thoughts.  If the what ifs are going to happen, they’re going to happen, but by having a clear focus on exactly what you want that will make you happy and give you the life that you truly desire, you’re only expanding your chances of succeeding and will find yourself feeling generally more upbeat, positive and happy.  You’ll find more happy moments instead of sad moments.  You’ll find more strength rather than weaknesses and you’ll begin to truly appreciate the things you already have.  More importantly, you’ll start to recognize and realize the situations and people in your life that were well placed by the universe to guide you in the right direction.  There’s so much out there to be had.  Take it!
• You are perfect right now – and you will be in every other moment of your existence.  This is meant to be taken in several ways.  First of all, in regards to your physical form, again, it only represents 1% of your existence.  So much weight is placed on physical appearance when it is such a minor aspect of our existence and from my perspective, the amount of money and time wasted on appearances is a waste when that money can be better spent on other experiences that will serve us much more.  That being said, getting fit and staying fit has it’s place in life.  Of course you will have an easier time climbing that mountain or sky diving or any other goals one might have, let alone a longer life expectancy, if you are healthy, but is there really a need for a spray tan?  I don’t mean to judge because I have my faults too, but I do sincerely believe that people are chasing the wrong sense of fulfillment.  The average cost of a spray tan in my neighborhood according to Yelp is $20.  That’s $20 spent on something that will be gone and really served little purpose in your life as opposed to 4 or 5 cups of coffee or 10 cups of tea over great conversation with someone stimulating.  Which has the greater pay off in the end.  Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and I’ve come to learn that the right people will love me for the 99% of my existence that feeds their soul as opposed to the 1% that feeds their eyes.  I am a beautiful person, even at my size, but there’s no reason for me to trifle over such petty things when I was born perfect and remain perfect at all times in my existence and you are too!  As far as our personal and spiritual existence being perfect,  you are always just in the right mindset you need to be to take you to the next step/level of your existence and awareness.  It’s up to you when you choose to make the move, but right now you have so may choices in front of you, just as I do and each of them will serve a purpose for you, but always choose the one that will serve the HIGHEST possible purpose and greatest satisfaction in the end.
• Transitions can be painful but are always worth it in the end – just like childbirth, life has transition points which normally are the most painful for us in our life, but there is great reward on the other side.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve held hands with someone during a difficult period of their life only to see a bigger smile on their face than ever before just months later if not weeks later.  Whether it’s a financial, romantic, career or any other transition, even a seemingly negative outcome can give us the inspiration we need to make the next transition into something better than we had before and most of the time, the outcome is just plain positive.
• That which doesn’t kill us only makes us stronger – I remember hearing this and making it my mantra even in my teen years which were arguably the most difficult in my life.  I believe it is because of these words that I’m still alive today and have made it as far as I have in my life.  That being said, it still applies and it applies to every aspect of our life, once again, because if it doesn’t kill you, even if it weakens your physical existence, surviving those challenges only makes us stronger in our mind, our hearts and personal resolve.
• Nothing is permanent – there’s not much to say about this other than appreciate it while it lasts and let everyone and everything around you know how much you love it and are grateful for it.  You never know when it will be the last time.

Of course there’s more, but I think I’ve made a clear point here.  Sadly, some will never understand any of this and will choose a miserable existence at best, however, for those who are aware and wish to break free from the human bounds these will find their way into your heart too.  Most of these things I’ve heard before but they just never really hit home until these past few crazy days.  I hope you can take something from this.