Steph's Ripples

This is a question that I often ask myself. I especially do so when things are not going well. Bad times definitely bring up those moments of doubt and anxiety. You begin to wonder why? According to Adler, life has in general no meaning. However, you can give it meaning. This was quite revealing. It essentially goes to say that we give meaning to our lives. We hold the cards of life. It's up to us if we want to pursue a meaningful life or not. I always believe that we are put here for a reason. This gives me faith to continue moving forward. Sometimes, life doesn't make sense, but we've got to continue our journey of progression. There's always more to life. 

I've come to accept that things happen gradually. There's no such thing as instantaneous. I'm referring to life in general. We should not try to rush things. Let the course of nature unfolds at its normal pace. The key is to be patient. It's not about waiting for things to happen. Rather it's about focusing on the doing, rather than for that next big thing to happen. It's about embracing the now and know in your heart of heart that when the time comes, you'll look back and realise how far you've come. Change is gradual but if constant, you'll progress much faster. With intention and learning as you go along. Keep dancing and always be on the move. 

I have been reminded to focus on the daily activities. Focus on the now. Now only exists in this present moment. Even if you don't reach your destination, at least you know you already started. You achieved whatever you needed by living in that moment. There is a huge significance in knowing that you don't have to 'actually' fulfill your goal to have been successful. Thus you concentrate on the 'doing' rather than thinking about the goal. It's about what you can do now and do it. When we pay too much attention to a destination, it's easy to lose hope and detract when times get hard. If we, instead, go on with doing what we need daily, we are already ahead. Whether or not we reach our goal is irrelevant because we are already on the path. We enjoy every moment.  

This is a reminder that we should be always be grateful, especially during tough times. Practicing gratitude keeps you grounded. My perspective has completely changed when I started to purposely list and think of things I'm thankful for. Over time, it came to me almost naturally. You begin to notice the little things. You begin to see beauty around you. You begin to appreciate what is. . In gratitude, there is no judgement. There is only us at the level of being. Gratitude makes us feel whole when we are shaken up. It keeps us centered and helps us to move forward.  My gratitude journey started with writing 3 things I'm grateful for after waking up. I have a special notebook. After I ran out of pages, I stopped. It had already became ingrained in me and I'm so grateful for such an uplifting experience. 

Life is full of surprises. Sometimes, an event or a situation can make us feel overwhelmed and defeated. Last week, I had one such a terrible day- it was awful and it gave me a horrible headache and unnecessary stress. I was completely out of it, and despite having thoughts of calmness (this too will pass), I kept wondering why? Why is this happening? Why? (in retrospect, maybe so I can write about it). One of the biggest lesson I gained from this experience is to transform it into something beneficial. How can you turn this bad event upside down and turn it into your advantage? Another lesson, which I am writing about today, is to always remember that things can be solved and things get better. Time heals. It's not because of one miserable event that we have to torture ourselves and cry out loud. Again, remember that this will pass. There's always more opportunity to build and create. Tomorrow is another day and brand new day of your life. So even though there will be...

I feel so grateful to remember times when I felt at peace. Sometimes we are led to believe that we will only experience joy once we attain a certain destination- big goal. However, I'm glad I realised that moments of joy can be experienced through simple things in life. It's all about the journey. We get so engrossed in being behind, still far away from our dream, that we forget our daily wins. This post is a reminder to embrace life and all that it comes with. Find the good in everything. 

A lot of my readings lately have been pointing me towards "Doing important work", "Do what matters""Take action" This is a teaching that I wished I was taught. Then I realised that even if I did, maybe I wouldn't have used it. Why? Because even now I feel like most of the time, I'm unmotivated or feel overwhelmed. So what I found is this: find something useful or beneficial in whatever you do. There will be times when you'll feel like you're wasting time and times when you think you're running out of time. I don't believe that time is ever wasted. It's all about perspective. Go with the flow. Enjoy the process.