I may lose the battle but you’ve given me the will to try
You are my sight when I have no eyes
You are a voice of reason when I am speechless
You are the guide in my journey for my legs are numb
The thorns cut my skin and blood drips on the beautiful rose in a cascade of nature and humanity
It is with passion that I say these words
It is with love I have the strength to wander into the temple of darkness
Risking the safety of all that is familiar
Stepping away from the rising sun and entering the eclipse of light
Now; the birth of a moment
Take my hand
With your gentle skin I melt into your fortress
The philosophy of sanity is your bible
Echoing the silent lessons of innovators of past
Acceptance of the end is only the beginning
Greatness is within reach and you have exalted all that is right
“A man sooner or later discovers that he is the master-gardener of his soul, the director of his life.”
-James Allen
We all have a journey.
Some have a bucket list, some a mission and others are just content being ignorant assholes that are so narrow-minded by prejudice and stereotype that they contribute to the hatred in our society.
Throughout this journey of life, we will all get lost. Each day is a path of twists and turns, corners of darkness and visions of light. If a day did not go by where we thought for a brief moment, an end would simply and shorten the madness we love and hate so much we would not be human. In the end, the journey is about something. It is a quest for moral right and a rendezvous with destiny.
It all works out though.
Some have a short journey while others are long and full of evolutionary change.
Life is never about you!
We all find what we are looking for and in the end, it is never about us. Think about it. Is it about your daughter who looks at you each morning with her baby blue eyes and smiles at the sight of your morning glow? Is it your partner for life who you sacrificed your soul to spend every breathing day of your life with? Is in your mother and father who led by example and shaped you into the person you are? Is it the refugee camp that is suffering from death and disease that you have dedicated yourself to saving? Is it your true love who soul was brought to you in an act of fate? Is it the music and lyrics that touch millions of lives and turn a lost soul away from the bridge to live one more day?
We are here with purpose.
We are given the gift of breath.
What fascinates my mental being is how some of us choose to get lost in the sea of uncertainty. All too often we guess and second guess our own purpose in life without accepting that we are fulfilling it through our passions, our actions, our unselfish hand and ultimately the lives we help bring meaning to.
We are all granted the ability to be angels on earth with a chance to hold out our hand and offer shelter to those in need.
I love that we all have gifts and talents. Some is through song, some strength, some compassion but at the end of the day, the gifts we use are not for us, not for self-fulfillment or any personal pleasure. They are for the stranger in the street, the homeless child, the girl with the broken heart, the sick friend.
Find your purpose and share it.
It’s all about love
How amazing is a life where we have this much power to help others. No matter what our talent, no matter what we say or do it is all guided by one common force that brings us all together; love.
Love is and will always be the answer to life’s unanswered questions. No matter which direction we go, love is all around us.
How can you not wake up each morning and smile with that thought dancing in your head.
Listen up Hasbro and Mattel, we have designed the next generation in gaming technology. Put aside your game consoles and wicked 3-D animation and bring it back old school with a taste of the future.
Social Media has officially exploded that even Francis Scott Key would be in awe. By the dawn’s early light we have taken the next step. With Cloud Computing, not only do we have the ability to create the ultimate Big Brother environment, but we can now do it in real time. Welcome to the Real World…Don’t turn around, everyone is watching!!!
“Welcome to your life
There’s no turning back
Even while we sleep
We will find you
Acting on your best behavior
Turn your back on mother nature
Everybody wants to rule the world”
Everybody Wants to Rule the World – Tears for Fears
The Game of Life was designed to provide children with a simulation of the challenges and rewards of life leading you through a path of academia, career choices, family and wealth. In the end, we retire in comfort and luxury or simple golden years. With each spin, we are presented with financial decisions, life choices and expectations that will lead us to the next square and the next phase in our life.
The new game of Life, is Planet Earth, Social Media is the media allowing all of us around the global to witness and partake in your journey and ITunes is providing the soundtrack. It is the ultimate game.
A simple ten number wheel is no longer your only option. You have all the tools and technology at your disposal to guide you in this life journey.
If you want to be an instant star, use YouTube or Twitter to make yourself a viral sensation.
If you want wealth, start an internet start-up, run a net loss for three years, grow your network to 100 million and then go public or sell it for a cool 1.5 billion.
If you want children, go to Match.com or E-Harmony, find your manufactured match and start a family.
If you want to go to college, transfer a check, log in from your bed in your pajamas and get that education you always dreamed of without ever leaving your house.
