Don’t let it be clubbed into dank submission. Be on the watch. There are ways out. There is a light somewhere. It may not be much light but it beats the darkness. Be on the watch. The gods will offer you chances…know them….take them. You can’t beat death but you can beat death in life, sometimes. And the more often you learn to do it, the more light there will be. Your life is your life. Know it while you have it. You are marvellous…the gods wait to delight in you. – Charles Bukowski.

This poem sounds familiar doesn’t it? It was the background to an ad that had me sit up and take note. This may sound like an endless speech from me but it’s that close to my heart. How many times do we just stagnate in life and allow golden opportunities to pass us by due to fear? It’s not the risk-taking that scares us…it’s the fear of the unknown. It’s the fear of leaving our comfort zones. It’s the fear of rejection. An old Chinese proverb says “fall down seven times, stand up eight”. So many times all we do is stare at the closed door, heartbroken and sad, that we fail to notice the wide open window of opportunity.

Everyone has the power and ability to change a life, change the world. We just have to get over that initial fear. We need to start believing that even if the odds are stacked up against us, we can do it. Steve Jobs said “Your time is limited, don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma, which is living the result of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinion drown your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition, they somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

Reading this I can understand why this man was the legend everyone dubbed him to be.

Living life to the fullest isn’t about partying hard every chance you get. Living life to the fullest isn’t about having the perfect job. Or earning the highest salary. It’s not even about driving the flashiest car! It’s about NOT SETTLING for anything less than what is perfect for you. But because we allow society to dictate our lives, we become the paper-pushing, desk-hating person suffering from cubicle fever. Our lives become a comfortable routine. We’re settling down.

I don’t want to settle down! I want to live a life filled with joy, passion and rigor. So as I approach the end of my “Saturn Returns” (refer to an earlier blog post), I decided to implement a few things which I want to share with you because maybe there is someone out there, just as confused as I am but also have a hidden passion inside, bubbling, ready to explode.

1. I try to live every day on a fresh new start by not dwelling too much on what happened yesterday. I can’t change history but I can try and change the future.
2. I try and stay true to me. I wasn’t born to please people and besides, it’s too hard to try and please everyone, so I decided to just look out for me and make sure I am happy. I was born an original…ain’t no way I’m gonna die a copy!
3. Now here is where I struggle…Quit Complaining…I do this. All. The. Time. Sorry. Traffic is a bitch! The ever increasing petrol price is a bitch! That Turkish ref…eish, he was a bitch too (but we’re not talking football now). However, I don’t complain about my job – I love it. If you hate it, quit your job. Follow your bliss!
4. I don’t wait on people to do things anymore. I do what I want to do. I’m proactive.
5. If I do something and I fail, I don’t beat myself up about it. Next time I’ll succeed. Enter…Chinese proverb from earlier
6. Creating my own opportunities – I’m quite good at doing this. My thing is, what you really want isn’t just going to land in your lap while you’re sitting on your back side chilling. GO OUT AND CREATE! Good things come to those who wait? NO. Good things happen to those who go out there, work their asses off and never give up. Again…enter the Chinese proverb.
7. Don’t go through life sleepwalking. Be conscious. Experience it. Why stagnate? We are not living on the open sea where we just go with the flow of the waves. Be different. Break the mould.
8. Grow…and don’t stop growing. Be inquisitive. Be open to new things. Live. Learn. Always.
9. Set realistic goals. I have a vision board and I look at it every day. It inspires me to work harder and smarter. I am in the process of designing my ideal life. I look at where I am, where I want to be, and I work at a pace that I’m comfortable with.
10. And finally….I stopped making that “jammer dat ek leef” excuses. It’s not sexy, it’s not cool. I’m glad to be alive and I give thanks daily! Try it…

I want to end with a quote from Bob Moawad: “The best day of your life is the one on which you decide your life is your own. No apologies or excuses. Nobody to lean on, rely on or blame. The gift is yours. It is an amazing journey and you alone are responsible for the quality of it. This is the day your life really begins!”

Love, Reesie

One Response to “YOUR LIFE IS YOUR LIFE – by Reesie”