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How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.
-- Annie Dillard
 

 

The MONTHLY Motivator - January 2016

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Choose to move forward

As nice as things may be right now and right here, you cannot stay here for long. The world changes. Life changes. And your life will change whether you want it to or not, whether you welcome those changes, or fight those changes, participate in those changes, or not. What you can be sure of, is that you can’t be sure of very much. What you can be sure of, is that the world you wake up in tomorrow will be different than the world you woke up in today. It is simply the nature of life. Life is, after all, alive, and the very definition of being alive is being dynamic, moving and changing. At its core, the universe is in constant motion. From the most distant galaxies to the smallest subatomic particles, everything is in motion. Even massive mountains change from day to day, being pushed toward the sky by geological forces deep within the ground, and being slowly washed into the sea by the eroding forces of wind and water.

Change is a part of everything. The dynamic nature of life, and of the universe itself, enabled you to be born and presents you with endless possibilities. Change is not something to be feared or cursed, stopped or resisted. By the very act of living you are accepting and benefitting from change on many levels.

Yet change is so powerful and pervasive, it can be intimidating. Change can feel overwhelming and downright frightening. There is no need to be frightened, though. Because you can choose to embrace change, to take hold of the best possibilities, and to move forward as time relentlessly progresses.

It may seem that things are changing more quickly these days, for this generation. Most likely, though, every generation has felt that way. While it’s true that we live in a complicated world, in many ways life is much more stable for us than it was for our ancestors. Most of us are fortunate enough to sleep in the same dwelling night after night, month after month. Thousands of years ago, people often had to move around to follow the seasons and the food supply. There was always the danger of being attacked by a wild animal or falling victim to a severe storm. Today, while danger is still present in our lives, we have developed effective systems and strategies to insulate us from many of the day-to-day dangers. So although the changes in our complicated lives are now more numerous, most of them are less traumatic.

Instead of feeling victimized by the need to change, you can choose to be empowered by the possibilities that are always being created. The world is constantly in motion, and you can harness that motion in your own life to move forward. There is no guarantee about what will happen tomorrow. And yet, guarantee or not, tomorrow will come. Your best choice is not to try in vain to hold on to today. By all means enjoy every moment of this day you’re in. And once it is over, welcome tomorrow with its new possibilities.

Walking through the woods on a foggy morning, you cannot see very far ahead. When you walk a little farther, you can see a little more of what’s ahead. When you go around the next bend in the trail, more territory will open up to you. Just because you cannot see all the way to the end of the trail, is no reason to stop. In fact, it is a reason to keep going, to keep uncovering more of the path to your destination.


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--Ralph Marston

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