Slow down

Hello Internet-

I came across a site today, famous quotes from famous philosophers. How perfect :). Although I read through Buddha, Plato, and Socrates; one quote by Confucius really stood out to me. Never hearing about this man, or I probably have just didn't retain it when I was told about him, I found his words moving.

"It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop."

It's funny, because I get frustrated when things don't just come easy. I have a plan, a course that I want to take, and often times it never goes how I have planned. That doesn't mean that I won't achieve these goals I set for myself. When I read this quote by Confucius, I immediately thought of "slow and steady wins the race", that story of the hare and the turtle racing to the finish line.

We are always in such a rush to get the most amount of money, to finish school, to learn something, to be at the top, etc. We constantly are rushing- but why? When ever since we were a kid we were told- no matter how slow you go, it'll get done. That's what my challenge is to you Internet- just slow down. If you've had goals that are taking forever to reach, or maybe the path is a little different than you had planned, don't give up. Life has ways of giving you what you deserve, and if you want it badly enough- you'll receive whatever it is.

What's funny, is lately all I want to do is be done with school- to just be out in the real world, and I'm almost positive once I'm in the real world, I'm going to want to be done with it and be retired. We want things to happen quickly, why not enjoy the moments that life is giving us? A good friend of mine showed me this song it's called Chinese Translation by M Ward. The lyrics are absolutely beautiful...I suggest you look into it.

"And I said, what do you do with the pieces of a broken heart? And how can a man like me remain in the light? And if life is really as short as they say, then why is the night so long? And then the sun went down, and he sang for me this song. See I once was a young fool like you afraid to do the things that I knew I had to do. So I played an escapade just like you."

We have these questions as to why things aren't going the way we planned, or why life is showing us these pains, these failures, and these struggles, but the thing is, it seems we just give up too easily. We are afraid of the fight and scared of the outcomes we are unaware of.

The days are short, that's why the nights are so long...so that we can see the important things during the day and appreciate them when we can't see them at night. Internet- Don't let things discourage you. Don't let time, fear, or failure keep you away from what you want...if you want it you'll get it, not matter how long or short it'll take you.

-Miss Optimistic

This book.

Hello Internet-
So I have been hidden in a book lately. "When Things Fall Apart" by Pema Chodron. I think I have talked about it before, but lately I have actually had time to read more than 10 pages. I recommend people read it. The thing she stresses is how life isn't over when we feel it is.

"We are raised in a culture that fears death and hides it from us. Nevertheless, we experience it all the time. We experience it in the form of disappointment, in the form of things not working out. We experience it in the form of things always being in a process of change. When the day ends, when the second ends, when we breathe out, that's death in every day life. Death in everyday life could also be defined as experiencing all the things that we don't want...When we have reminders of death, we panic. But whatever our style is, it's not simple. It's not bare bones."(pg 43-44)

One of my close friends' grandfather passed away from cancer this past week. We live to die, we all know this. Yet we fear the idea of death. The idea of things ending. I don't get why we fear it so much, because with every death comes life. When the day ends, tomorrow is a new one; when the second ends, there are more to follow; when we breathe out, we breathe in shortly after. That's life in everyday life.

The thing about Death is, we fear it because no one shines the light on such an optimistic topic. Death is the only way we get something new. We have a bad day, tomorrow will be better. With each death comes life, and THAT is everyday life.

So Internet- when we start seeing death in our lives, think about the life that comes from them.

-Miss Optimistic