Tag Archives: Direction

21

There’s A Light

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When was the last time you marched into the dark with only the soft glow of an idea you strongly believed in?

light in the darkness jonathan hilton
Are Your Ideas In the Darkness?

There are times in everyone’s life when they feel like they are all by themselves, with only their beliefs to guide them.  These times are opportunities to define your life, what your principles are, and how you will share this with the world. Will you continue to think as you always have? Or will you move in the direction of change and growth? That is a test that life likes to give us from time to time, and we must find the lesson and maintain our humanity and compassion in the process. There is no question difficult times are tough to endure but they bring with them an opportunity.  One way or another these moments will come to define your life, providing you with depth in the way you view life and your place in it.  You will have the chance to become more understanding of the plight of others in the world or you can build bitterness around your own situation.  The decision is truly yours. What light do you bring into the world?  One of illumination or destruction?

The Dark Side

walking into the darkness
Fear-based thought will lead you to the darkness.

When difficult times arrive, you may forget the soft glow of the idea you strongly believe in, you can lose your positive attitude. This experience can cause disillusion, anger, hatred, and, most of all, self-pity. Why is everyone against me? If they were real friends, they would support me no matter what. Poor me! These are natural emotions and thoughts, but that is all that they are.  We are not our thoughts or emotions. In this case, they are all caused by the actions and opinions of others.  The danger is that once you start down the path of self-pity and anger, you are in danger of staying there for a long time, if not forever.

All of these are fear-based emotions and thoughts, which can have no other destination than to make you unhappy, angry, and scared.  There is no way that you can embrace the good in something and grow if you spend all of your time, though, and effort in self-pity and anger. These emotions can become pervasive in all aspects of your life, and relationships end; you will find that you look at everything with a veil of suspicion, and it will become nearly impossible to be truly happy.  This change can be caused by any tragedy in your life, losing a job, character assassinations, the death of a loved one, or any of the significant obstacles of life.  Fortunately, this is not permanent or fatal unless you want it to be.

The Light

When you carry the light of an idea into the darkness, you will always have a choice, for

walking in the light
Thoughts and actions based on love will bring you to light no matter where you are

every adverse reaction above, there is a positive choice available to you.  This choice is the path of growth because these decisions come from love.  Compassion, understanding, kindness, and forgiveness are all examples of this type of reaction.  It is pretty easy to display these characteristics when times are good and everything is going your way, but quite a different story when facing challenges.  You get laid off from your job unexpectedly, how do you react? It would be understandable if you were angry and felt it was unfair and wished terrible things on all of those responsible, but what will that accomplish when you look at it?

You will allow the things that happened to you to define you and all of your actions.  Or you can accept that it happened and look for the positive. This optimism may be the push you needed to finally follow your dream and become a doctor or an engineer or whatever you have always wanted to do.  Difficult times and opportunities often walk hand in hand if you keep your eyes open.  Forgive those that you feel wronged you, accept what has happened, and move forward with courage. I can’t tell you for sure, but open your eyes and embrace the changes, and you may find yourself significantly happier than when you began this journey.

So if you feel like you are marching into the dark with only the soft glow of an idea you strongly believe in, make that idea one that honors you and leads to a more significant light in the world. If it creates love, it will do that. If it starts with fear, it will most likely lead to misery and pain. Look for the light in the situations you face, and even the worst things can ultimately positively impact you and the world.  There is no way to change the past and what has happened. You have one hundred percent control over how you react to them.

Into the light

 

21

Your Path

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Finding your path is not always this easy.
Finding your path is not always this easy.

Life is a beautiful thing. It is destined to surprise you and lead you to places that you anticipated.  I believe much of the enjoyment of life comes directly from inside of you and how you perceive the people you meet and the experiences you have.

Sometimes early in the journey of life, you may find life a confusing jumble of mixed messages and emotions. Even the greatest adventurer or psychic would struggle to smooth out the details and work through the challenges faced.  Nobody ever said that life would be easy, but in the end, it has the potential to be the most rewarding journey imaginable.

Living in the Madness Without Going Mad

madnessOften the world seems like a crazy place.  There are bad things all around us that are mad. There is a crime, injustice, hunger, disease in the world that seems overwhelming to the humanity of anyone. Combine that with the everyday callousness of people, and it can be easy for those with a tender heart or spirit to feel discouraged and even crushed trying to figure out where they fit in. How can they make a difference?

