The other day I was spending a moment of mindfulness before my presentation. I’ve been feeling like I have lost my motivation, and really just going through the motions. I needed to try to come back into my body so I could give the best presentation to the students that I possibly could. I took my own advice and allowed my mind to turn off briefly and just feel the water running down my back. Then all of a sudden I had this thought that I am alive and that I have an opportunity to make a difference simply because I am alive. And there were so many instances in my life where I might not have been alive today, but I am. And I realized that I’ve been in survival mode for months. I’ve been living through heartache, pain, and loss for so long. I’ve experienced blow after blow, but I’m alive and I’m so very grateful that I am. That realization flooded me with tears and I felt inspired and motivated to go do the work I love to do.
You are not just surving – you are alive
So often we are just trying to get by, that we forget that we are here right now – alive, breathing, and able. I often try to remind myself that life is so short. And that is true, but I have no idea when my life will end. It could be today or in 100 years. All I know is that right now I am here and I am alive and the moments are fleeting and I want to soak them all up.
I recently read in a book about going after what’s most true and beautiful in your life, and that choosing to live means embracing the pain of loss and heartache. Because if you don’t choose to live, then you never take risks, and if you never take risks, you instead only have the pain of regret and despair. So I’m choosing to live today. I’m choosing to recognize I’m alive and that my body is serving me right now.
Of course, that means I will take rest and feel the pain and the sadness, but I also will really allow myself to feel the other parts too – the excitement, the fear, and the beauty of the unknown, the joy, the laughter. Every day, I am tapping more and more into the person I want to be.
So today, allow yourself to feel all of those emotions. Because you’re alive. Allow yourself to experience something new. Simply because you’re alive. Allow yourself to take risks and to love hard. Simply because you’re alive. Your life is short, but instead of worrying about the time you have left, let’s take advantage of the time you have now.
I know the days may seem long and that you too are in survival mode, but you are not just surviving – you are alive. You are alive. I hope saying that and feeling that sends chills down your spine and maybe even tears to your eyes like it did for me. You are not stuck, you are growing. You are feeling all of the feelings which means you are here. And maybe a few years ago or months ago or even days ago you didn’t know if you would be here. But you are here. And you are alive.
Live in the now and keep going.
Xo,
Be Beautifully Simply You