Most importantly, document every move you make on Foursquare, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google +. Without that, we cannot keep track of the game.
History has a tendency to repeat itself. We must document the journey of the game for future generations to learn. A requirement of this game is a blog. You need one, you must have one, you must let your voice be heard. Without a blog, you are nothing more than 140 characters per action. I hope we were not raised to believe that is our total value in society.
We also have to help critique the world as we explore each turn. Do not forget to update your Yelp and TripAdvisor account. Without criticism, all restaurants and retail outlets would survive.
Now, how can I possibly do all this while I am constantly on the road of life…Duh IPhone or Droid or dare I say Blackberry…Let’s not say that. We are all equipped, thanks to Captain Kirk with a mobile device that allows all this documentation at our fingertips.
Will all this technology give us Cancer?
First, everything gives you cancer. So do not fret about that.
With billions of dollars being funded into Cancer research, a cure for this dreaded disease is now part of the game. You may even be the one to land on that piece and be credited with the ultimate cure.
Did I mention this game is much more difficult than your traditional board game.
I thought I would just pick the green car, spin the wheel and start collecting a salary. Times have changed! Times have changed!
What makes this game so much different than the one we grew up on, is that personal choice is officially eliminated. We don’t have the option of not playing. We are all on the board and all waiting our turn. This is a continuous game, with no winners or losers. Some will become wealthy, some famous, some poor, some ill, but in the end we all want to get to the finish line.
Life is hard, but we love the journey.
Remember, resist temptation, because sometimes what appears to be the greatest things, are just traps along the way.
Just in time for the holiday season, head to Amazon.com or Toys R Us and get your version of Life 2.0…This is not your parents board game.
Life is a series of events, some by chance, some premeditated, but all configured into a tapestry of emotions and decisions that lead to our place in life.
As we think back on how we got to the moment we are in now, take some time to understand how each decision led to events that helped shaped your life.
Would you have fallen in love and gotten married if you had not ended a bad relationship?
Would you have seen the Eiffel Tower if you weren’t convinced that your fear of flying is only a fear?
Would you have been soaked in regret if you had not made that surprise visit to your mom just before she passed away?
Would you have opened your eyes to the possibility of living out your dreams if you weren’t swayed by that stranger that bumped into you and started a conversation on the subway?
Every place we go we are met with choices and those choices have consequences and further choices. Life is a continuous journey with no foreseeable ending. It is that flux, that is the ultimate mystery.
We are a boat in the middle of the ocean, with land in sight but no means of reaching that final destiny.
That is a truly amazing thought. Each morning, we get a fresh start to carve out a path to our next personal achievement.
Whether we are born in a city, on a farm, in a poverty stricken community, in a forest or in a village, we are placed into a set of perceptions and accepted behavior. As we grow up and accept the curiosity of our surrounding, we start to see the power of imagination. It is that power that allows us to break out of the Truman Show and see rest of the world. With each breath we earn the right to experience all that the world is offering.
It is a blessing to feel the soil of the land, to hug the warm skin of another, to love unconditionally and to explore the unknown.
The next time you reflect on your life and determine if this is where you want to be, think back on the little decisions you made and see how you got here, because life happens sometimes…
We will make mistakes but we are never wrong. The magic of a journey is that it is infinite and in all directions….
Breathe in the air, scream to the stars and smile because this is your life.
“Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.” – Buddha
“When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, ‘I used everything you gave me’.” – Erma Bombeck
Writer / Blogger / Social Media and Talent Acquisition Consultant / Life Geek / Photographer
Human Resources, Talent Acquisition, Global Social Media and Marketing Solutions including: organizational development, team building, change management, compensation structural development and implementation, social media and talent community development, growth and advancement, training, rewards and recognition, recruitment, attrition control, affirmative action administration, labor relations and M&A.
Trainer
So You Think You Can Interview - ProNet August, 2010 Personal Branding and Social Media Resources - ProNet June, 2010 Personal Branding and Social Media Resources - Lee Hecht Harrison July, 2010 Personal Branding and Social Media Tooling - Lenova Women in Leadership September, 2010 Your Life Bag - ProNet October, 2010, The Effects of Social Media in the Workplace - Carolinas Payroll Conference November 2012
Published Author
Sonni's Abyss (June 2008)
A Beautiful World (February 2011)
This Time Around (Scheduled for February 2013 Publication)
