Shine On

 

 
All good is hard. All evil is easy. Dying, losing, cheating, and mediocrity is easy. Stay away from easy. ~ Scott Alexander 

When the crescent moon was out this week, it shone brightly notwithstanding the fact that we could only see a fraction of it. The full moon shines just as brightly, only now there’s more of the moon to see.

Life consists of troughs and peaks and the journey from one to the next is never ending until we say goodbye. As a hiker, I live for the summits but before the ultimate reward, there are steep climbs, slippery descents, blessed flat lands, rocky paths and bushy routes that sometimes hide stinging nettle among their leaves. Ouch! But despite the journey, the summit is always promised if you will persevere to the end.

Daily living is no different. Some days are great, others are cursed. But if you set a goal, all of those days add up to the target date. And that is where the crux of the matter lies.

How do you show up in between phases; when you are not quite full, and round and glorious?

When the curve balls seem to be more than the smooth roads, how do you show up?

When unforeseen circumstances burst in and pitch camp, how do you show up?

When your body rebels and refuses to obey your mind, how do you show up?

Do you shine on, albeit with only a fraction of you? Do you switch off your light and pull up the covers? Do you dim your light?

My year has already thrown me a curve in the form of the loss of a dear loved one. But I’m still alive and life will yet require an account from me of how I spent my time here. I cannot dim my light, I cannot switch it off. And I’d better be prepared to meet with other interruptions because they will come. But I cannot allow my eyes to stray from the prize: the end goal. Take a break, recharge, recover. But DO NOT dim your light. Revise your goals, redefine your timelines. But, DO NOT switch off your candle. Do not settle for less. Do not let yourself off the hook.

Shine On.

People who are unable to motivate themselves must be content with mediocrity, no matter how impressive their other talents. ~Andrew Carnegie

Comments

  1. AnonymousJanuary 22, 2021 at 12:14 PM

    Great piece.

    ReplyDelete
  2. ChikuFebruary 5, 2021 at 4:41 PM

    Self motivation is key, how do you expect others to believe in you if you don't believe in yourself!

    ReplyDelete

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