The Book of Life
When we are born, we are somewhat like a blank page in a book yet to be written. This book has an infinite number of pages, and each page is filled with experiences and perceptions of our life journey. Ideally as time passes, we expand into who and what we are choosing to express as our identities, our presence in the world.
One may want to be a fireman, a scientist or a teacher and so on. At some point we may find we have not reached the desired goals we have chosen to pursue and lose faith in ourselves because of unfulfilled expectations. Sometimes this includes a tainted and false identity defined as winner or loser. This is when it is important to remember that there is always a blank page we can turn to and begin to fill with new focus, new pursuits because we are a fountain of unlimited potential.
There is an old song from 1962 by Nat King Cole that has a verse in it that speaks to this. “Pick yourself up, take a deep breath, dust yourself off, and start all over again.”
Our human potential allows us to become anything we truly desire through the use of patience and tenacity that are needed to achieve our goal. That is, if that is truly what we want. The key here is how strong is the desire for the pursuit we choose? Is it really what we want? Because if it is not sincerely what we want and more of a fulfillment of what we think we are supposed to be or do, then achieving it can be difficult or perhaps not at all.
The greatest asset we have here is being true to what we sincerely want. If our present perception is less than we desire, we can re-choose our next self from moment to moment. We have the ability to make a firm choice about what we prefer. This is not done by shallow repetition of words but by a deep and sincere desire to make the changes we are seeking.
“To thine own self be true,” Shakespeare.
My experience is that over the years, there are parts of myself and desires that simply drop away. My tastes, my interests and even my talents have changed. I am far from what I thought my life would be like as an adult or even the elder that I am now. Being open to the reality that our wants and desires change over the years can help us let go of any self-judgment we may have about ourselves and our expected achievements. We are always turning the pages of the book of life and the infinite potential to know a new part of ourselves to explore. What was written on yesterday’s pages is not what is written today.
Each night when we go to sleep, we have the opportunity to let go and make way for the next morning when we wake up to a new day and a new us. Even though the events may be similar as the day before or even the same routine, we are different. We have turned the page in our book of life with the potential for new thoughts, new ideas, maybe even a new direction to pursue. The key is to let go of past expectations that may not have manifested and focus on being open to a new part of ourselves.
