Yes … this has happened to me.
“The horrifying moment when you’re looking for an adult but then realize that you are an adult. So you look for an older adult, someone successfully adulting. An adultier adult.”
Lucky … I’m getting adultier now.
Not quite there yet, but getting there.
.
.
Meryl Streep rocks.
Dude.
Me too!
I no longer.
Photographed by Bradley Wentzel
“YOU CAN’T MOVE VERY FAST
IF YOU’RE CARRYING A LOT OF BAGGAGE.”
—April Holmes, Paralympic Gold Medalist, 100 meter dash
I found this quote the other day as I was flipping through a magazine at the CVS. Now I don’t do a lot of soul-searching while I’m waiting in a long line to pay for Advil and chocolate. Most of the time I’m wondering why the self-check out aisle is not working properly, or why I just didn’t buy the stuff when I was at the supermarket the day before. But sometimes a lesson just comes out of the blue.
I imagine that after losing her leg in a train accident this chick was pretty much not wanting to hear the silver lining to losing a major appendage, but I guess she did.
The advice appears to be basic common sense that people at airports or train stations follow. I mean if you’re running to make your plane or your train, you know that your carry-on baggage is going to slow you down and you might even miss that plane or train. I mean it would be easier if you had one of those carts. In truth it would be easier if you had no baggage. But nevertheless there you are running all crooked, hair flying everywhere, shoulders killing you, luggage straps not really doing their job, and your knees not really cooperating during this sprint to the gate. It appears that sometimes in real life we’re doing the exact same thing and this airport/train station wisdom escapes us.
It’s easy to get weighed down by all the crap in your life that isn’t going right — an accident, a job, a relationship, family drama, bills, or whatever crisis is making you eat tubs of rocky road ice cream at midnight. I know. I’m guilty of this. I admit it, it is easy.
But this Holmes makes a good point. She smacked me with some common sense. If you’re tied to your past (AKA your baggage) you’re not going to get very far in the future. Common sense, yes. But sometimes we have brain farts and this wisdom escapes us. Or maybe we just don’t go to the airport on vacations as much as we’d like, so the whole baggage weighing you down isn’t a recurring metaphor. But it’s all good. I get reminders … reminders at places like the CVS. So drop your bags, man! Drop ’em and go.
Image via shop.holstee.com
In researching different materials and websites for my own happiness project, I came across this poster. Cool people everywhere have probably seen it a million times. There’s even a video. But apparently I’m not that cool, because I’m just catching up with this awesomeness.
It’s called the Holstee Manifesto. I don’t know who Holstee is personally, but he deserves some really good chocolate for this wisdom. Actually I do know that the manifesto was created by three dudes who had quit their jobs and were following their passion. Dave, Mike and Fabian.
The manifesto comes into play with my spiritual, mental, and physical wellness phase, as well as my aiming high career phase.
It reminded me of a simple lesson. Sometimes being The Guat is difficult and because of all the crap I go through, sometimes I over analyze things. That’s one of my crazy pitfalls. It must be the writer in me. No. Not true … let’s stop playing these games. It’s all the CSI and Law & Order that I watch. It’s contagious. So I need to check myself every now and then.
But aside from the over analyzing part, I was reminded of the passion factor. This will help keep my happiness project in check. It will help keep me in check.
Passion.
Everything is about passion. Passion in your dreams. Passion in your parenting. Passion in your humor. Passion in your relationships. Passion in your chocolate eating. Passion in your failures. Yes failures. If you’re going down, go down in flames. And then own it. You might learn a good life-lesson, or just need Costco-size amounts of Neosporin for all the cuts and bruises you encounter on your fall, either way it’ll be worth it, because following your passion is worth it. Life may not always turn out the way your 15-year old brain thought it would, but following your passion will eventually lead to good things. Eventually. This is what I was reminded of when I saw the poster.
Passion is what makes things better. Passion is what leads to spectacular.
It’s a good thing I was reminded of that. Sometimes I tend to forget. Drama makes that happen. Pinche drama. It’s a speed bump that can develop into a massive detour, a six-car pile up on your journey if you let it.
It’s not always easy, but I imagine nothing spectacular ever is — not that I know from personal experience, but at least that’s I what hear.
Passion. I’m on it.
The Wish Factor
The Wish Factor 