There are some days where I just enjoy reflection. I hear a quote or lyrics from a song and it speaks to me something fierce. It's always been hard for me to explain why a particular song or why particular words touch me. I'll hear something and feel like it completely describes my life and yet I later discover I just wanted it to describe my life because it was so beautiful...does that make sense or happen to most people?! Luckily, there are a few quotes that I have enjoyed for years now, and I always am able to relate to them regardless of what is going on in my life. I'd like to share one with you all today!
A few years ago I fell in love with the movie "Into the Wild". For those of you who do not know the story, Chris McCandless was tired of the material world. In a nut shell, he burned all of his money, social security card, and drivers license, donated all of his savings to charity and drove as far as his car could take him west. Once he lost his car he tramped (walked/hitch hiked) across the US, with the end goal of living in Alaska in the wild. He had many crazy adventures a long the way (which you could read about in the book "Into the Wild" written by Jon Krakauer). Spoiler alert! He eventually makes it to Alaska, and lives a few months before dying of starvation or from eating poisonous plants (by the time they found the body it was hard to tell).
Many people think that what Chris did was stupid, irresponsible, wasteful, etc etc etc. And I can agree to a point where I think that there was no need to completely separate himself from society to the point where there was no where for him to go for help when times got tough. He even admitted in his journal that loneliness was far worse than he had even imagined, and I am sure that he possibly regretted leaving his family and life behind at some points. But when I think about the adventures he had, and the life he lived, I can't help but wonder in awe of the things he experienced. He went out and did things, lived life. He met numerous people, all with their own story who fell in love with his spirit and his views on life.
While there are many things he wrote in his journal that I completely agree with and would love to share, there is one thing in particular that has always stood out to me:
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"So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservativism... The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences... there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun." - Chris McCandless "Into the Wild"--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Okay, did you feel it? Did you feel that slight rush come over you? Do you all of a sudden feel yourself wanting to go and do something amazing? Maybe climb a mountain, go camping, or finally talk to that old friend and forgive them for whatever stupid thing they did ten years ago? Do you just want to live life a little differently? If not, then you didn't really read that quote. It's such a beautiful way of looking at life. So many people....so many are just stuck in the rut that is their life. They hate it. They hate where they are, they hate who they've become, they hate that they didn't graduate college or hate that they have a dead end job or they hate that they have a great paying job and yet have no love for it. Whatever the case may be, so many people are stuck in this "eh" of a life. They're quick to complain or even quick to admit that this is how they live, and yet they do NOTHING to change it! Even if life is "eh", they'd rather hold on to it than actually reaching out and embracing life.
For me, it has always been more about being happy with what you have and who you are rather than trying to change everything around you. I don't think that you have to completely take the quote to heart to still get something from it. These past few months have been really difficult, with me being a college graduate, and yet I have a job where I don't really use my degrees. I love my job though and it's taken me awhile to realize that even if I don't use that education right now, it doesn't mean that I won't! I just want to be happy with who I am and I want others to be happy with who they are. I know that I personally have friends who struggle with this daily. And all I can say to them is: One day, you just have to force yourself to think positively. You have to wake up and be okay with who you are. You have to see that new sunrise and love it and realize that things could always be better, but could definitely be worse.
I guess this could be taken as a challenge. I challenge you to wake up and face the new sunrise with a smile. Even when things are going horribly wrong, you are the ultimate decision maker on what you're going to do about it. You decide if you're going to be happy or if you're going to barely make it through another day in your "eh" of a life. So I challenge you to at least think happy thoughts! Try it for a week straight and see what happens...see if you don't start actually feeling happy. See if you don't start to find some sort of contentment with who you are.
Always strive to be a better person, but love who you are in the process.
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