(Photo Copyright Terrah Lozano, ‘Sand Dune’ Jericoacoara, Brazil)

Expressing Gratitude

I am grateful for everything that has come into my life during these 27 years on this earth. Everything that has happened to me has shaped me into the person I have become and am becoming.

I am grateful to my wife, family, friends, and experiences.

And, most of all, I am grateful to becoming more aware of embracing uncertainty in life to be able to live my life as completely as I can. As Jack Canfield said in The Secret, “Imagine yourself driving from LA to NY at night. How would you do it? You would have your lights on and the road would be unfolding 200 yards at a time.”

Embracing Uncertainty

Let’s think about this. You only see a small portion of the road for every 200 yards. You can’t see the entire way. So, at each 200 yards, you have to re-assess the situation. You have to see if there is ice up ahead, roadblocks, traffic stops, is your exit coming soon? Sometimes we all plan this down to the smallest detail. But sometimes it’s more enjoyable to just embrace uncertainty and allow things to pop up in life.

If you had asked me a few months back if I was going to be a writer/blogger, I wouldn’t have known.  I honestly didn’t know a whole lot about blogging and becoming a writer was something I saw in the far future.

The path that led us to this juncture in our lives, to this blog and many other things, came from embarking on a spiritual quest and following our intuition.

A Story:

A few months ago my wife Terrah and I decided to make some changes in our lives and moved apartments. Shortly after our move was completed, Terrah got sick (which is unusual for her) and this slowed us down from working on what we had pre-determined were our plans. When she got sick, we took the signal to mean that the universe, God, Budda, Allah, Rah, Krishna, Higher Power (whatever you call it) had grander plans than we did for our lives.

The universe led us to the next feeling that acting on our original plans didn’t feel right with our Being, our gut, or our instincts (whatever you want to call it). So, I felt the need to read more about intention and manifesting in our lives.

This signal led me to finding and subsequently reading Wayne Dyer’s The Power of Intention. Subsequently finding this book after feeling this intuition could merely be called a coincidence. I don’t believe it was a coincidence because I believe everything happens for a reason. (And if you are reading this now and something pops out at you, will you take it as a coincidence and brush it off like Scrooge and say, “Bah Hum Bug”? or will you embrace your intuition and act?)

Anyhow, long story short, by embracing uncertainty and intuition and ACTING upon those feelings, the path of reading Power of Intention took me to discovering blogging. A series of seeming coincidences collided to produce the manifestation of my passions through writing and helping people.

For taking these steps, I am happier and more fulfilled doing what I love.

Looking back on the original goals we had, they were not things we really wanted to do. They were things we thought we should be doing. And I am sure many of you are doing the same thing.

Of course we all have to maintain our responsibilities, pay the bills, and so on and so forth, but does that mean we should keep putting off what is really important to each of us? A RESOUNDING NO! Carpe Diem! Seize the day!

Seizing the Day!

Since I am now 27 years old, a thought came to me as I pondered my age for a moment. A lot of people I know are always scoffing at their birthday. They don’t want to be reminded that they are another year older and have not gone after their dreams.

Instead of focusing on being one year older and not much farther in the direction of your dreams, you have to appreciate what each year has brought you. But because most people aren’t living the life they want, they don’t want to be reminded they let yet another year pass them by.

So, I say Carpe Diem, seize each day. Even if you haven’t lived the life you wanted up to this point, “Every passing moment is another chance to turn it all around,” (quote from the film Vanilla Sky). We must approach this idea from knowing that everything that has happened to this point has created you into you.

Be grateful for it. Be grateful for all the good and bad that has occurred to you.  Why be grateful for the bad? Because both the good and bad created you into whom you are today.

The question at hand is – What do you feel your purpose is now? With all your life lessons learned, what do you think you were put here to do? What do you believe from your heart your purpose is? What has life taught you about yourself up to this point? Be grateful for everything and now be grateful for what is about to unfold.

No one knows when today might be his or her last so let’s express gratitude for every day that we have had on this earth. Use those life lessons learned to do your service to this world. In doing service, as the saying goes, “Whatever a man reaps, that shall he also sow.”

Provided that you sow (provide service in your passions to humanity) you will reap (receive whatever you wanted, such as abundance, love, and compassion). And the best part is that it is unique to you. This is your life to create.

Use your life lessons to go after your passions and what you are truly good at and you love doing. Don’t be afraid to go after your dreams.

And use your mind! CREATE. IMAGINE. EXPRESS YOUR HUMANITY. Let’s live the life we each are here to live, while at the same time acknowledging that your purpose each day may change, and that’s OK. If something comes along that day that seems like a distraction, don’t look at it that way. “Change the way you look at things and the things you look at change,” (Wayne Dyer quote).

As said in the film Kung Fu Panda,“There are no accidents.” If you see this as something that must occur and that the universe put it here for a reason, you will learn. Learn from your setbacks, your failures, and the distractions and allow them to put you back on track. Ask yourself what you learned from the experience, and re-apply those answers to your results to improve your life for your purpose. Be grateful for these things coming into your life.

Realize that making plans is a great thing, but they are implemented day by day, and at any time, you have to shift the plan to meet that day’s objectives.

In our own lives, Terrah and I may have planned what we wanted to accomplish that day or week but when each day arrives our objectives end up being entirely different than we expected. It is actually quite fun because each day ends up being exciting to us.

To some people this seems chaotic or that we are indecisive, but when you are connected to your spirit the plans change to be more productive to your goals.  This takes practice and understanding.

The only thing we know is that we have today. Let’s make today the best day of our lives. Let’s be sure to be balanced every day. Let’s be sure to do everything each day as though it were your last.

Of course be responsible. If you have to work to make money, work!!! But also be sure to enjoy the rest of your day. Work towards your goals and dreams and remember to always embrace uncertainty, knowing that “There are no accidents.”

How can you implement these concepts?

Some of you may be thinking “Well how do I know if it is a signal I should implement or not?” Well only you can know if whatever signals you are getting will benefit your life.

You will get a thought or something you never noticed will stick out for you. Go with it for a moment and decide based on how you feel.  Does implementing this idea make you feel happy or bad?

You may feel a little nervous because it is outside of your comfort zone but that is OK. It is only if you have a bad feeling in your stomach that it is probably a bad idea to implement.

The key is distinguishing between a bad feeling and a nervous feeling.  Being nervous can be good because we are embarking on something entirely new and different, a change.

Any change can be nerve-racking. With more practice you learn to become more in tune with your spirit and intuition. Take each day one day at a time and remember that “We get better and better each day in every way,” (Author Unknown).

Now, please go out and create your life!