Today's topic of conversation is interesting, to say the least.
Becoming rich in a different sense.
Quick story for you, I remember growing up and taking family vacations and going on road
trips and as we were driving on the highway, we would always play the alphabet game.
Now if you don't know what I'm talking about.
It's simple, yet so much fun.
The objective was to be as observant an possible and try to spot highway signs, words, buildings,
license plates, the graphics on the side of semi trucks, anything that started with each
letter of the alphabet.
Now A, B, C, D, E, F... those first few letters were easy to spot.
But as soon as you got to I, O, U, W, X... things started to get a little tricky.
But all in all, that game, that experience of traveling with family, Exploring the world
around you, friendly competition... will forever be a memory I will never forget.
Now why am I sharing this.
I'm sure my memories of family vacation is not something you necessarily care about.
However, I can just about bet that as I was sharing this story.
Your mind took you to a similar place.
A memory, or story of your own life that carries that same energy as this one does for me.
A feeling of joy, peace, happiness.
A feeling of being rich in a different sense.
You know as I've continued to grow and learn on this journey, I'm constantly taken back
by some of the parallels between my pre-adult life and today.
You know many of those experiences can and have served as guidance in a way.
Metaphors as I continue to write my story; my life, post-today.
You know I truly feel like many of us, have lost touch with some of the elements of life,
that make life rich in a different sense outside of material possession.
Things like:
Curiosity.
Questioning, experimenting, learning, exploring; clear signs of a rich mind.
Things we did and kids do today religiously.
Yet honestly as we grow into adulthood, we start to lose touch with that.
Our childish wonders fade and drift in the wind, like dead leaves do in the fall time.
Poetry!
See the goal here is to reignite our excitement for life.
For learning, exploring, experimenting, questioning.
To do all we can, like we did as kid, to just be curious.
Authenticity.
This idea of forever staying true to yourself.
Words I've uttered hundreds, if not thousands of times here on this channel and across every
piece of content I create.
See having a solid understanding and being at peace with you who are is the greatest
richness in life.
I was reading something the other day that said, "every morning you should tell your
reflection that you are going to do yourself the greatest service of being you."
This idea in my opinion is a complete game changer for molding our minds around this
idea of becoming rich in a different sense.
And I personally know this first hand because stay true to you has been my mantra in life
and the slogan for my creative content for years.
It's something that I'm constantly using to remind myself and by default, you as well,
because I've been on the other side of the fence so to speak.
I've tried being someone that I'm not, but I also quickly realized that acting wasn't
something I wanted to do long term.
Creativity.
Now really quick, if you can, I want you to take a moment at some point today or this
week and find an open space outside to just scream.
Let go, clear your mind and express yourself.
Ignore the awkwardness you feel in that moment and just be.
Now when you come back, use that energy you feel to create something.
It doesn't have to be the highest priced piece at next year's state auction, but just create
something.
Journal, paint, tell a story; what you do doesn't matter.
Just take a moment to be completely self-expressive, now tell me that doesn't feel rich.
Forgiveness.
I'm sure you've heard about the importance of forgiveness before and how the act of forgiveness
is a true testament to your inner strength.
And if so, I'm here to second everything you already know.
And if not, I hope this short message reaches you.
See forgiveness is about so much more than accepting someone's apology, or even forgiving
them without an apology.
Forgiveness is also about letting go.
Letting go of anger, hurt, resentment, everything; in a way that rewards you with a feeling of
peace, freedom both mentally and emotionally.
Now I wrote a poem about forgiveness a long time ago and I'll leave a link to the video
below if you want to check out it.
But I do feel it expresses some words that may help you.
Gratitude and Generosity.
There are two things that I feel lead our march towards a rich life in terms of happiness
and those things are gratitude and generosity.
To start, it's just something about acknowledging all of the good things we have and come across
every single day.
It's showing thankfulness for what we have and never taking those things for granted.
There's a simple saying that says, "count your blessings."
words we've all heard before, but seldomly value like we should.
Now generosity on the other hand is all about giving.
For example, give someone your undivided attention next time you sit down to interact with them
and watch how rich those few minutes of conversation feel.
Another example, is giving to someone in need.
Old clothes you no longer wear or things we no longer use.
See giving leads to the realization that we always have enough to share and remember no
one has ever become poor in life by giving.
Kindness and Compassion.
Being kind comes with its own rewards in terms of richness, but so does compassion.
Both deliver a sense of peace, happiness, knowledge, understanding, appreciation, selflessness.
Things that are all vital in life and in relationships; both with ourselves and that we share with
others.
I've mentioned an idea in a previous conversation that "people will never forget how you made
them feel."
An idea that has not only changed my life, but also fuels my drive for richness in kindness
and compassion.
As a creator, poet, writer, even in my personal life.
I'm constantly seeking new and interesting ways to present not only my words, because
truly I believe that connection and communication and understanding run so much deep than what
you say.
But also how my actions and presence is impacting the way people feel.
I think it's important that we build and understanding around this idea because everytime we connect
or communicate with someone we're creating a lasting impact on them as well as on ourselves.
And that impact can either be positive or negative, however we want it to be positive.
As humans sometimes we just want to be heard or felt or understood and to me this statement
embodies this idea completely.
Because if we can consciously become aware, even the slightly bit, of how we make people
feel then in my opinion that would change the game completely in regards to how we communicate,
connect with and invest in people and relationships.
Now again, all of this connects to that statement I made earlier about parallels between my
pre-adult life and today, because as kids, at least in my experience, kindness and compassion
was just about always present.
I mean of course as kids we would fight about silly things but it was never to the extent
that we lost our sense of care for others and how we made them feel.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that in away age does comes with wisdom, but that
doesn't mean we can't learn from our younger selves or past childhood experiences.
Just something to think about as you continue to grow in life and richness.
I hope I shared something with you in this video that stuck with you, that resonated
with you and if I did make sure you comment below so we can continue talking about it.
If you're new here, hit that subscribe button, join this community and grow with all of us
here.
Always remember to stay true to you and I'll see you in the next one.
Peace!