The Walk

S

stroutman81

0
Life is a walk of many steps. The beginning of the walk is birth. The opposite end is death. We are forced to walk straight ahead. We don’t have a choice of turning around and gaining “extra” ground. In the grand scheme of things, it is a very short journey from one end to the other.

You have a choice. You can either focus on where you are going or you can focus on how you are getting there. Far too many people focus on the destination rather than the journey. Life is about living, not looking. I don’t know about you, but I would rather play in the game than sit on the sidelines! Goals and aspirations are great. If all you do is dream about them, do you really expect to accomplish anything?

Life is what you make of it. Sadly, I think many people are so caught up in their daily schedules that they never take the time to do a little self-analysis. People spend more time laying their outfits out for tomorrow’s workday, making grocery lists, and watching television than they do thinking about their lives. When they become this tied up in following The Routine, the possibility of change becomes nonexistent. These individuals become detached from their subconscious minds, which is the mechanism that guides us through life.

Many of us become cattle and are herded in a multitude of directions by higher powers, have them be the need of finances, family and friends, lack of confidence or direction, fear, society, etc. The list is endless. There are so many vehicles that drive us to places that you don’t want to be in life. Sadly, many of us cave in to these higher powers and lose control of the steps that we take. When this happens we lose touch with the fact that we are in the driver’s seat. We create this delusional scenario where we have no choices in life. We are stuck in our present situation with no options. This is damnation in my opinion.

I, myself, was completely on autopilot a couple years back. I was out of control and never even knew it. I was not sad or upset with life. I was simply not controlling my destiny. I was turned onto some great mentors who asked simple questions like:

· Are you truly happy with your life?
· If you could change one thing, what would you change?
· What are you not doing that you should be doing?

There are a lot more. When I started asking myself these things I was shocked to realize the answers. I don’t know what surprised me more: the fact that I really wasn’t happy or the fact that I didn’t even realize it!

Ignorance is bliss is some cases, but I don’t believe this is one of them. Sure, if you continue down the same path being guided by outside forces, you don’t have to end up miserable. However, life is too short not to milk it for everything its got!

I believe that our thoughts are things. They create our realities. We become what we think about most. Think about the destination enough, you are soon going to end up with death staring you right in the eyes having never truly lived a full second along the way. Always waiting for something to happen is going to leave you with a big let down at the end of the day, that I promise you.

Do you pay attention to what you think about?

As short as the journey is, there are many steps we must take to get from one end to the other. The steps we take, though they must be forward, are within our control. This is the piece of the puzzle that many people lose sight of once life mutates into “the real world” and we become adults with busy schedules.

In the walk of life, pay attention to your steps. It is fine to trip and fall. Pick yourself up and start walking again. If you fall and stay down, life keeps on moving. It doesn’t stop and wait for you to ready yourself. I believe a large majority in our society is in the “down” position. There are not enough people walking.

Think about who you are and how you want to be remembered. Do you have goals? Are you actively pursuing them? What holds you back?

This philosophical walk that I speak of is comprised of millions of miles. Choose what you focus on. Think about what you think about. Life is the 6 inches that are in front of your face. Moving forward without paying attention to these inches is devastating. Opportunity is knocking on our doors every single day. The option to take advantage of the opportunity is up to you. It is not going to hand itself to you. It is there for the taking everywhere we turn.

What lies between now and then is up to you. What steps are you willing to take?
 
Great post Steve! Deep stuff. Really made me just detach myself and think about things. Thanks.
 
Another Article I Wrote

I LOST ONE OF MY GOOD FRIENDS IN A CAR ACCIDENT A FEW WEEKS BACK. THIS WAS SOMETHING I WROTE IN MY JOURNAL ON ANOTHER FORUM. THOUGHT MAYBE SOMEONE HERE COULD TAKE SOMETHING FROM IT.

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Last week, I lost one of my best friends. Jared was killed in a car accident last Tuesday at the age of 26. Some would say Jared died far too young. I would argue, life is measured not by the number of breaths we take, but rather, it is measured by the moments that take our breath away. This may seem cliché, but it is very true in my opinion.

Some can live to an old age, and never truly live a day in their lives. Some can die at the age of 26, and live every single day to its fullest. They suck life from what they have in front of them. In a nutshell, life is what you make of it. You can sit around and wait for good things to come to you or you can go and take what you want and deserve.

