The life we live now is a direct reflection of our inner respect, love, hatred, fears and standards we have.

Should our lives be purposeful or purposeless?
Should our lives have goals or be goalless?
Should our lives be meaningful or meaningless?
Should our lives even have “should’s”?

Only you can answer these questions for yourself.

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Spending precious time you will never get back on passing endeavors which do not cause your heart to leap out of your chest are futile attempts of doing what you “ought to do.” Ought to do are harsh swear words to our tender soul, where it deserves nothing less than personal accountability, gentle tending, humble sincerity and Truth.

I see time-pressed folks running from home to work, work to home, day in and day out. Their blank faces plastered with cold, unrelenting looks, reflect the deep emptiness which they perpetually feel inside.

Are they productive? Subjectively, yes. Are they making a wage? A living wage, yes. Does their soul soar like the free birds in the open sky? This, we cannot be sure of.

The person in the mirror knows, though. If only they’d take a long, hard look in the mirror and see themselves for who they really are: timeless, beautiful, an abundant spirit that has the entire world in the palm of their hands. They can do anything they ever wanted to do, they can be anyone they ever wanted to be. They can … but some won’t.

Poisons hurt twice, once on the way in and once on the way out. Some folks allow these poisons to permeate their entire being but never allow for such violating toxins to seep out completely. These poisons have taken over their lives. Poisons of ought to do’s, should’s, an expectant life that appeases others rather than a life that appeases themselves. A battle has been victoriously won but it is not the one in which they probably would have wanted.

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Earnestness in living life with a particular zest and enthusiasm allows us to have a skip in our step. Life becomes fiercely contagious for us and each day we wake up is a most wondrous present to be unwrapped. We do not know what lays in store for us for that day but nevertheless, we are excited beyond measure.

If everyday is a present, why aren’t more people unwrapping this gift given to us?

Instead, some choose to ignore these presents completely, allowing them to gather dust and cobwebs in the mildewed corner of the cellar, and rush off to tend more important measures.

These important measures, turns out, don’t add positivity and longevity to their lives. What these folks have done is forsaken themselves for the cause of a seemingly better mission.

These missions are grand illusions for no mission is ever more important than the one on your heart.

**

Most advertising and mass media tell us we are not sexy enough, lean enough, young enough, white enough, pretty enough, rich enough, smart enough, healthy enough.

We simply are not enough — to them.

But we really, truly are. Did you know that? We really, truly are.