" KickStart ... "

You want me to come over

I got an excuse

Might be holding your hand

But I'm holding it loose

Go to talk then we choke

It's like our necks in a noose

Avoid the obvious

We should be facing the truth

Start to think it could be fizzling out

Kinda shocked because I never really had any doubts

Look into your eyes, imagine life without ya

And the love kickstarts again

Starts again

And the love kickstarts again

Starts again

~ Example ~ KickStart ~ 

***

We all set an example by simply being.  And for those of us with the extra challenge of a health concern, it is critical.  Being Present.

We focus on the future generation and our children when leading by example, being good role models and parents.  Yet there are times when we need someone to lead us.

During times of uncertainty and darkness, 

we look to those with strength and courage to lighten the load.

During times of sadness and grief, 

we look to those with love and support to carry us through.

Personally speaking, it has been possible to still live, hold a job, take care of families & friends, and remain active in the community ... with cancer.  Now, life has more meaning, more purpose, more value.  Now, living this life is about creating an environment where others can feel comfortable in sharing what they are facing.  A calling, a purpose ... whatever it may be, regardless, it feels good to be useful.

And there is always help along he way.  Blessed to have a few in my life who inspire me every day with their passion, their zest, their spark, their wisdom, their guidance and the simple love of life ... no matter what challenge they are facing.  They motivate me to live authentically from heart and soul because they’ve taught me that perhaps this diagnosis is a part of my life and not necessarily the cause of my death.

We find ourselves in situations out of our control.  Cancer can be one of them.  It is unpredictable and it is a game.  A game to get ahead of it and neutralize it.  And just when you think you’ve got it figured out, there is another lesson to be learned.  A journey full of suffering and blessings all packaged into one.  

Acceptance ...

Leading by example implies you take responsibility and choose as what you are going to do with your challenge.  And so you have a choice ... do you let it define you or do you let it drive you?  Because either way, life is happening through you, not to you.  Choosing what you do with it determines how you live ... your example to all those around you.  The way you live, act and behave matters.  Consider what your influence, how you want to be remembered and what is your legacy.  

Because setting an example by the way you be 

is the only authentic way to positively influence your world ...

www.walkstrong.ca

" It Is What It Is ... "

It is what it is 

I don’t know what to call it (don’t know what to call it) 

‘Cause I’m feelin’ something else (I’m feeling something else) 

It is what it is (what it is) 

Just don’t let yourself get caught up (aww girl) 

When it’s really something else (yeah, yeah

Take it to the bridge ...

I'm not saying that two wrongs can make it right 

It ain’t too late for us to try (yeah) 

Do we put back together 

Or we say goodbye? (ha) ...

~ Usher ~ It Is What It Is ~ 

***

“It is what it is ... a phrase that shows no sign of tiring.  Similar to what’s done is done, boys will be boys and that was then and this is now.  Sounds familiar right?  Most either personally have used these expressions or know people who do.  

So what does it actually mean?  Well according to the infinite dictionaries, the definition is “this thing has it’s own distinct nature, this thing is itself .... this circumstance is simply a fact and must be accepted or dealt with as it exists”.  

Yet could "It is what it is” also be a way of expressing philosophical resignation over a disappointment, of saying that the situation just has to be put up with.   But do you have to put up with it?

Simply put, life constantly presents us choices ... we can choice to accept things the way they are OR we can believe that “it is not what it is, it is what you make of it”.  

If you accept reality as it is, you end your suffering ... and your present moment is all you have.  What you do in this moment will determine what will happen in the next and so on ... Perhaps in how it is defined, but for me it is a lot more hopeful to make the choice for change.  If I don’t like my reality as it is, I need to change the present moment so that my next moment reflect what I truly want.  Yes, easier said than done.  Because it is super easy to say accept things the way they are AND decide nothing will change.  The funny thing is, if you open you mind to the possibilities, your brain won’t fall out ...

So you get to decide ... is it what it is or is it what you what you make of it ... but while you are trying to figure that one out, make sure you ask yourself, what IT really is?

" Better ... "

No one ever told me when I was alone

They just thought I'd know better.. better...

The hardest part

this troubled heart has ever yet been through now,

Was heal the scars 

that got their start inside someone like you now,

For had I known or I'd been shown back 

when how long it'd take me,

To break the charms that brought me harm 

and all but would erase me.

Now I know you better, You know I know better ...

~ Guns ‘N Roses ~ Better ~

***

Some say life is a game and some of us have been dealt a “good” hand and others a “bad”hand.  And this hand will determine the inevitable outcome.  Yet what if we don’t have to play this game where there’s always a loser and a victor.  What if we decide we are all winners?

Fortunately, we have been given the gift of consciousness.  We have learned and created means to better express ourselves ... and these different forms of expression have been born in a communal effort to materialize our hopes, aspirations, morals, ethics, inspiration, and dreams.  How we understand this truth has everything to do with what we see manifested in our everyday perceptions of reality.

So depending on the hand dealt to us determines our individual experience of this communal creation ... or does it?  What if it depends on how we play the game instead ... similar to making our own path, we would have an equal opportunity to succeed, regardless of our cards.

Consider creating a new game together by changing the rules and stakes ...

So where’s the problem ... well some of us have no idea we have the option of creating a new game.  We feel we have to do the best we can with what we got, and that’s how we live.  We take in a situation, which might not be the best for us as a given, and don’t question it.  Just deal with it, in the best possible way.

Yet, there is so much power within us - once we realize our own potential, we decide how we play our hand, our own path, our own reality.  We decide better.  And this won’t come by anyone telling us we can, but by trying it out ourselves.  

We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand ~ Randy Paush