I’m amazed

I’m amazed sometimes when I see what people are capable of doing to change and improve their lives. These people have hope and believe in the possibility of great things happening at any given moment. They are optimistic and energetic and inspiring. But here is the interesting thing about people who make great things happen in their lives, at some point along the way they felt like giving up. They felt like throwing in the towel and wallowing in their own self-pity. Why? Because it is a lot easier to collapse, to pull the sheets over your head and cry until your face is puffy and tear stained and your eyes are swollen. It is a lot easier to say “Why me?” then pull yourself up by your bootstraps and push forward. And even the people who have made huge strides in their life and are either on the brink of success or smack dab in the middle of it, they still feel like failures from time to time. They, too, have bad days. Worthless days when they feel like everything and everyone is conspiring against them.

The most important thing is to keep on going! Keep pushing through the dark times, through the difficult times, through the times when you are convinced that nothing is ever going to go right. Don’t say, “who cares?” or “why should I even bother?” You should ALWAYS care because we only get one shot at this thing called life and we owe it to ourselves, and to everyone who has ever or will ever love us, to give it all we’ve got.

I lost two people this year and it made me question the meaning of life A LOT! It made me wonder why we even bother making friends or loving people if we are just going to lose them. Throughout the year I have faced some really dark days but also some really beautiful days. That is what life is all about, peaks and valleys. Make the most of those peaks, squeeze every bit of beauty and appreciation out of them. See every beautiful star in the sky, watch every sunrise with awe, soak in the sound of children laughing or the rhythmic beauty of waves crashing on the beach. Breathe it, feel it, live it. And when things go wrong, or darkness falls, as it will from time to time, barrel through. Endure it, learn from it and move on. Take pride in your life. Be kind to yourself and throw as much love out into the world as you possibly can and I promise it will all come back to you in ways you never expected.

Love, love, love,

Jocelyn