Continue to Live and Love in BIG WAYS in your current world.

On By AndreiIn #personal, Inspire, life8 Comments

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With age comes the choice of moral responsibility.

How do you want to live your life? What will make you happy? How do you want to be treated? What do you want to leave behind? These were the questions I grew up with. They are phrased and asked in such a simplistic way that simple answers like “I want to take walks after dinner with my wife” or “I want everyone to have equal rights and opportunities” feel pretty logical. The fact that it’s not that easy is my reminder that it’s okay not to have answers to questions that don’t quite fit.

The main question I have been asking myself lately is, what choice do you want to make? Each day, each hour, we have choices to make. What to wear, what to say, where to go, who to meet, and what to dedicate our time to. It’s a constant puzzle of making a choice, finding out if it feels good or bad, then choosing again. Sometimes it really comes together, and other times nothing quite fits correctly. The reminder to take a step back, re-examine the puzzle, and try again is all we can do.

Whether you’re figuring out the best method to get every member of the family work harmoniously together, the next strategy in enjoining camaraderie in the workplace, how to pay for dinner tonight, or what your city/local council really does, etc., they are all choices. It can feel overwhelming to digest them all at once. Much like the brain hole that is social media, we are constantly scrolling through a list of self-reflections while literally scrolling through snippets of horrific news, filtered photos, and a constant stream of culture, history and events. And with every choice comes a million more choices.

That’s not the scary part. This is: The part where I have to make choices, for myself. Do I allow myself to turn my brain off and watch a movie whose sole purpose is to entertain me? Do I take a different commute to work without a book or headphones and engage with strangers? What social justice organization do I want to learn more about and donate to? Can I really afford that? Is it normal to not want to talk to anyone all day? What should I wear to the party? How much news can I absorb and still get up and fight whatever powers there’d be that are deemed responsible?

I certainly don’t have the right answers, because there may not be just one. I can confidently say I want to choose to do more, learn more, love more, lead more, inspire more and engage more. I want to stand up to and break down inequality and injustice. I want to woo the love of my life and fall in love with her all over again. I want to adore my job and feel pride in what I create. I want to go camping and dive from a cliff and ride in a helicopter and go to rallies and get a cat and learn guitar and do something that made someone’s day a little better, so on and so forth. I want to do it all. Yet I want to feel comfortable knowing the fact that I CAN’T DO IT ALL.

Learning that I can’t fix everything feels like life’s cruelest lesson. I CAN’T single-handedly end the culture of abuse and injustice. I CAN, however, make choices that educate others on consent and upholding pride and dignity in every individual. I CAN’T fix a friend’s broken heart. But I CAN bring them a bottle of wine and listen. I CAN’T expect others to help me with my choices. Yet, I CAN surround myself with people who respect my choices and learn with me.

Maybe, despite my age, I haven’t figured out how to truly be an adult, but I am slowly getting better at feeling ok with not knowing. And while I have been told I should be better at asking for help, I don’t think it is help I am looking for. How do you even begin to ask for help when people are struggling to sustain their daily lives? How do you complain about debt when you live in a world full of violence and injustice? The “help” is reading about a scholarship a student just received. Or seeing my family or friends huddled in a room sharing funny stories. It’s getting daily emails of positive ways to lift up an organization, or organizing a local fundraiser. What helps me make good choices is seeing the good choices of those around me and those who inspire the hell out of me. It’s seeing how choices affect others and learning how to make better ones in the future.

What helps is stepping back from the puzzle and taking it one piece at a time.

So maybe that’s it. Maybe it took me nearly 1,000 words to say that life has thus far taught me one critical lesson: In every turn, make better choices.

Photo credits: Google photos

There is no such thing as a “Blank Page”

On By AndreiIn #personal, Inspire, life, Motivational9 Comments

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Sometimes a blank page is so welcoming… a gift! You get to create the story fresh, the way you want it!

As a blogger or a person fond of writing, I know that there is no such thing as a blank page. You start, crumble, delete, erase and start over again until you get it right… sometimes it isn’t even right but it is the way you want it. Often, at least in my case, it goes against the grain of other people’s views and opinions. At that point you have a choice… cave in or write your article! I’ve always chosen to write about my views and opinions.

