A few years ago I was living the American dream. I had a high paying job, the house, the cars, the vacations, the fat nest egg. I don’t know that it was ever enough. I don’t think I ever kicked back and fully breathed it all in with pure joy in the moment. Except on vacation. There were fleeting moments when I was on the water somewhere when I could really drink it all in.
I was doing what I had been taught to do. Work hard, save and hoard. Play it super safe. That means play small and stay small. If you don’t put yourself in the game, you cannot lose. Play by these rules and you will be fine. I may have been fine but I was far from fulfilled. I was far from magnificent! I was missing my whole life, watching from the sidelines as it passed me by.
I never stopped to question the rules. I never stopped to question whose rules they even were. I never stopped to wonder if those rules were accurate or viable for me anymore.
Now I do. Now I question the rules that affect my life on a regular basis. Is it really required that you trade your life for some job that you like, mostly, but don’t love? Is that paycheck really security? Can that fat nest egg really provide you security if your mind won’t allow you to feel secure no matter what the number says?
I asked myself all of these questions and more. And the answers I found shook the foundation of all I had known. The answer I found, in a nutshell, was no. The life of my dreams, the security I sought, the work that I love, I realized are all available for me and are my choice.
God gave me a spirit of power, love and a sound mind – the ability to think for myself and to control my own thoughts. I was given these tools. And these tools are more important and more powerful than any circumstance or situation. These tools ensure that I can actually feel secure. These tools ensure that I can live in joy and gratitude in this moment and every moment. These tools ensure that I land on my feet. No matter what.