Today I had the pleasure of being reminded of the three most important qualities on my journey to a positive, constructive life. More importantly I realized again that there is no there that I am getting to. Arriving is right here and now, this is as good as it gets if we are willing to accept life as it is and to go with the changes as they present themselves.
Paulo Coelho summarized the truth of this when he wrote, “When we least expect it, life sets us a challenge to test our courage and willingness to change; at such a moment, there is no point in pretending that nothing has happened or in saying that we are not ready. The challenge will not wait. Life does not look back. A week is more than enough time for us to decide whether or not to accept our destiny.”
The key to this capacity comes through trusting ourselves. This must be at the heart of the willingness or we won’t have the courage to be who we are with the world shifting around us. I keep this quote by Golda Meir hanging by the mirror to remind me to find some piece of what I am trying to create with my time here. “Trust yourself. Create the kind of self that you will be happy to live with all your life. Make the most of yourself by fanning the tiny, inner sparks of possibility into flames of achievement.”
Most of all it is a practice and continuous learning. As Martha Graham wisely said, “We learn by practice. Whether it means to learn to dance by practicing dancing or to learn to live by practicing living, the principles are the same. One becomes in some area an athlete of God.” Every day we get to try again with the hope of improving just a little bit in a few small aspects of how we think, how we relate, and how we apply ourselves.
This is possible for anyone, and combined, is enough to move us to our own personal form of greatness and a collective energy that could manifest more beauty and love than most of us could bear to imagine. These are powerful practices that change the people around you as you practice them. Positivity in action is really just another way of being Love.
