Life is an evolving progression. There is no stasis … no parking lot … no statutorial sanctum …
To embrace life, we have to embrace CHANGE. We change or die! And the world around us changes, so we have to adapt. And the speed of change is ever-increasing.
What got you to the age of two won’t get you through kindergarten; what got you through kindergarten won’t get you through middle school or high school … college … a job promotion … etc. … despite claims made otherwise by Robert Fulghum!
In the process, we have to embrace TEMPORALITY, the need for GROWTH and DEVELOPMENT, the reality of DECAY / DEGENERATION and the need for RENEWAL / REGENERATION.
We have to embrace going “WHERE NO MAN – especially US – HAS GONE BEFORE.”
We have to embrace TRANSFORMATION / “Metamorphosis”:
Consider the caterpillar just emerging from its cocoon, thinking:
“Life will never be the same again!”
You will echo those words MANY times in your life
(or else you will not have lived fully!)
Embrace BEING!
Embrace BECOMING!
… a new YOU … emerging from a “bubble” of youthful, unfinished business.
… YOU, Inc. … getting seriously entrepreneurial … MAKING CREATIVE LIFE HAPPEN!
Embrace different and more distant horizons:
… New opportunity (otherwise, prepare to become bored and beleaguered)
… New “Neverlands” – places you “never Dreamed” you might end up.
… Uncertainty: It’s where creativity and adventure begin.
… “Nerd-Dom”: “Specialness” is cut from different cloth; weave your own.
… Solitude (It solidifies both IDENTITY and RESOLVE.)
… Globalism – it’s where the future is and where the biggest opportunities are.
And don’t shy from embracing tougher choices and engagements … they’re the stuff from which the greatest successes and grandest fulfillment are born. They keep us honest and vigilant, and are altogether ennobling, “enlifening” and enabling.
Embrace GRIT: It’s the stuff that molds champions!
Embrace CRITICISM: We can’t always see or appreciate our own limitations.
Embrace INTROSPECTION: Honest self-appraisal bears much fruit and avoids many pitfalls.
Embrace HUMILITY: Smarter, wiser, faster and more skilled individuals abound and the more honestly we own up to not “knowing it all”, the more willingly we can learn, the more openly we accept diversity, and the more enthusiastically we can contribute.
Embrace FAILURE: It is from Failure we learn what works and what doesn’t, what not to do, how to do better … to do different … to be more assuredly and sustainably successful.
Embrace BOUNDARIES: Boundaries are like guard rails to keep us from straying too far into dangerous or unproductive territory. But also look for fertile, unplowed fields ahead where there are unbounded possibilities for productive and profitable engagement.
“A canal boat has no need of a compass.”
George R. Hewitt
Embrace GIVING STUFF UP that no longer works or never did:
… SELF-CENTEREDNESS
… TRIBALISM
… Unfounded ASSUMPTIONS
… Unrealistic EXPECTATIONS
… Unwarranted ENTITLEMENTS
… BAD HABITS
… RATIONALIZATIONS
… IMMEDIATE GRATIFICATION
The universe, from whose dust you were “begotten” and through whose “ether” and workings you must navigate, will much more likely embrace YOU.
Embrace that part of “Living in the NOW” that connects most directly to a promising future.
“I spend a very substantial amount of my time preparing for the future
because that’s where I plan to spend most of my life.”
Attributed to William James
Embrace ACTION: It’s what gets stuff DONE and what moves us most opportunely from NOW to NEXT.
Embrace MOMENTUM: It’s the only thing that will break the stand-off between an immovable object and an irresistible force.
Finally, embrace ABSURDITY! It fosters a sense of humor and reinforces the foundations of creativity. Come to think of it, BECOME ABSURDLY GOOD AT WHATEVER YOU DO! Extremes in the pursuit of excellence and advancement – and in pursuit of life itself – are not only forgivable but establish lasting legacies. Quartermaster