So much like life… no blank pages, just taking the pages you already have and creating the story of your life out of the story of your life. You can cave in and live a life less than you want or go against the grain and really live with no regrets.

Let us not forget that every day is chapter one. The incredible thing is we can change the story and even the table of contents any time we want. It is simply a decision, which isn’t so simple sometimes. But absolutely necessary if you want the book of your life to be yours and not something someone else wrote!

Are you living your book, or are you allowing someone else to be the author of your life?

I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below 🙂

 Photo credits: Google photos

“YOU” Version 2.0 (A New Year’s Message)

On By AndreiIn #personal, Inspire, life, Thoughts & Quotes6 Comments

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Each and every one of us has questions to consider with the start of this new year: How do we move past the difficulties we experienced during the year behind us? What do we hope to accomplish moving forward? How do we admit that we are not perfect, that we have made mistakes and (here’s the hard part) ― forget them and move on!

Every person has an inner struggle and battle to be the best version of themselves that they believe is possible, challenging themselves to exceed beyond expectations and satisfy others. However, is it possible to be perfect? Perfection rests on the individual; challenging yourself to such a high bar puts immense pressure on us, rather than just focusing on being the best version of ourselves.

Being perfect assumes we have infinite time on our hands, when in fact our time is limited. We spend so much time every day trying to be perfect; we brush our hair and teeth to make sure we’re well-groomed, pick our best outfits to impress both young and old people, and we spend time worrying about everything we did or said that day, hoping people didn’t perceive it the wrong way. We focus on the little things rather than the bigger picture, but the truth of the matter is that time controls us, so rather than waste our precious time, we should make use of our time being the best we can be and seeing the bigger picture. This is where Salvador Dali, a surrealist artist who is renown for his perception of time in his paintings of clocks, emphasizes this issue when he states, “Have no fear of perfection ― you’ll never reach it.”

As Dali rightly points out, there is no such thing as perfection, and searching for that form of perfection can haunt us and prevent us from moving forward. We spend precious time trying to be this ideal and perfect version of ourselves, rather than taking the time and being “us.” Thus, if perfection is nothing more than an illusion, something that is unattainable, then why do we continue to beat ourselves up for it when we fall short? This is where we need to stop and draw the lines.

 

Thus, would it not be better instead to take the time to funnel our energy into just being a better version of ourselves? Isn’t THAT what the new year is about?

So, the question remains, if we’re not perfect, then who are we? The answer is simple. You are YOU. We are each unique and different in our own way. By putting the pressure of perfection aside and focusing on who we are and who we want to be we become the best versions of ourselves and the sooner we can realize that, the sooner we can change our perception.

The good news is that every one of us is capable of this, and with the new year, every one of us is entitled to change the way we think about ourselves.

My wish in this new year is that we can begin this year with a clean slate, in which each of us forgives ourselves and our past mistakes, so that we each can become a better (not perfect) version of ourselves.

Happy New Year!!!

Photo credits: Google photos (Salvador Dali painting)

C’est la vie (Such is life).

On By AndreiIn #personal, Inspire, life9 Comments

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“What is promise if not something that’s impossible to live up to? Promise is inchoate and promise is what binds us. Some of us died, some got sick, some got rich, some had bad luck, some of us were fortunate, more than others. But failed promise only truly fails when it leads to lowered expectation.”

– C.J. Cregg, The West Wing, #413, “The Long Goodbye.”

Another year is drawing to a close. 2017 has been a year of dizzying highs and terrible lows in varying degrees for each one of us.

Like the script above says, “Some of us died, some got sick, some got rich, some had bad luck, some of us were fortunate, more than others.”

– I remember those who were in my life who are not this year, having passed on to that realm beyond time.

– I think of my dad who is courageously and inspiringly thriving through life despite partial physical paralysis due to stroke since 2012.

– I think of my colleague who just landed her dream job with the kind of salary she’s been dreaming of enjoying ever since she started building up her career.

– I think of a friend whose partner and he are facing challenges in their marital relationship because one of them suddenly developed anxiety issues.

– I think about my wife (a lot) and how she is a much better partner than I will ever be.

