From May 10 – 19, I will be participating in Momalom‘s Five for Ten.  The next ten days will provide  an opportunity for bloggers to connect in a meaningful way by writing about the same topics and having discussions across a number of blogs.

I am really excited to participate (and you can too; just click the button for more details).  Courage is the first of five topics and I have written a Letter to Q.

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Dear Q,

Have the courage of your convictions. Remember that what you know to be true is more important than what you have been taught to believe.  Know your worth and have the courage to trust it.

This world will try to convince you of your inadequacy.  It will condition you to respond to and crave praise, validation, and recognition.   It wants you to conform to its expectations because that makes you more predictable and manageable.  It wields incredible power and seeks control.

You are powerful beyond measure.  You have the power of your self, your mind, and your feelings.  You have power over your reactions, your choices, and your expectations.

This world I know will teach you to believe that you need others to prove your worth and that you need others to define your success.  You hold that power.  You define your success; your worth is intrinsic.

Don’t be afraid of rejection.  It’s subjective and relative and never about you.  Choose courage.  Put yourself out there; follow your passions, your dreams and your heart.  Believe in the power of you and have the courage to be your best.

In Illusions, Richard Bach wrote “I am tired of clinging.  Though I cannot see it with my eyes, I trust that the current knows where it is going.”

What you are clinging to?  Why are you clinging?  Why are you afraid to let go?  Trust the current, for the current is your immeasurable power.  It will take you to your true desire if you have the courage to let it.  It will set you free if you believe in it.  It will give you peace if you release yourself from the fear of rejection.

Choose courage and allow your self the freedom to be.

Love always,
Mom

The simplest questions are the most profound.
Where were you born?  Where is your home?
Where are you going? What are you doing?
Think about these once in awhile, and
watch your answers change.

That is from one of my favourite books, Illusions by Richard Bach. I love that book.  No matter how many times I read it, it makes me think.

There are so many answers to each of those questions, simple as they seem.  The ones I am currently preoccupied with are What are you doing?  Where are you going?

What am I doing?  Where am I going?  And, maybe the bigger question is does it matter? Does it matter what I am doing or where I am going?  Does it matter if I don’t know the answers?

The trajectory of my life is changing with every moment that passes – every choice I make.  Some of the most mundane choices can influence the most profound changes.

So, I wonder – what am I doing?  What choices will I make today and where will they take me?

There are a lot of things I should do, should be doing, should be thinking, should be feeling, and should be judging. There are things I should be drinking, should be eating, should be watching, should be saying, should be listening to.

The world I know has very specific standards and it has spent my entire lifetime conditioning me to aspire to these standards – and to feel guilty or inferior for not meeting them or worse, not aspiring to them.  More often than not, these standards conflict with what I know to be true.

Sometimes, I catch myself getting caught up in the shoulds of this world.  I have to check myself.  Why do I want to aspire to them?  What do I get out of it? Attention? Affection? Affirmation? That is all ego.

Negotiating this world is a challenge.  Sometimes, convenience trumps goodness.  Sometimes, the perceived importance of time trumps compassion.  Sometimes, ego trumps consciousness.  Sometimes… perhaps, most of the time.

As much as it likes to think it is, this world is not built for goodness, compassion, or consciousness.  We are too caught up in what we ‘should’ be doing to do what we should be doing, and to be who we are.

In Illusions, Richard Bach wrote “I am tired of clinging. Though I cannot see it with my eyes, I trust that the current knows where it is going.“  What am I clinging to?  Where would the current take me if I let go?  Dare I?