I speak with a lot of people. I like to figure out what makes them tick. By no means am I an expert on the subject of human behavior. Simply, I just like to think about what I see. Conclusions are derived from my observations and interactions. These conclusions may not be right. They may not be wrong. But it is my judgment based on the empirical evidence that has been presented to me in my life, thus far. Ultimately, the people who I’ve let into my life have shaped my perspectives.

Everyone wants to be happy, right? I mean, I haven’t met anyone who said, “It is my goal to be miserable for the rest of my life.” That said, this idea of happiness must be pretty darned important if we all want it. So how do we get it? Is it ultimately linked to achievement? Is it a state of mind? If so, can we be happy no matter what the circumstance? Is it a trait, some people being prone to happiness and others to the opposite? More importantly, how does this tie into Jared’s death and my point?

I used to envy people. Not necessarily the people I know personally. I would envy the people who achieved “greatness.” You know the people. Famous movie stars and singers. Professional athletes. CEOs of fortune 500 companies. I would envy them so much that I would discredit their successes.

“He became a movie star by catching a lucky break.” “This bodybuilder created an awing physique because he took steroids. I could look like him too if I chose that route.” “He became CEO by kissing ass his entire life, no thanks, that is not for me.”

I used to envy these people because I thought they were ultimately happy. Not only did I want happiness. I also wanted to be great. I wanted people to respect me. Maybe I even wanted people to envy me. Eventually, I removed my blinders and realized that while these people were certainly wealthy and respected, they were not all, ultimately happy. They too, faced challenges on a daily basis.

More importantly, I eventually realized that my definition of “greatness” was way off base. Greatness is not measured by how others view you. Instead, greatness is completely personal and individual. By my old standards, in order to be great, you would have to have money, be a standout, and be recognized. Through the maturation process coupled with my interactions with many amazing people, I learned that greatness has nothing to do with these things. Instead, greatness is all about how you live. It is about the choices you make. It is about how you handle yourself when you are knocked down. Greatness is not an adjective that is placed over you once you reach a certain point in your life. It is rather, a way of life. A way to be, each and every day.

Jared was one of those people who helped me realize these things. Sure, he died young. But Jared was great. And Jared was happy. There is something in common with most of the people I hold close to my heart, Jared being one of them. Obviously, none of them are famous. None of them are really wealthy either. But they are all “great” by my personal definition.

What makes them great?

Take Jared for instance. As I was walking through the line waiting to say my goodbyes at his funeral, I looked at all the pictures of Jared. I thought about all the good times I shared with him. I looked around and saw how many people he touched. The line to the casket was a good distance. I would approximate the length of a football field. It stretched from the casket, out the door of the church, across the lobby, all the way across the large parking lot. The line developed at 9:00 A.M. At 12:30 P.M., there was no sign of the line shrinking. Finally, the preacher had to ask the family to sit down, and cut the line off. The service was about to begin and there were 3 people for every 1 seat available.

Jared was great alright. As I thought about him, I had such a hard time remembering a time when Jared DIDN’T have a smile on his face. Not one of those fake smiles either. He smiled because he couldn’t contain his happiness. If we were fishing, he was happy. Even if it were cold outside, and the rain started falling. Jared would be happy. And it radiated from him. Happiness is definitely contagious. Because when I was in his company, I always felt happy. I also think happiness begets more happiness in most circumstances. Whatever Jared was doing, he found a way to be happy.

People like him led me to believe that happiness is not brought on by what you are currently doing. Rather, it is brought on by how YOU feel about where you’ve been and where you are heading. It is brought on by who you’ve met and who you have yet to meet. It is brought on by the memories of your past and the possibilities of the future.

Happiness is about believing. Believing in yourself and not letting your mistakes, flaws, and challenges stop you from progressing.

You see, many people think I am happy. They look at my life, the things I have accomplished, the way I act…. and they think I am happy. The truth is, I battle personally, to find happiness in life.

The biggest thing I have learned from people like Jared is this: Life is full of happiness. It is also full of unhappiness. Life is beautiful. Life is also ugly. There are and always will be good times. At the same time, there will always be bad ones.

