Today is my first day back to work after a vacation to my childhood home. Of course, I am "working" just 30 minutes after waking, under the blankets of my warm bed. A major perk of being a freelance writer. The importance of following your passions and swimming against the current epitomized my trip. I took my tablet to get some work done, and decided to take in each moment instead. Let's say I did research more than writing. Here's what I learned:
Perspective is everything. So much has changed in my once beloved childhood environment, I literally sat in my car and cried. Was my brain playing tricks on me? Had I romanticized the once warm, inviting environment of my youth? I focused on the changes, mostly negative, instead of holding on to how life was back in my day. It wasn't until I met my closest childhood friends and Godparents that I realized the environment had changed, and so have I. Time passes, life happens, growth occurs. Hold on to the positive influences and use the negative to embrace the rewards you have earned through hard work, courage, and perseverance.
Not until I met with my former hairstylist did I feel a sense of belonging. Seeing her was like fitting in the missing puzzle piece that makes me ME. My entire body and mind “let go" by her mere presence. Later, when the group gathered for dinner, my world was right again. Love encompassed me like a cloud as I observed my guests interacting effortlessly despite some had never previously met. Various discussions were concurrently flowing, and each of them were of great interest to me.
Just hours before, I felt my memories were tainted and fallacious. Now, I realize home is the baseline we each carry within us. If everything remains the same, there is no growth. The absence of growth is stagnation.
Instead of longing for the good ol’ days, use those reflections to measure the distance you've progressed towards your self-determined quality of life. Notice the quality of relationships, alignment of interests (addressed in a future post), even your character.
Are you who you aspired to be? Are you happy? Compared to who you were as a child, are you where you want to be? It's a great time to take inventory and start/continue to purposefully be living.
“To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.”
― Oscar Wilde
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