“He said, “Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.
He is rich who owns the day, and no one owns the day who allows it to be invaded with fret and anxiety. Finish every day and be done with it.
You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities, no doubt crept in. Forget them as soon as you can, tomorrow is a new day; Begin it well and serenely, with too high a spirit to be cumbered with your old nonsense. This new day is too dear, with it’s hopes and invitation, to waste a moment
On the yesterdays.”
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
What is the purpose of living if we cannot delight in the little things? The fresh scent of rain as it lingers across the prairie reminds me of my mother. The unabashed laughter of a child transcends me to the innocence of my babies. Can you feel the mist of the cascade that bathes your skin? Do you see the soft light that warms a room in the early morning? Do you hear the trill of the birdsong in the evening? Do you ponder the wild flowers that seed and grow out of rock and unforgiving circumstances? Like us. All of us, that have had to endure the greatest hardships of the living. Our loved ones dying before their time and the ones left behind to learn to see beauty again.
A long time ago, to protect my heart, I knew that I cannot take on the tragedies of other people. It is too much for one person to hold for I have had my own darkness. But collective heartbreak has a way of touching the softest part, deep within us, if we let it. Otherwise, the heart turns to stone.
Who would want a heart of stone?
Tell me, my friends, Why would you give it up? Why would you give up the greatest gift bestowed upon us? The gift of Life itself. The lessons and the love. Sweet song and dance. The laughter of children. Your children. Why would you give up the breath that sustains us to fracture yourself from those that love you so much? When checking out, numbness or complacency is the alternative.
Keep your feet on the ground, my friends. Delight in the small things. Find your gratitude and stay focused on the day. This day. The one that rises in beauty and sets in the same way. Find your purpose. The one that exists inherently, only in you. The world needs your interwoven influence. Resilience is born of many things. One solid mentor or parent. A good community. Friends and family. Living in truth and authenticity. It’s liberating to live in this way, rising and falling with our natural tides.
We cannot beg, borrow, steal or change the circumstances of the past. We must let go of these shackles or risk being imprisoned. Find beauty in light, laughter and the strength in the arms that circle around us.
Forgive.
At the end, there is only one thing that matters. And that is how well we loved.
-Tami Ellis
Two Feet One World Travel 