Dream lover come rescue me Take me up, take me down Take me anywhere you want to baby
Though I'm not really in the mood, it was five years ago today that I started yearly posts on Valentine's Day, so I feel obliged to chime in on the day for a sixth time. Last year I penned a poem and the year before that and the year before that, etc., etc., etc....well, let's just say lots of pity parties, lol. Well this year I'm not going to do that. Yeah I'm still single, but I'm not bitter about it. I do think that if I had someone in my life, I'd be in a much better place all around, but ah well, here's to future possibilities.
So for what it's worth, whether you're in a loving relationship with someone special or if you are single, have an awesome Valentine's Day...and stay warm! In the meantime, I'll be spending it dreaming up a lover for next year...
Last week, during that whole vaguebooking fiasco, my friend Ricardo private messaged me to make sure that everything was okay. Once I'd explained the vague post and he was satisfied, he'd asked me how everything else was. I told him that I was mentally exhausted and a little miserable, too, which prompted him to share a link with me.
That should help, my friend added.
The link was to a video from an unlikely source that I never would have otherwise come upon and you can check it out here. It's a clip of a monologue by Family Feud host Steve Harvey, and it was filmed after a taping of the show while he was speaking with the audience. I never knew Mr. Harvey was such a motivational speaker, and watching this one short clip has made me a fan.
Eventually you're going to have to jump
What Steve Harvey says in this clip is so simple, yet so profound. It's a theory that I've always subscribed to, yet seemed to have forgotten these past few years. It's something that he calls 'jumping,' and it makes perfect sense.
You cannot just exist in this life
You've got to try to live
If you wake up every morning thinking
there's got to be more to life than it is
Man, believe that it is!
I thought I knew this secret, and I actually acted upon it once, back when I was 35 years of age. I'd been stuck in a job I hated getting up in the morning to go to, and so I found myself so miserable and wanting change that I jumped. I jumped! Today I find myself in a similar situation, and my past me makes my present me feel ashamed because I feel like I've stopped living. I stopped taking chances. I stopped jumping.
The only way to see what living's like is you gotta jump!
Jump Into What?
In Harvey's discussion, he's talks about 'jumping,' or rather taking risks in life. Without risk there is no reward. He says that we're all endowed with our own special gifts, and I agree. These gifts need to be employed in order reach fulfillment in our lives. You use your gift and everything else falls into place. It makes sense and I wholeheartedly believe that. Being successful at something you were born to do and that you enjoy is a very worthy goal in life, but what I've found is that the jump I took affected my life for the better, yet eventually forgetting how to jump has lead me to this. Besides, what about all of the other things in life we should jump towards?
I almost always refer to the words of Madonna in my daily life, from her song Sky Fits Heaven. In it, she talks about how we all travel down our own roads, watching the signs, and making decisions. Of course, the decisions we make will affect our path, for better or for worse. I've always had a hard time making decisions, and oftentimes I've made the wrong ones, and they've stayed with me for a very long time.
Jumping is not only about making a living. There are so many life changing decisions that could be made. So many jumps I could, or maybe should, take. Do I...
...sell my house and buy a condominium? Rent an apartment?
...look for a new job? Work in the city? Move to the city?
...try and find some other way to use my skills to be more successful?
...or just say screw it and live it up without any cares in the world?
Regardless, at my age I'm feeling that I've got one last chance to make a big jump for the better. As you can see, there are so many things to think about. All of these questions would affect huge changes in my life, and if I don't jump I will continue on not living. Steve Harvey says that when you do jump, your parachute isn't going to open up right away.Eventually, he says, that parachute has got to open.
Though I've jumped before I don't really think my parachute ever really opened fully. I know I'm not really living, and I so want to. One thing I do know, it's about time to make another jump or two. If I don't, then what? I can't just talk about it though. I've got to do it. Stay tuned...
I haven't got much time to waste
It's time to make my way
I'm not afraid of what I'll face
But I'm afraid to stay
I'm going down my road and I can make it alone
I'll work and I'll fight till I find a place of my own
