Jim's Blog

Once again, we rise from our sleep to face another day with hopes, expectations and new ideas pending.

And yet the only thing we can do is front all that we Love, fear and are uncertain of taking on daily.

Doing so, might feel easier to do with repetition, as we feel the gentle push of momentum on our backs. But, we must remain steadfast in our approach and not lose our focus.

This is a daily test of courage and discipline which can shape us into beings of right action and evolvement.

Which over time can compound into great accomplishments.

One day at a time with moments of courage in between.

We can all get a bit caught up in the romance of a great story without acknowledging and/or knowing what it took behind the scenes in order for it to come out the way it did.

I know I do it quite often. I want to hear the ‘feel good’ part of how it went down – the movie version. The reality is, there were a whole lot of hours spent by that person alone in the wee hours of the night grinding out the painstaking details, planning and doing the delayed gratification work that needed to be done in order to complete the task. And there were no camera’s or people around to see it.

This is when the real work gets done. This is the secret that no one wants to dive into the details about. They would rather hear the romantic version.

I would too, but that’s not giving us a realistic assessment of what it really took to knock it out.

That’s what I’m interested in. I think we all are.

There is a beautiful story if I haven’t already shared it about teenage boy with down syndrome who was running in a 5K race. There was also a marathon that was starting at the same time. Somehow he got confused and ended up running in the marathon.

His parents were concerned for his safety after never crossing the finish line for the 5K. Hours later he came across the finish line for the marathon and found his parents. When asked why he didn’t stop, his response was, “I knew there would eventually be a finish line, so I just kept running.”

Maybe we could be as brave and bold and not worry about how far we have to run and just keep going until we reach the end.

When we get to be middle-aged, we tend to pile up the birthday celebrations behind us like spent ink cartridges from our prior 3 office and 7 home printers.

The best gift I’m able to give to myself on my special day is my own reminder to remain in the present. As I recently celebrated my birthday, there are two things I did my best to embrace: Time and Place.

There’s nothing I can do about my current age. Secondly, I am where I am. It sounds quite elementary, but these are truths that remain so. If I want to change my place, then that is something I can change. My age I cannot.

So, what can we do? Move our feet and change our scenery if we’re not happy in this place.

But, let’s not deny where we are, because it’s the truth. However, if you want to change it, by all mean let’s do it!

While in the process remaining absolutely present in the moment.

What’s our value in our home? Our workplace? Our friendship circle? In the world?

No doubt, knowing our value in this world is certainly . . . of value. And although we may be too close to the pulse to get an accurate idea, through others we may be able to come to a more accurate estimate.

Why is this important to know? Because it may give us an indication of where we can be the most effective. Getting the biggest bang for your buck, so to speak, has always riddled me over the years. And I’m not talking about making money. I’m talking about leaving behind a legacy. Leaving this world better than when I was here. Creating a space for myself that others will miss when I pass on.

Not in being selfish, but in being the best version of myself I can be. By being of value.