the mystery

"See your life as a mystery to be revealed, not a problem to be solved."
- Gina DeLapa

I was reading an article on RelevantMagazine.com, and this quote hit me head on. When I think about the way I often live my life, it is clear I function in a way that suggests it is a problem to be solved. I attempt to read into every detail, analyzing every factor, wrestling with all this information to try to establish the best possible "solution" or way to proceed. I try to eliminate all chances for upset or failure.

When I read this quote, I realized just how much I attempt to strip life of its mystery and beauty. To a degree, it's important to analyze and plan. Yet, I think I often cross the line in a desire to keep everything in the reigns of my control.

If I'm being honest here, so much of what is going on in my life right now scares the crap out of me. I look at all these different facets of my life and catch sight of countless factors that I simply cannot control. Thus, these waves of insecurity hit me. Some sort of pessimist in me takes over and tells me that because I cannot control these things, upset and failure are inevitable. Everything simply cannot work out so beautifully as I may hope - life simply does not work that way.

But then, a careful voice inside reminds me that I'm not meant to control everything. In fact, my lack of control - when prompted by a surrender to a greater power than myself - can bring more brilliance and beauty that I ever could have manufactured on my own. The dreamer tells me to stop being so fearful of it all. Yes, I feel vulnerable. Yes, I may end up in upset. But, there is a chance that I may also experience something so beautiful that the risk is worth it in the end.

So, here's to vulnerability. Here's to surrender. Here's to the realization that I don't hold the key to all the answers. Here's to life - the mystery.

unfamiliar territory

This life is entering unfamiliar territory.
I'm quite certain I've not been here before.
Moving forward on this path, I cannot see what lies ahead,
But I can tell this life is not to be one of perfection.
I can sense now that it is to be raw and real.

In this life, the realist will rule the dreamer no more.
No, instead there will be an embrace of risk and adventure.
Faith will move to the forefront,
While security may slip into the backseat.
Yes, excitement and anxiety are simultaneously building within me.

This life doesn't merely test new waters timidly.
No, it plunges forward in leaps of belief.
I can tell this life is much different than that I've known before.
This life is defined by more than can be seen.
There is a vibrant, new life just waiting to be seized.

So, fill me with boldness, with faith, with belief.
Erase all semblance of doubt and fear,
So that I may take up the reigns of this life beckoning me-
A radical life, a life that is more true and free,
A life that directly relies on a power beyond me.

work

“A master in the art of living draws no sharp distinction between his work and his play; his labor and his leisure; his mind and his body; his education and his recreation. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence through whatever he is doing, and leaves others to determine whether he is working or playing. To himself, he always appears to be doing both.”

- Francois Auguste Rene Chateaubriand

^ stolen from the TOMS blog