Sometimes Up is Down

Life has always been a journey for me. It's never been defined by mere wins or losses, but experiences. The fullness of those experiences, regardless of their magnitude. The moments you absorb, whether through smiling, laughter, or tears of joy or pain.

The things you learn about yourself and the world around you. It's never-ending for me. Because there's always something new to discover about self and our fascinating world. There's always joy, but it starts within before you can genuinely sense it around you. The birds chirping, children laughing, the ducks quacking and the butterflies pollinating. There's always something.

I don't see life as one direction. Sometimes moving backwards is required to go forward; sometimes forward is backwards. It's all in perspective and distinctive to your personal journey. This does not mean returning to old relationships, situations or bad habits. But sometimes we sprint through our journey so fast that we miss the most valuable lessons.

Sometimes the top of the steps look like the bottom, and the bottom looks like the top. It depends on where you internally stand within your own life. No one can take the climb for you and no one can truly narrate your journey. It takes time away from others, intimate moments and vulnerability. It takes understanding where you're truly to go.

I’ve always had the feeling that life loves the liver of it. You must live and life will be good to you, give you experiences. They may not all be that pleasant, but nobody promised you a rose garden. But more than likely if you do dare, what you get are the marvelous returns. Courage is probably the most important of the virtues, because without courage you cannot practice any of the other virtues. - Dr. Maya Angelou, Conversation with Maya Angelou

This is how I live my life. Yes, I have goals and list, but I don't define myself by what's commonly stated and given. Life isn't school or a competition. Regardless of whatever wins I have or the goals I reach, I'll always be me. While I appreciate applause and admiration, I'm not defined by them. My world is so vast that I don't care to be defined by things I do or become a 'human doing', I want to remain a human being. A loving, human being.

I want to continue to grow yet remain rich in my quirkiness and unique perspective. I want to continue to creatively add to the world without making myself the center of it. My indosyncracies naturally make me stand out along with my mind. So I have no need to make myself a part of the circus. You may consider similar; I'm unsure and I won't force you. But to add to world, as we're individually and uniquely created, requires us to examine ourselves if we plan to escape our present challenges and polarization.

It's the richness of our individuality that makes life valuable and allows us to come together as a community and society. It allows us to create art and be poetic. The richness of our individuality is what allows us to embrace our genuine commonality and come together as a people. It's not what's superficially given, but discovered as we question life and listen to one another.

So are you willing to go backwards to go forward or keep going forward as we go backwards? I can't answer for you. But I will always enrich myself in various direction to cultivate the fullness of self and nurture the world around me.

Keep growing. 🌱❤️