Character Study

If slow and steady wins the race, how do you stay motivated along the road?  It’s about endurance and ethics. There will be many quiet days.   That road is this journey we call life.  The quiet moments are opportunities to focus inward. It’s a time to say “thanks for this experience” and don’t judge the circumstances.   There are lessons to be learned in the present situation.    It’s a great time to eat tacos.  OK, you can make a taco relatively healthy but some days you need your favorite comfort foods.  Indulge.  Trust that there are going to be better days.  It may be a great time to work on your personal mission statement …or write one if you haven’t started it yet

Speak French…to your cat.  Don’t speak French?  Is the cat going to know? Really? Cry and/or laugh. They are great stress releasers.  Smarten up.  Learn from your mistakes and make course corrections.  It’s a journey right?  It’s YOUR journey. It’s not a competition.  Life goes by so much faster than you think, especially as you get older. It’s already the end of September, a new school year has begun.  Yup, I just realized it too. It’s an opportunity to focus on the lessons you’ve already learned and decide what else you’d like to know. Take the time to pause, breathe and love yourself through the quiet times.  Trust your gut.   Take care of the details.  Review your plans and adjust and make new ones if necessary.

It’s not the time to compromise your character. If a tree falls in the forest, does it make a sound if no one is around to hear it?  I’ve always been obsessed by that question. I thought it might fit here, in the sense that the trees character doesn’t change. It just doesn’t have anyone around to witness it.

Many hours and miles of your journey will be spent alone and you always want to know that you can look back and feel proud of the choices you made along the way.  It’s about enjoying and embracing the little moments.   It’s your journey. It will not be the same as anyone else’s. It should not be the same as anyone else’s journey. Who are you when no one is looking?  How do you behave when no one is paying attention?  Can you look at yourself in the mirror and be satisfied with the person who looks back at you?  I’m’ not talking about wrinkles and dry skin, it’s in the eyes.  Can you look yourself in the eye?

If my journey finds me on a plane heading straight toward the side of a mountain, I don’t want to be sitting next to the guy looking at me funny with hot sauce in his hands and I don’t want to be that person licking my lips holding hot sauce in my hands. I hope I have examined my motivations before then.

Eat the last cookie and throw away the wrapper when you’re finished.  Say “please” and “thank you.”  Character is about what you choose to do when no one seems to care and when it seems no one is looking.