All of these memories, feelings, hopes, and fears culminate in my mind and heart as another year draws to a close to the point where they just kind of “cancel each other out,” and I end the year (spiritually and emotionally speaking) not in deficit, nor in surplus, but at a “realistic zero.”

C’est la vie (such is life).

For many years when I was a much younger man, (well, not that I’m already that old though) driven by ambition and striving to be great at my craft, I remember always ending the year disappointed, as if I hadn’t done enough, been enough, or accomplished enough.

However, as I age I see that spirituality, faith (whatever you choose to call it) is not about “making things happen.” It’s all about “letting things happen,” and allowing ourselves to be shaped in the process.

We can buck it, sure. We can push back on it, sure — but that’s the easy way. It takes much more courage to embrace whatever good or bad we see enveloping us without being swayed by it.

We learn to become (as the Vedic tradition so beautifully puts it) “a candle that doth not flicker in the wind.”

My hope for you and yours in these final days of 2017 is that you would see life for what it really is — that you would equally accept and embrace all that is wonderful and all that is terrible about it.

There’s something in that for each of us.

We can spend ourselves silly trying to experience pleasure and/or avoid pain, but the main point is simply choosing to “be” in whatever triumph or circumstance we find ourselves in. Letting life “soak.” Letting things have their appropriate time, but not clinging to them as they pass us by.

Wherever you are in your life in this season — rich, poor, sick, struggling, winning, losing, remember that all that your life is can change in an instant, and all that we have to experience, (and have to) experience, is the now.

Until 2018.

“When we realize the shortness of life, we begin to see the importance of making every moment count” -Dillon Burroughs

On By AndreiIn #personal, Inspire, life, Thoughts & Quotes22 Comments

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Couple of days back, I started watching Breaking Bad on Netflix. I realize I’m probably one of the last people on earth to see the ratings giant but I found one character fascinating.

Walter White.

Walt has an ordinary life. He works in a job below his pay scale and ability, has a social life that stinks, and spends most weekends at work or in the shopping mall. It’s a safe, steady life but one full of monotony and boredom.

When Walt finds out he’s dying, he jumps into action to change the course of his life and focus on what really needs to be done. Sure, he makes a bad decision there, but the point is that he re-evaluates his life and figures out what his priorities are once he gets the bad news.

Walt’s predicament led me to re-think my views about death and the way I am  living out my life. I revisited some of my posts here wherein I stressed on the importance of acting with urgency in terms of living out our life. Death comes to us all sooner or later but why do we always wait for bad news before we launch into action?

Maybe because most of us live a life just like Walt’s.

We work our butts off and we hang out at the mall. We watch too much TV and we skip exercise in favor of the bag of chips or bowl of ice cream. We know we could do better but the day-to-day has a habit of getting in the way. We’ll change our routine tomorrow, research a new career next week and look for greater meaning in our lives once (insert any trivial activity that you presume all important to do first).

There’s no ultimatum. No deadline. No pressure. So we plod through life accepting the status quo even though, silently, we’re craving for more.

But what if, like Walt, we had a limited time left on this earth. Would we re-evaluate the things of importance to us? If we knew this was it, that our days were numbered, would we take back the control and fight for more?

Of course we would.

We’d write that book, complete that course, travel around the world and maybe even discover an exciting new lifestyle abroad.

Or we’d add greater meaning to our lives in other, less extreme, ways. Perhaps we’d say “no” not as much, be kinder to ourselves and to others, embrace what we love in life, and focus on the people and things that matter most.

We’d look at our lives — the lengthy commute to work, the long periods away from home, the corporate crap with its unrelenting hours, the way we define success — and we’d say “not interested,” “no, thank you,” and “no more.”

We’d strive for more, push harder, look deeper. We wouldn’t accept the way things are so we’d adjust the edges, widen the boundaries and search for greater meaning and fulfilment, knowing that our time on this earth was limited.

But our time is limited and it is finite so shouldn’t we live life like this all the time?

Oftentimes fear is the culprit. Fear of the unknown. Fear of uncertainty. Fear of change.

We already live in uncertain times — politically, economically and socially — so we cling on to any semblance of order and control in our lives. We work hard to provide for our families and find ourselves caught up in the daily work grind.

