REFLECTIONS
Back to the gym finally. I sure have missed not being able to go, but I had deadlines to meet. At leaste I got a few bike rides in. The weather is finally cooling down! This is the time of year I love, cold fronts start to push through instead of stall, we get windy days like today. It has been intermittent showers today and quite breezy.
I delivered my book cover illustration to my client and picked up some more work from him. I am grateful for the work, hopefully I will stay busy through the holidays.
I couldn't help but reflect a little bit this week about my journey and my choices that I have made over the last year or so. Taking control of the depression monster is probably highest on the list, but the commitment to improve my physical being and enrich my spiritual being compete for top honors as well.
Listening once again to the 2005 famous commencement address to Stanford by the late Steve Jobs made me think about where I am and if I am living the best me I can live. I've decided that I am going in the right direction, not letting my dreams die. One of my favorite segments from his speech goes like this:
"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary."
That little voice of mine had been almost completely drowned out over the last ten years. I knew what I wanted, or at least I thought I knew, but I didn't have the courage or the ambition to dive into it. That has radically changed over the last year. My voice speaks loudly, and it tells me to forge ahead, listening to both my heart and my intuition all the while.
My goals are finally crystal clear to me, and my mind is open to receive whatever counseling or tutilage I need to achieve those goals. I feel good about myself, and although I still have a ways to go with my weight loss plan, I am well on my way to a healthier version of me (I like to call it Auntie Jan v2.1) and I am satisfied that I am following the right path. The possibilities are unlimited. The self that allowed other opinions to be valued so much more than my own is gone. I still listen, but with different ears.
So thanks Steve Jobs. I will indeed live my life the way it should be, valuing every day as if it were my last.
Peace. and RIP Mr. Jobs.