The older I've gotten, the busier life gets, the more involved I am in the world around me, and sometimes it seems there isn't enough hours in the day. I find myself often getting stressed and sometimes depressed because of the work load in front of me. I think about the future often, sometimes I'm confident and sometimes I look on it with fear of what it will bring. Some days I wake up on "the right side of the bed", but other days my mind wanders and I have no motivation to get things done. I talk to friends and the people around me and I realize I'm not alone in my feelings, but it seems that everyone struggles with "getting through the day", some more than others. Why is that? Why can't life just be good feelings and happy vibes all the time?
The cold hard fact is this: life IS hard. We all have our separate stressful responsibilities and problems that require our time and energy. There will always be suffering, pain, and fear in the world. We are not alone. But the other fact is: no matter how much we stress, no matter how much we want to give up, the stress and suffering is not going to go away. Negative and positive energies will always be at odds against eachother, but we have a choice which we allow to affect us.
We hear the news, we see death and suffering all over. The fact is that life really is short. The average American lifespan is between 70-84 years. Then it's over. No more. We're not invincible, we do not live forever. That's 70-84 years of problems, pain, and stress. You can't avoid it. But that's also 70-84 years of good memories, new experiences, and happy feelings we can chose to indulge.
Did you wake up this morning? You were just given another day. Another precious lapse of time that you will never get back. What are you going to do with that? Sure, you're going to go to work, to school, interact with people, or maybe stay at home and take care of your family. Your responsibilities are still there, the pain of a stressful situation is still there, but the possibilities of your happiness are endless. Everyday you're faced with negative energy that can bring you down, feeling hopeless if you allow it to take over. But are you going to let it? You don't have to. Is that negative energy strong and overpowering? Face your day with determination and positive energy that is stronger than your negative circumstances. You are not your problems. You are who you chose to be.
I understand. I have battled depression. I am stressed with everything before me. But if I chose to let these negative influences rule my life, my life will be drudging through day after day. My problems will still be there if I linger on them. They will still be there if I chose not to let them effect my mood. I don't know about you, but I don't want to get to the end of my life and see that I've done nothing except worry and stress over the things that are beyond my control.
My health is beyond my control. Wars and world problems are beyond my control. At the end of my life, these things will still be there. The difference is what I chose to do with each day that I've been blessed with. All life is is one day after another. I can stress over situations I cannot change or I can find things to be thankful for, things that give me a reason to life a long, full life of happiness and fulfillment. I may not solve world peace or make a huge world-changing discovery, but I can ensure that I have done what I can to enjoy the few days I have on this Earth. I can spread my positive energy to the world and people around me. I can look back on my life with satisfaction knowing that I savored each moment and fought the negative energy that tried to pull me down.
What are you doing today? Do you realize you're not guaranteed to wake up tomorrow? You have today. There's sadness and suffering all around. Are you going to dwell in it and throw in the towel of hope? Live each day as your last, cherish each moment.
