Fading Away

It was a rather odd night to say the least. As much as I looked forward to evening I also felt the need to take shelter from all the demons running through my mind. The highs and lows of emotions was causing my hope to slowly fade away. But why? What was I searching for that would give me such a vast exchange of peaks and valleys? Was I overthinking? Was I allowing my past to rob me of my future?

To some extent the day was normal, yet at closer view it was anything but. I could sense chapters in life coming to a close and the real urge for more to be written. This time however I can tell that the only author in my life would be me. I remembered that at any given time I could say "this is not how my story is going to end"  The sun appeared to be shining bright but off in the distance the dark clouds were cascading over the trees and making their way in my direction. I tried hard to keep my focus on the sunshine however I keep feeling the tug toward the ominous clouds that were sure to darken my day. Come on, chapters are ending, new books to be written, I didn't need to write depressing details of my life, I needed to write incredible words of new beginnings and then live what I write.

Can you relate to those days that seem to steal your hope and put a dagger right through the heart of your spirit? There is an old saying that reminds me of these moments in life, "we see only what we are looking for". WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? Seriously give that some thought. What is stopping you from rising  up and going after what you want. Trust me I know that clinging to fading hope certainly does nothing to add sunlight to an otherwise cloudy day. But when the highs and lows get closer together and the valleys seem deeper than the height of the peaks all we have left is to seek shelter from that which we struggle to escape.

Call it what you will, good luck, bad luck, no luck at all. Life has a certain way of being the great equalizer. You got it figured out, your feet are on solid ground, next thing you know you are flat on your back wondering what just happened. I often say that the way we see the world creates the world we see. If my words stand true, and I think they do, how the heck do we change what we think we see? When we are knocked down how do we get back up. Isn't it easier to just stay down?

Seeking shelter seems to be the albatross around our neck. We escape to the privacy of some strange abode that only we understand. We may physically trek out and appear to be wonderful yet our inward being, that emotional self stays tucked away. Minute by minute day by day we create a belief system that our best days are behind us and life has nothing more to offer.

I choose today to believe in the impossible. I will escape the shelter that I have built around my life. I will tear down the walls I built to confine my heart and soul so as to not allow the oceans of life to flood my being with tides of feelings to strong for me to stop. I will look past the clouds as far as it takes to visualize the sunshine that will illumine my day with hopes and dreams.

Now here we are, once again stuck in the foray of time at the fork in the road. One way is shelter the other is hope. One is safe, one is unknown. One is predictable, the other is anything goes. The CHOICE is before us, do we finally allow ourselves to escape the prison we have been locked in for most of our life or do we acknowledge that we are God's greatest miracle and we have everything it takes to become the best version of ourselves the world has ever seen.

Absolutely we will have obstacles in our path, everyone does. From this point forward though they will not be setbacks they will be setups for something even more amazing. The peaks and valleys will level out and before you know it, the lows will be merely ruts easily stepped over, and the highs will produce views so spectacular that we will never desire to see anywhere but further up.

It is time to choose LOVE. It is time to say YES to yourself which means you have to say NO to others. This is your life and it is the only one you will ever have the opportunity to live. Give it all you got, every moment of every day. LIVE, LOVE, CHOOSE. Your hopes are not fading away, they are easing back in. Those forgotten dreams will awaken and put energy back into your soul. Go after the life you gave up. The shelter you built around yourself must come down so you can once again feel the wind against your face. You can not only hear the raindrops you can feel them. You can watch the clouds move out and blue skies enter with an awe and beauty that your eyes had failed to see. Always believe something wonderful is about to happen. Always believe that you are the one that is going to make those wonderful things happen.

If I see only what I look for, well I am only looking for those things that make my heart skip, my dreams a reality, my hope renewed, and my love enduring. I choose life today. Both roads in the fork lead to great things. Enjoy the ride, let the top down, your hair blow, laugh, smile, love, and most of all BELIEVE.

Be blessed with peace, love, happiness, and may all your dreams become reality.

Dale Childress