an entrepreneurial spirit

Some bits of wisdom from a blog I was reading earlier:

"If you're not creating the future, then someone else is, and that someone else will change the face of the world as you know it. But that's not the greatest danger. The greatest danger is arriving at the end of our lives and feeling like we haven't really lived. Risk is the currency of life. Without risk, there is no life. We have to be willing to risk failure in return for a sense that we are living. And it's when we're really living that we really have a shot at changing the world."

[Full article - Discover Your Inner Entrepreneur by Dan Pallotta]

without walls

"Let's break down the walls and find how to live..."
- A Sight to Behold, Eisley

breaking free

I used to crave the comfortable life.

Knowing what was to come put me at ease.

The certainty of every detail was previously sorted out,

And I was so sure that was the way it ought to be.

But now I see that’s the very life that I fear.

It’s one where I know exactly what’s around the bend –

Where I need nothing but reliance on myself,

And life is stripped of all real mystery.

That life looks more like a trap to me now.

It overlooks so much of who I really am

And so much of who I could be.

It limits potential and stifles brilliance beneath.

So, as future meets present reality

I can see that it’s high time my decisions shift

From being chained to stability and predictability

To embracing uncertainty and ambiguity.

In time, I’ll see what it is that all means,

And how this life may break free.

a foreign feeling

I'm watching myself,
overwhelmed by this foreign feeling.
It's a quite thrilling thing.
This whole heightened state of vulnerability
simultaneously terrifies me
and fills me with unmatched excitement.
I swear, I must be dreaming,
but I ask - please don't wake me.

fresh lenses II

Oh how I love the unexpected beauty that lies within the seemingly ordinary.

fresh lenses

Life is incredible through the right lenses. When I went for a walk the other day, that fact struck me. As I moved forward briskly, I passed an elderly Asian man hobbling down the sidewalk, maintaining his own careful pace. I kindly said hello as I went on my way. He acknowledged my greeting with a cheerful smile. And, for some reason, I was filled with this incredible sense of joy and awe in that very moment. Something about that man amazed me. I couldn't define it, but somehow I realized it was an instance of the divine, carefully reminding me that I live in a beautiful world.

It has become so clear that the nature of my day is dominantly predicted by my mindset, not by what actually occurs. I can have the most ordinary experiences, but if I view them with a new perspective of awe and joy my life instantly has greater meaningfulness. Instead of simply plodding along accepting the mundane, I am to seek out beauty and joy. It's a conscious decision that is made throughout the day. Will I merely accept the ordinary or will I allow myself to be surprised by unexpected beauty?

There are no guarantees. From the viewpoint of fear, none are strong enough. From the viewpoint of love, none are necessary.
- Emmanuel Teney