I have forgotten many of the things my mother cautioned me about but these words of wisdom once shared with me as a teenager have become the code I live by. Mahatma Gandhi once said that the difference between what we are doing and what we are capable of doing would solve most of the world's
problems. There are too many of us who just can't be bothered to give life our best shot. We are happy to just scrape through life, never realising what our true potential might be. We don't like being pushed outside our comfort zones and we are too often reluctant to take up challenges that would not only help us grow but would inspire our peers to grow with us. I have often drawn inspiration by the words of Marianne Williamson in her book 'Return to Love', and would like to share her words with you.
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is
that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” This year I watched the fireworks explode into little stars over Sydney Harbour and inevitably thought about my goals for the year. I have never made resolutions...but have always written down 4 separate sets of achievable goals for my life.
First are my life goals which I carry through from one year to the next as they take awhile to achieve. The others have been a
nnual goals for my personal and professional life as well as projects for my house. I often share these goals with my close circle of friends who spur me on with each new pursuit or dream I venture into. I get a lot of personal satisfaction at the end of the year to look through the notebook I carry with me and see how many new activities I tried in the past year, the hidden gems I discovered around my hometown, my achievements at work and the projects I completed at home. The new activities inevitably lead me to making new friends and this year in particular has been terrific in that respect.
I am hopeful that 2010 will be the year to tick off my most ambitious life goal. I had always hoped to visit every continent before I turned 50 and spend about 3 months travelling through each of them, discovering and making lifelong friendships with the people I met there and bringing back with me a part of each culture and a better appreciation of our differences. I am sharing this goal with all of you who come on this journey with me....just as I have shared my annual goals with my close friends in Sydney. I am hopeful that as I travel through I will grow as a person and make a difference in the lives of at least a few of the people I meet along the way, just as I know many of them will in mine. I am also hopeful that you my dear readers will come along with me in spirit on this journey. Sharing your own joys and sorrows and stories of home so that we will still be a part of each others' lives and 2010 will truly be the year we shared around the world!
1 comment:
I Loved your quote by Marianne Williamson. Very inspiring! Thank you.
EL
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