Hello, my lovely community! Can you believe that we are already in May? That is entirely wild for me but also exciting. Earlier this week, I was tidying around my room and came across some old sticky notes I’ve placed in my journals regarding my goals for 2024 and revisiting my priorities.
Reviewing my old habits, notes, and goals, I realized how much we can ignore our goals achieved when we’re chasing the constant feeling of not being enough. Well, I am here to reassure you that you are sufficient. There are more than goals, timelines, performance reviews, and self-criticism. Life is most beautiful when embracing the changes of the seasons and accepting opportunities. For starters, it would help if you challenged yourself to stop relying on the weatherman to tell you how to prepare for your day. Instead, trust your intuition, take risks, and embrace the empowerment of walking with the wind versus against the wind.
Fire the weatherman of your life.
You are designed to have the courage to change directions, opinions, and self-identity as you mature and realize what no longer serves you or makes you happy. How can you have a say in redirecting your life when you accept anything and everything from those around you? You can’t. Sometimes, life can be scary when deciding to fully transition into a different lifestyle element, whether moving from your hometown, accepting a new career, romance, or investing. But it is necessary.
Change, innovation, or rebranding can be intimidating and scary to many. However, change is necessary. We cannot fear the outcome so much that we position ourselves entirely never to experience heartbreak, re-skilling, or physically changing locations again. Like stormy weather, only a few individuals willingly will be caught outside in a rain or storm. However, if they have the privilege not to, they will choose to stay in the safety and comfort of their homes or places of business, functioning in the comfort zone of their controlled environments of knowns versus risk-taking and changing their views.
Who likes the feeling of rejection, heartache, or tragedy? The answer is no one. However, we must progress and elevate our lives. Those failed relationships, friendships, and careers were proven tests of trials and tribulations that ultimately destined us to elevate ourselves and mature toward our high selves. Though the process was heart-wrenching, uncomfortable, confusing, or, at times, regressing, we had to experience every emotion to push us to where we are now.
You cannot allow yourself to become scared of the unknown or the idea of leveling up in life. As someone who works in corporate America, we thrive on continuous education and innovation. There is no growth if you aren’t willing to challenge yourself and trust the process. Sometimes, in the process, there is no sense of direction or known timeline when the storm is ending or how much longer it is until we may reap the reward. So, we become hesitant instead of willingly jumping into the unknown to accept new experiences. We build and protect ourselves inside a sanctuary of known variables.
We must break the mold of always having or wanting a safety net in life. We cannot always guarantee that growth, elevation, or promotion will protect us, but it can improve your resiliency and perseverance through any storm or change. Just like the rain, the storms of life never last; it can seem like they will never end because while we are experiencing those uncomfortable changes, we are constantly asking ourselves, “Why me?” When honestly, God calls us to improve and want more for ourselves!
Put yourself in uncontrolled environments by enjoying the rain in life, allowing the rain to pour down on you, and being grateful for your experiences through change and the perseverance and wisdom gained from elevating your life. After the storm clears, just like my five-mile park run, the sun is brighter, the rain dries, and you are much stronger than when you first started! Living through those “rough,” “bad,” and “unpredictable times” allowed God to prepare your heart, your strength, and your integrity for what he was organizing and is preparing to bless you with.
Please do not become the individual with limited opinions because they’re afraid to open their ears and eyes to the possibilities of exploration and discoveries past the storm front. Instead, lead with courage, perseverance, and an optimistic mindset. Things will improve, and the storm is worth the outstanding award.
Embrace the causality of life.
Life will not always be perfect, smell like roses, or eating healthy. Occasionally, you will shake up the patterns of your life because, as humans. We are all meant to experience and grow with life from the beginning to the end. No one likes to be alone, nor does anyone like a pessimist who always dampens the mood of life. As humans, constantly evolving and growing, we are meant to experience life and have fun. We should not be overly consumed by the approvals of others nor fall in line with what others have labeled us, especially when we have not requested that label.
You lose sight of the bigger picture when you control your life so much. You lose the ability to relate to those around you and share conversations and memories with others around you. Life is meant to be enjoyed, to show the vibrancy, and to embrace the unknowns. And that is what I did. You can enjoy life without splurging on too many things, like becoming belligerently drunk, cursing, driving erratically, and buying excessive jewelry, clothes, purses, or shoes. There’s a beautiful balance to life that we’re all meant to experience and discover on our own.
Tend to the garden of your soul.
So, my friends, before I conclude this blog entry. Tend to the garden of your soul through all seasons of life, not only during the sunny and bright days but also when the forecast is grey and cloudy and thunderstorms are expected to last three to four days. Storms never last, but they make us stronger; they teach us how to persevere throughout life, how to draw closer to those in our lives, and how to be thankful for what God has gracefully blessed us with and that he never abandoned us. I was listening to this affirmation yesterday, and it mentioned that even when we can no longer hear, feel, or sense God, he hasn’t abandoned us. But he is ahead of us. Think about that!
We’re over here, experiencing our lives in different phases of altitude and degrees, and God is five steps ahead of us. He is so great that he has already seen this episode of our life, changed channels, and is crafting the mid-season finale of season two of our lives. There are some days when I sense, feel, and hear God, and others when I don’t. On those days, when I don’t listen to him, my mind is immediately filled with, “Oh no, did I do something to upset him?” But the answer is, I haven’t done anything that has upset God. He isn’t naive, and he isn’t an angry God. He is a loving, graceful, and accepting God.
He knows our actions, thought processes, the storms we have embraced, and those to come—those beautiful mountains of blessings and sunsets. God has the blueprint of our lives, and we are honestly along for the ride! We must trust God, admit we can’t control the unknown, and promise him that we will tend to the gardens of our souls.
We will not always understand or receive our ideal path or what we ask God for. But we must have faith that everything will work out and be okay, that God is moving for us, and that he is preparing a better tomorrow. We can’t ask to be millionaires when, in reality, every time we’re paid, we spend our money. We have to work alongside God as he plants the seeds in our lives.
As we sow and reap, ensure the weather of your heart is not against the wind but instead aligned with the wind. You can’t expect blessings and growth when you are constantly disobeying God and falling into old habits and patterns of addiction. As you persevere through each season of life, evaluate your highs and lows, and ask yourself, “Is this benefiting me, or have I seen how this story ends..?” That will awaken your eyes and soul to elevate and move forward from your past. Stop tending to a dead garden and plant new seeds of growth, love, cultural explorations, financial abundance, health, and a wonderful family you’ve prayed for so long. God will work it out; he will never abandon you, significantly as he is elevating and preparing your future, but you must work alongside him by watering your garden.
Conclusion:
Refrain from being so focused on what your today looks like that you completely ignore what is on the horizon for tomorrow. You are meant to fly in life, not to become so set in parameters you’ve created for yourself due to the fear of exploring the unknowns. As you uproot and plant your desires and wants, allow the wind to help disperse your dreams along your life journey. Allow your soul to glow and expand beyond your wildest dreams. Soul maintenance upkeep is crucial for continuous maturity and growth. Fall in love with your vision of your future, and start today by sparking the joy of your present today to achieve the wildest dreams God is preparing for you.
Elevate your heart’s desires and dreams. Harness your light!