I wrote this piece for my young, teenage granddaughter. Getting through the teen years can sometimes be a rough journey. I want her to embrace all of her life — the fearful times as well as the fun ones. Travel well, Catherine!
Life mimics a journey. Like every journey, you sometimes experience stretches of boredom when nothing seems to happen. Sometimes you experience periods of fatigue and times when you just want to go to turn on your IPad or get something to eat. Most journeys provide fun, laughter and adventure. Others provoke tears. Journeys create insights into other people and yourself as you open your eyes to ideas not yet known.
Most of all, your life journey becomes what you make it. You interpret your experiences by labeling feelings as excited, sad, fearful, or joyous. Believe it or not, you even have the ability to enjoy contentment and peace in the middle of chaos or sadness. You decide. You provide the adjective.
Mark Twain shared the following: Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.
Mark Twain’s statement encourages you to take risks, venture forth, and strive for more than you imagined. The happenings you encounter on your journey make up your life. Nothing that occurs should be labeled “good” or “bad”. Life constantly alternates between events you enjoy and those you want to reject. Relish every step of the way—even the sad and frightening steps. This is your life.