Thinking Out Loud

Thinking Out Loud: Turn Your Fantasy into Reality

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“It’s the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.”

 Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

NOTE: 2024 is in front of us. Call it a dream, adventure, quest, or pursuit embrace it not as some far off thing you’ll do once you retire. Don’t put it off any longer. You don’t have to do everything. Choose something that’s been gnawing at you. Turn to fantasy of the dream into a reality to be accomplished this year. Think of the story you’ll have to tell. Turn yourself loose, go on your hero’s quest.

Thinking Out Loud: Don’t Listen to the Lies

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“Don’t give in to your fears. If you do, you won’t be able to talk to your heart.”

― Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

NOTE: The door is always unlocked for us. There’s no bolt on it. There’s no alarm system set to sound if we open the door. All we have to do is to put our hand on the nob, twist it, push the door open, and walk through it. Fear holds us back. Fear lies to us and tells tales of the horrors that await us. We listen to the lies and they paralyze us. The other side of the door holds the promise of something better. It holds the promise of opportunity. Yes, it holds the promise of challenges. The challenges are there to strengthen us and teach us wisdom. Dare to open the door and step out into the sunlight.

Thinking Out Loud: Rise Up and Take on the Challenges

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“The secret of life, though, is to fall seven times and to get up eight times.”

― Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

NOTE: Have you ever failed? I have and combined we don’t have enough toes and fingers to count the ways I’ve failed. It happens. Failure only stops us if we give it power over us. Failure only stops us if we give in to despair and hopelessness. When life throws you a challenge in 2024, don’t give up. If you’re knocked to your knees, rise up. Let the challenges you’ll face in 2024 know they better be ready for a fight and you won’t back down.

Thinking Out Loud: Love Loves Without Conditions

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“One is loved because one is loved. No reason is needed for loving.”

~ Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

NOTE: Love needs no reason to love. Love loves without conditions. Love loves in spite of flaws. Love Loves because love is unable to act in any other way. We know when we are loved this way. It isn’t an intellectual way of knowing, it is a heart felt way of knowing. We know in spite of our flaws and imperfections we are loved. When another person offers you that kind of love, you have everything you’ll ever need, you’ve found your treasure because love found you.

Thinking Out Loud: Let Your Dreams Light Up Your Passion

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“It’s the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.” ~  Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

NOTE: 2024 is ahead. What unfulfilled dreams do you have? Have you put your dreams on a shelf to wait until the right time? Now is the time. Now is the moment. You won’t find a better time or moment than now to ignite the fire in your belly to chase your dream or to embrace a new bolder dream. Turn your dream into an adventure. Let your dream light the spark that sets your passions ablaze.

Thinking Out Loud: Earning a Hero’s Reward

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“Do not trouble your hearts overmuch with thought of the road tonight. Maybe the paths that you shall each tread are already laid before your feet, though you do not see them.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

NOTE: It seems to be part of our human nature to worry. We worry over things which haven’t happened. Perhaps it is our penchant for security as we seek to control the events of our lives believing we know how they should turn out. From my experience, I am happy I wasn’t able to control how things were to turn out. I would have lived a boring life. When we open ourselves to accepting the unknown, we free our heroic spirit to bravely face the challenges that lie ahead. Each challenge tests us. Each challenge teaches us. If we’re brave and don’t retreat, we earn a hero’s reward at the end of the journey.

Thinking Out Loud:

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“For still there are so many things
that I have never seen:
in every wood in every spring
there is a different green.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

NOTE: The new year is will be here in a few days. It offers 366 days (2024 is a leap year) of adventures. Will you choose to be an adventurer or will you chose to watch life pass by? Age doesn’t matter. Adventures await us. Now is the time to start dreaming of the adventures you want to take. Adventures come in all sizes and shapes. No two adventures are exactly alike. Think of an adventure as experiencing life differently than you’ve been experiencing it. Sometimes life thrusts an adventure upon us. Other times, we can choose to explore new and exciting adventures. Yes, there still are so many things each of us has never seen.

Thinking Out Loud: Your Moment is Now

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“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo.
“So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

NOTE: “I wish . . .” Fill in the blanks. How many times have each of us said that? The present context or moment is not always overflowing with sweetness and love. There are times when the present moment is rough and the bumpy road has no end in sight. In those times it takes heaps of courage to face the present moment and not look for an escape route. It is the challenge of the present moment that shapes our character and informs our destiny. Whatever the challenge of the moment, it is different for each of us. It is as if destiny shaped our moment’s challenge. There is no guarantee of success when we face it. We may get knocked down and stomped on. Down on the ground we face another challenge, will we rise and fight on, or will we remain on the ground. Rise up. Fight on. Meet every challenge head on. Your moment is now, make it a magnificent moment.

Thinking Out Loud: Who Are You?

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“The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.”

— Ralph Waldo Emerson

NOTE: Emerson takes away all excuses. It’s up to us to decide who we want to be. There is a huge difference in choosing between what I want to be and who I want to be. What I want to be is a choice of careers. We pursue the what. Often in pursuit of the what our what changes. Who I want to be refers to something much deeper and intrinsic to our being. Only those close to us and our self know the who I am. Other people see us in terms of what I am. Do I choose to listen to the voices demanding I become more of what I am? Or, do I listen to the internal voice that says, “Who are you? And, who are you becoming?” Take time to reflect on those questions. What would those who are closest to you say?

Thinking Out Loud: Let Your Heart Take the Photos

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“Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them.”
― Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

NOTE: The beauty of life is all around us. Each evening after dinner I head out for a walk just as the sun is setting. The sunsets are strikingly beautiful. Each one is different. Each one fills me with awe. By the time I return home the evening stars are making their appearance. I don’t look down, I look up. My heart takes the photos my iPhone is not capable of taking. Become one with the beauty surrounding you. It makes a difference.

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