School shootings, bombings at marathons, children killing children. Go listen to Black Eyed Peas' Where is the Love. The world is falling apart. We are man and we are sinful creatures. There is a Gollum in each of us. We are ugly, despicable creatures.
But what if we did not have to be that way?
My favorite time of the day is between 4:30-6AM. It is the time of the day when everything is quiet. Everyone is still asleep or cozied up in their homes or running through the chill of the morning air. The scent of freshly brewed coffee fills the city streets. The sound of feet pitter pattering down the hallway of the house, stockings pulled up to the knees. This is the time of day when you don't have to rush. You can be whoever you want to be. It is the happiest, most serene and mellow time of the day.
Think of the human you are at 4:30AM, after your coffee, of course. Even if you are still soundly sleeping in your bed, you are content, right? Most people don't wake up before 9AM to write down the ways in which they plan to ruin someone's life (hopefully you never do that, but we all have our days).
My ideal morning would be to wake up naturally at 4:30AM, pet Scofield and turn on some Local Natives. I would dance around my room in short shorts and an oversized T-shirt, hair thrown up in an unkempt fashion on top of my head. I would have my favorite striped knee socks on and, if it was cold, a flannel to cover my body. As my coffee brewed, I would throw a couple of egg whites on the stove and dance around with Scofield in my arms. Her ears would pull back, tightening the skin around her eyes, but I would hear her purr and know she was truly enjoying herself. After eating my eggs, I would hop on my bike to ride to the gym and teach a cycle class. When I finished, I would work on a painting before getting ready to go outside and run.
Fortunately for me, this is my life, or at least it was before I was hit by a car. And guess what? I was happy. Ecstatic.
We can live a beautiful life, but we can also live a life better than that. The wonderful thing about creation is we are all created with different passions. I may love teaching cycle while my roommate loves solving mathematical problems. My friend Emery could be passionate about creating foam designs on top of someone's latte while Jackie would rather teach children how to read and write. There is no reason to work a job you hate because, even though you hate it, someone else would love it.
Stop wasting your life. Stop living in unhappiness. Unhappiness is what causes people to hurt others. You wake up late, your hair is not cooperating, the beet juice you poured spilled all over the kitchen floor and you forgot your business report at the top of the staircase. Well shoot. Don't take it out on the person who cut you off in traffic. There is no reason to flip them the bird. Instead, take a deep breath, think of the person you want to be and be that person. Live a life you are proud of. Be an awesome father, an incredible athlete, an amazing scientist. You can be anything you want to be, it just takes time, planning, patience and practice.
Do it today. Write down your ten simple pleasures. Flannel and stripes make me incredibly happy, so what do you think you will find when you look in my closet? Write down the places you would like to visit in your lifetime. Create goals: Start small and end big. Find ways in which you can accomplish those goals and tell others about them. Ask those people to keep you accountable. I want to go to New Zealand. I also would like to complete an Ironman. I am currently setting money aside to compete at IMNZ with friends. What was it Eleanor Roosevelt said? "The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams". So believe. Without dreamers, we would not have organizations like Invisible Children or shows like How I Met Your Mother. Be a dreamer. Be a planner. Pursue. Conquer. Be a success story. Be a role model for your children, your friends, your parents, your spouse. Live a breathtakingly sensational life then sit back and watch others follow your lead.
This is all so true!
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