tenacity

normal: a loaded over-simplified term for something that can be argued to not exist.

I am drawn to people who I can see are in process because it reassures me that
not everyone has to be so guarded, all the time. some people actually don't care if they are perceived as "normal"

each person has a history, and lives this history out each day. some people do this more internally than others, while other people flaunt their history to the extreme.

it is a continuum. 

where is "normal" on this continuum?
or, more correctly - where do we put normal?

when I see a woman at the restaurant with scars lacing her arms from internal pain released into visible cuts, I can relate to her. when I see a man with sad eyes, a limp, or bruises, I can relate to him. because I have known suffering.

I can relate because I am human. 

those people and I have some shared knowledge but each our own unique, distinct histories as well.

I don't need the same history to know that photoshopped models doubt whether they are pretty even though they get to be on the cover of a fashion magazine.

our brokenness is not always on the outside, nor is it always perceived so well by the world. we can have a modest income and still be happy. we can be healthy and not skinny.

we can be dead and still be breathing.

some people take for granted the breath they take, the life they have, and never stop to learn what they value most - and if that value is in the most worthy place.

for some people it takes a serious health issue to realize they haven't really been living their life at all. for others it is the death of a loved one, a near-death experience, a car accident, a suicide attempt, a natural disaster or a fire.

but what if we were intentional enough to learn these things before such a dramatic event took place?

is our time not valuable enough now that we cannot stop, breathe and assess our life?

to really feel and assess one's life takes:
strength
courage
patience
and time -
it takes tenacity.

we must be gentle with ourselves while simultaneously critical enough to pursue progress.

we cannot move forward while standing still.

I am in no way perfect, but I am moving forward and improving.

I've learned that life can be incredible and it can be hopeless, but that most days it's just okay and even sometimes boring. but, it can be more incredible if we take little moments each day in awe.

each day, each hour, each minute - is ours. for free.

so why do we waste the amount of undetermined time we still have left?

what can each one of us do to make each moment full of life, to live LIKE we're alive?

life is too awesome - too beautiful - to just daze through on auto-pilot letting the world do our life for us. take a chance and start to not just live, but to thrive!