With all types of people and personalities in this world, nobody should feel all alone. If you feel like you don’t fit in with the people you encounter, it is time to start meeting other people.  If you continually feel out of place with the ones you see, the problem may not be you. It may be them.

Life will steer you in the direction that you should be moving in. Sometimes you will resist because you think you know best, but life is always proper in the end.  Find your group where you do fit in. You may have to look a bit further away than the people you meet, but nobody is alone in the world. Some intellectuals are contemplating the very questions you are and merely need to be reached out to find the comfort you seek to be happy.

The Danger of Reaching Out

If you don't reach out, you will never know what is out there.
If you don’t reach out, you will never know what is out there.

It is scary to reach out, especially at first.  This is where you have to be brave and realize that only by reaching out can you connect with like-minded people like you. In today’s world, it has never been easier. There are all sorts of social networks available for all adventurers.  WordPress is best for writers and deep thinkers, I believe.  It is the most supportive and kind community I have ever encountered. There is Facebook, Instagram, and even Twitter communities to search for as well.

When I started to reach out to like-minded people, I was petrified that nobody would understand me. Some might not have, but most people got it.  Developing relationships is sharing ideas and thoughts about how this ride of life should work out.  One thing I know without a doubt, if you don’t reach out, you may never find those who are on a similar journey, and isolation is the result of that choice.

Embrace the Enigma of Yourself

enigmaWe all feel like we are a mystery to the world. If people could only see inside us, we would magically be embraced by the masses and be held up as an example of the caring, loving kindness we naturally are.  However, in most social situations, that’s not going to be the case.

Why should the world see into the inner workings of your mind? Why would you want them to? You would be setting yourself up for unneeded and unwarranted criticism of your ideas and what you stand for.  Embrace the enigma that you present to the world. Like a great book, life saves its most exciting and stomach whirling experiences for the later chapters.  They are fun to read because they keep you guessing, making you an exciting and unique individual.

Early in life, this can seem not very clear and make you question yourself.  You are immersed in the game of life, so it isn’t easy to see the moves coming five or ten or fifteen years down the road.  Perhaps it is not others that view you as an enigma; maybe it is you. Embrace your mystery, and there is no more exciting journey to go on than to find out who exactly you are.

You are not Invisible.

Everyone feels invisible sometimes.  Does the world ever see us? The real us?  I am not sure, but I know that often this feeling can be disturbing.  I have a mind with great thoughts. Why doesn’t anyone notice?  The answer is they do see.   How often do you notice the minds and opinions of others?

All relationships, from long-time friendships to people you meet each day, are two-way streets.  The give and a take make relationships work.   Some relationships last a lifetime, and some only for a season.  All come into your life for a reason, usually to teach you something. Be open to the lessons.

Isolation is not The End Game.

isolationWhen you have tried to connect and fit in, at some point, you might want to throw up your hands and give it all up, move to an island and live by yourself.  This is not a good option, not because you need the world (you do), but because the world needs you. There is no way that you can know or begin to understand the impact you will have in the future.

Living in isolation will feel safe, but the problem is that you have no others to help balance your thoughts.  You only see the world through your window and interpret it with your own bias and judgment.  Intellectually, creatively it isn’t easy to grow and move forward when you close yourself off from the world.

Find your Path

When you feel this way, like giving up on others, you are fighting against life. It is time to start moving with it.  This can seem impossible, but it isn’t. People do it every day. I have done it.  This is what has helped me.

  1. meditate. If you can learn to quiet the mind, you will find that the ego supplies you with all sorts of criticism you do not deserve. It is challenging to be positive if your ego is destroying your self-confidence daily.

  2. Be creative. Whatever you do, write, paint, draw, sing, play the xylophone, whatever you do, do it for a bit, and you often will find your answer.

  3. Read information about your problem. This may seem simplistic, but it works.  There is no problem of humanity that you are experiencing for the first time. Someone somewhere has experienced what you are and deal with it effectively.  Learn from the mistakes and triumphs of others.

  4. Be positive. There is no way to achieve or grow if you enter into a negative mind and stay there.  If you do that, the odds of finding a positive solution are impossible.  If you are positive then anything is possible. ANYTHING!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R74shUIiSIY&feature=youtu.be