NP FW: The Awakening

[Doug Millison]

I enjoyed rj's Olympian optimism so much, I thought I'd pass this 
along for all to enjoy. It's sweet, too.

>
>  > The Awakening
>>
>>  A time comes in your life when you finally get it . . . When in the
>>  midst of all your fears and insanity you stop dead in your tracks and
>>  somewhere the voice inside your head cries out - ENOUGH!
>>
>>  Enough fighting and crying or struggling to hold on and, like a
>>  child quietening down after a blind tantrum, your sobs begin to subside,
>>  you shudder once or twice, you blink back your tears and through a
>>  mantle of wet lashes you begin to look at the world through new eyes.
>>
>>  This is your awakening.
>>
>>  You realize that it's time to stop hoping and waiting for something
>>  to change or for happiness, safety and security to come galloping over
>>  the next horizon.
>>
>>  You come to terms with the fact that he is not Prince Charming and
>>  you are not Cinderella and that in the real world there aren't always
>>  fairy
>>  tale endings (or beginnings for that matter) and that any guarantee
>>  of "happily ever after" must begin with you and in the process a sense of
>>  serenity is born of acceptance.
>>
>>  You awaken to the fact that you are not perfect and that not
>>  everyone will always love, appreciate or approve of who or what you are .
>>  .
>>  . and that's OK. (They are entitled to their own views and opinions.) And
>>  you
>>  learn the importance of loving and championing yourself and in the process
>>  a sense of newfound confidence is born of self-approval.
>>
>>  You stop bitching and blaming other people for the things they did
>>  to you (or didn't do for you) and you learn that the only thing you can
>>  really count on is the unexpected.
>>
>>  You learn that people don't always say what they mean or mean what
>>  they say and that not everyone will always be there for you and that it's
>>  not always about you. So, you learn to stand on your own and to take care
>>  of yourself and in the process a sense of safety & security is born of
>>  self-
>>  reliance.
>>
>>  You stop judging and pointing fingers and you begin to accept
>>  people as they are and to overlook their shortcomings and human frailties
>>  and in the process a sense of peace & contentment is born of forgiveness.
>>
>>  You realize that much of the way you view yourself, and the world
>>  around you, is as a result of all the messages and opinions that have been
>>  ingrained into your psyche. And you begin to sift through all the
>>  crap you've been fed about how you should behave, how you should look
>>  and how much you should weigh, what you should wear and where you should
>>  shop and what you should drive,
>>
>>  How and where you should live and what you should do for a living,
>>  who you should marry, and what you should expect of a marriage, the
>>  importance of having and raising children or what you owe your parents.
>>
>>  You learn to open up to new worlds and different points of view.
>>  And you begin reassessing and redefining who you are and what you really
>>  stand for.
>>
>>  You learn the difference between wanting and needing and you begin
>>  to discard the doctrines and values you've outgrown, or should never
>>  have bought into to begin with and in the process you learn to go with
>>  your instincts. You learn that it is truly in giving that we receive.
>>  And that there is power and glory in creating and contributing and you
>>  stop
>>  maneuvering through life merely as a "consumer" looking for your
>>  next fix.
>>
>>  Your learn that principles such as honesty and integrity are not the
>>  outdated ideals of a bygone era but the mortar that holds together
>>  the foundation upon which you must build a life.
>>
>>  You learn that you don't know everything; it's not your job to save
>>  the world and that you can't teach a pig to sing. You learn to
>>  distinguish between guilt and responsibility and the importance of setting
>>  boundaries and learning to say NO. You learn that the only cross to bear
>>  is
>>  the one you choose to carry and that martyrs get burned at the stake.
>  >
>>  Then you learn about love. Romantic love and familial love. How to
>>  love, how much to give in love, when to stop giving and when to walk away.
>>
>>  But learn not to project your needs or your feelings onto a relationship.
>>  You learn that you will not be more beautiful, more intelligent, more
>>  lovable
>>  or important because of the man on your arm or the child that bears
>>  your name.
>>
>>  You learn to look at relationships as they really are and not as
>>  you would have them be. You stop trying to control people, situations and
>>  outcomes.
>>
>>  You learn that just as people grow and change so it is with
>>  love...And you learn that you don't have the right to demand love on your
>>  terms just to make you happy.
>>
>>  And, you learn that alone does not mean lonely . . . and you look
>>  in the mirror and come to terms with the fact that you will never be a
>>  size 5 or a perfect 10 and you stop trying to compete with the image
>>  inside
>>  your head and agonizing over how you "stack up." You also stop working so
>>  hard at putting your feelings aside, smoothing things over and ignoring
>>  your needs.
>>
>>  You learn that feelings of entitlement are perfectly OK . . . . and
>>  that it is your right to want things and to ask for the things that you
>>  want and that sometimes it is necessary to make demands.
>>
>>  You come to the realization that you deserve to be treated with
>>  love, kindness, sensitivity and respect and you won't settle for less.
>>
>>  And, you allow only the hands of a lover who cherishes you to glorify you
>>  with his touch . . . and in the process you internalize the meaning of
>>  self-respect.
>>
>>  And you learn that your body really is your temple. And you begin
>>  to take care of it and treat it with respect. You begin eating a balanced
>>  diet, drinking more water and taking more time to exercise. You learn
>>  that fatigue diminishes the spirit and can create doubt and fear. So you
>>  take more time to rest.
>>
>>  And, just as food fuels the body, laughter fuels our soul. So you
>>  take more time to laugh and to play. You learn, that for the most part, in
>>  life you believe you deserve . . . and that much of life truly is a self-
>>  fulfilling prophecy.
>>
>>  You learn that anything worth achieving is worth working for and
>>  that wishing for something to happen is different from working toward
>>  making it happen.
>>
>>  More importantly, you learn that in order to achieve success you
>>  need direction, discipline and perseverance. You also learn that no one
>>  can do it all alone and that it's OK to risk asking for help. You learn
>>  that the only thing you must truly fear is the great robber baron of all
>>  time.
>>  FEAR itself.
>>
>>  You learn to step right into and through your fears because you
>>  know that whatever happens you can handle it and to give in to fear is to
>>  give away the right to live life on your terms.
>>
>>  And you learn to fight for your life and not to squander it living
>>  under a cloud of impending doom. You learn that life isn't always fair,
>>  you
>>  don't always get what you think you deserve and that sometimes-bad things
>>  happen to unsuspecting, good people. On these occasions you learn not to
>>  personalize things. You learn that God isn't punishing you or
>>  failing to answer your prayers. It's just life happening. And you learn to
>>  deal with evil in its most primal state - the ego.
>>
>>  You learn that negative feelings such as anger, envy and resentment
>>  must be understood and redirected or they will suffocate the life out of
>>  you and poison the universe that surrounds you. You learn to admit when
>>  you
>>  are wrong and to build bridges instead of walls. You learn to be
>>  thankful and to take comfort in many of the simple things we take for
>>  granted, things that millions of people upon the earth can only dream
>>  about; a full
>>  refrigerator, clean running water, a soft warm bed, a long hot shower.
>>
>>  Slowly, you begin to take responsibility for yourself by yourself
>>  and you make yourself a promise to never betray yourself and to never ever
>>  settle for less than your heart's desire. And you hang a wind chime
>>  outside your window so you can listen to the wind. And you make it a point
>  > to keep smiling, to keep trusting and to stay open to every wonderful
>>  possibility.
>>
>>  Finally, with courage in your heart and with God by your side you
>>  take a stand, you take a deep breath and you begin to design the life you
>>  want to as best as you can.
>>
>>  Author Unknown

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