The bad things will always be there, no matter how much you achieve in your life. I don’t care if you are working your way up or if you are at your pinnacle. The nature of life dictates that evil will always accompany good.

This said, it should be expected that we will ALL get knocked down. It is up to you to decide if and how you will get back up. Being knocked down is a whole lot different than being knocked out. Jared would say, “Being knocked out will only happen when my heart stops beating.” If he were knocked down by life, he would ALWAYS get up with haste and heart, and push on.

Others though, feel they are knocked out now, even though their hearts are pumping away.

What differentiates people like this from people like Jared? I think it all comes down to focus. I don’t want this to be a motivational, peppy, self-help article. Those who know me are aware of the fact that I am a fan of positive thinking. I believe that gaining control of your self-talk plays a major role in your ultimate success in life.

People like Jared, either by nature or by practice, focus on the good. When life knocks them down, they don’t focus on how hard or violently they were knocked down. Doing so would only lead to stagnation. Instead, they regain their composure, and focus on where they were heading before they were knocked down. When someone dies, they don’t think how tragic their death is. Rather, they remember how awesome their life was. When it rains, they don’t get depressed. They say, “At least it isn’t pouring, and the sun will surely shine tomorrow.”

On the flipside, when things are good, they don’t worry about the good times ending. They embrace the time. I know a lot of people who ruin the momentum of goodness by worrying about the imminent bad that is ever-looming in all of our lives. Even during the good times, it all comes down to how and where you place your focus.

That is the finality of the subject at hand. Happiness. Greatness. At least in my eyes, these things are determined by how you handle yourself during both, the good and bad times.

I come to this point of writing this, and I ask myself, “What is my point?” I didn’t really intend on writing a lot. I didn’t start writing this with a purpose. I just had thoughts, a lot of them, floating around my head and I wanted to get them down on paper. Whenever you experience a tragic loss, I think you take something away from it. Maybe it is a lesson. Or, maybe it is amazing memories. Whatever the case may be, I think it is a good to take something away from losing a loved one.

In this case, what I took away was the simple thought that happiness is a way of life. A way of being. It is easy to get overwhelmed with all the negatives that float around on any given day. I think these negatives are what hinder most of us from ever reaching happiness on a consistent basis. It is probably also what keeps us from reaching our full potential.

I think chronic happiness and greatness come hand in hand. Once you find a way to be happy with your life, the decisions you have made, and what you are doing to get to where you are going…. I think you will find your personal greatness. And that greatness will be seen from outsiders looking in.

It is up to you to figure out what you want. I know what I want, and I am going to work my ass off to get it. I am not going to plan for failure. I am, though, going to keep in mind that I will fail. I will have setbacks. I will get knocked down. I cannot allow acute mishaps to rock my world to its core completely throwing me off track. I want chronic happiness. I know what it takes to have it, and Jared’s death has helped me see it.

I wish you all the best. I hope you find your happiness, more than you know. We all deserve it.
 
if you want to learn more about yourself and have one hell of a life changing experience do mushrooms and you will figure out a lot about your life and what is really important to you
 
Good stuff strout. Happiness shouldn't be difficult to achieve, we just need to know how we define it, and where we find it.
 
Hello friend !
It is nice topic for discussion and i am so interested about this topic
and my motto about the life is that " LIVE THE LIFE LIKE THE A KING "
And enjoy it more and more .
 
Very philosophical. I like.

I should get everyone I know to read this...

For me the hard thing to do is to "not care" about what others think. I know what I need to do to get what I want...but sometimes I am held back by the thought of not living up to other peoples expectations, I have the image a responsible young man but sometimes I need to learn to live a little. It's a problem I have been working on a great deal lately. Changing yourself is damned painful, it feels wrong, but it's right and I know it is...yet I struggle...but I must endure because if I want to end up having what I want I'm going to have to demolish this problem and not only that but I will have to completely blow it out of the water without mercy.

You've got one life to live, wake the hell up and live it already. :SaiyanSmilie_anim:
 
Your problem is concerned it seems quiet confusing to make any diagnosis without knowing these things, concern to doctor he gives you proper advice. .....
 
Wow, this is really inspiring! What a wonderful community of people! Running introduced me to "no mind" long before I experienced it through meditation.
 
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