Many people although recognizing the need for change and receiving that needed “kick at the bum” still see the idea of change terrifying and paralyzing. So much so that they chose the easy option and the path of less resistance. They opted to stay stuck in the status quo.

We all wait to the last minute to act. People just do.

I mean, when was the last time you turned in an essay four weeks early or finished that company report months ahead of schedule? Rather than leave it so late, it has to be better to get on with things before our time is up.

We’re not all going to climb Everest or swim the English Channel or sail the World’s oceans but what’s wrong with making a few small changes along the way? A tweak here, an adjustment there, because small changes can still have a big impact on the quality of our lives.

So we need to start living life on our terms and identify what’s important versus what doesn’t actually matter. Consider that our time on this planet is finite and start to live our lives with the kind of haste that normally follows bad news.

What will you do differently? What legacy do you choose to leave?

Photo credits: Google photos

“We travel, some of us forever, to seek other places, other lives, other souls.” – Anais Nin

On By AndreiIn #personal, Inspire, Thoughts & Quotes16 Comments

Travel

My lovely wife loves to travel. When speaking of planning for a leisure or adventure trip or visiting other places, my wife seem to speak in her most sweet and endearing tone as if lulling me to comply as Odysseus did through the hypnotic singing of the Sirens in Homer’s  “The Odyssey”. She always gets her way through that. She usually did it of course by planning everything down to the least detail before presenting it to me just as a great sales specialist presents her product to a client haha. In fact as I was writing this post, I know that she’s up to something again and I wonder where to this time 🙂 Although she’s giving out hints, but nothing solid and final as of the moment.

I admit that her love for travelling has endeared me to love the idea of it as well. It reinforces the desire in my heart to see places, meet other people and experience  other cultures outside my hometown. On one of my post here, Invest in Life. Invest in Experiences!, I wrote about the value of investing in priceless experiences in life that makes us (truly) happy at the end of day.

Most people place greater value on material or financial gains, but travel can change you in ways that those things never can. On my part, travel gives me things that the newest phone (or any gadget) never will.

Whether you take a beach vacation, explore museums, etc., travel changes you. Travel makes you different. Strong. Independent. Capable. Flexible. Confident.

But the most important thing that travel has done for me is that it taught me how to be open. Travel has opened my eyes to things I never would have seen if I had never left the comforts of my home. Travel has opened my mind to ideas I never would have considered if I had only ever met other people. Travel has opened my heart and my world.

Travel has taught me to be open to breaking from the norm, to be open to doing things differently from the way other people do them. You don’t have to go where everyone else is going. Your vacation doesn’t have to be like everyone else’s. This world is so big. You can go anywhere you want and do anything you want. I think that is a beautiful thought.

Travel has taught me to be open to changing my mind.

When you’re on vacation, you can do anything you want. Just because you planned to do something one day, that doesn’t mean that’s what you have to do. Every day is a new adventure and sometimes, the best days are ones that aren’t planned at all. I’ll never forget the spontaneous trips around neighboring towns my wife and I took during weekends.

Travel has taught me how to be open to possibilities.

When you are planning a vacation, literally anything is possible. Why not break away from what you’re used to and try something new? The internet is filled with ideas. The possibilities are endless when you’re traveling and in your life.

When you’re traveling, you immerse yourself in a new culture. If you take the time to pay attention and open yourself up, you can learn so much from people who are different from you.

And to me, that is what makes travel such a worthwhile, lifelong endeavor. You never know how a trip will change you. You never know how a new place will open you up to something you never, ever, could have thought of before. You never know how a trip will challenge you. Because most people have that fear to veer away from what they’ve always known, what they’ve always done, or what they were expected to do.

My travels have taught me that I’m more resourceful than I ever knew, that the best days are the days where you are completely spontaneous, and that it’s okay — even good — to change your mind about things.

So when things don’t go the way I (or we) planned, I know I can come up with a different solution. When my wife and I realized that we wanted to completely change some elements to our life plan, we knew that it was okay to change our minds. 

We still have a lot to learn and a lot of places to go. But I think that we’re better for our travels and we will keep pursuing them. It’s true what they say – travel is the only thing you can buy that makes you richer.

 

Photo credits: Google photos