I am reading the book The Alchemist…again!   I picked it back up after finishing The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis.  If you haven’t read either book, go pick them up—you won’t be disappointed.  Both stories—in very different ways–touch on the fact that most people choose to walk away from true joy. I have noticed that to be true. Why is that? Could it be that many people choose to wear their misery like a security blanket because in their minds, familiar pain is easier than the unknown suffering that might occur if they attempt to live the life that they really desire and fail?   Of course, when we set out on the path toward our dream, we WILL encounter road blocks and brick walls.  But –as Randy Pausch (The Last Lecture) says— those brick walls are there to show us how much we really want something.   We will more than likely fall once or twice (or more) on our path toward achieving our true purpose, but the key to life is getting back up!  Some of the best lessons are taught through the difficult times.  We all—at some point—have known exactly what we wanted to be.  There was a time in your life when anything seemed possible, right?  It’s not too late to disinter that dream.  Life was meant to be lived.  Carpe Diem!

Love,

Beth

 I recently struck up an extended conversation with a man I barely knew.  He was eager to talk and almost seemed as if no one had asked him how he was doing in years.  The conversation actually broke my heart.  At the beginning of the chat, the man was jovial and energetic—he was really putting on his best face for me (a stranger).  Then, as I continued to ask questions about his life and respond to his tales, he became increasingly melancholy.  I soon realized that this man was completely weighed down by regret.  He spent his days looking back at the past instead of looking forward.  I hoped that our conversation would help relieve his burden and put some of his pain behind him, but as it came to a close he began to apologize for having had it at all.  Sadly, our conversation had just become one more thing that he regretted.   I reached out and touched his hand and told him that I didn’t regret our chat at all.  He smiled at me, but I could still see worry in his creased, aging eyes.  I would have loved to have lightened his load, but I realized that life is about our own personal journeys and only we can decide if we want to look forward or look backward.  We are all human, and we will inevitably make mistakes.  I guess the key to happiness is whether we choose to learn from our mistakes and move on or let our mistakes dictate how we live our lives and think about ourselves. 

Beth