Joyful: My Pursuit of Myself & Who I Am

For a while now the people close to me have been suggesting I start writing again, the easiest way being an online journey for the world to see.... And join. I know that there are many others like me out there because without the drive to be joyful and to better yourself in order to reach your maximum potential our world around us wouldn't exist the way it is today. For better or worse. I realized long ago that life is not about being happy all the time, mostly because it's not possible. In life the negative things that make us grow shape the people we become and allow us to truly fulfill ourselves and validate our own reason for being on this planet. We are here to live. We have only one lifetime to live, living in fear or anxiety or anger only leads to unhappiness. Unhappiness that will destroy your one chance to be who you truly are. 

Life is not about being happy, life is about being thankful for the things that we have and being grateful for the lessons we have learned along the way. It is a hard mentality and life to reach. Believe me, I've had my share of life-shattering events, including receiving a diagnosis of an incurable disease and still somehow pushing on and living a full life despite the shadow following me for the rest of my life. Bad things are going to happen no matter what we do, we can't prevent something from happening by worrying or stressing about it and we can't change anything by going into the past. The only thing we have control over is how we react to a situation. I tell myself this constantly, at least ten times a day - on a good day. If we choose to stay calm and take things one at a time (which is all we are capable of anyway) then we will always have control of ourselves in any situation. If your partner leaves you it is because they are choosing to (in a healthy situation) and letting your grief and sadness overwhelm you and effect your happiness and life is dangerous  because it not only eats away at the person that you are but it soils everything else going on in your life because it consumes everything about you. I'm not saying we shouldn't feel anything, life is about feeling - but like all things, moderation is key. An over abundance of unnecessary emotions like anxiety, grief, anger, guilt and sadness set up our one shot at being joyful to fail before it even begins. 

The key is to make yourself focus on the positive, not just in life but in every situation. When things get overwhelming I stop, take a deep breath, and tackle only one thing at a time with my full attention because it is the best I can possibly do. I know life can be overwhelming and hard, I've spent the past 28 years wondering if I appeared as crazy to the rest of the world as I did to myself. Life is a journey, a journey paved with not happiness but joy. It is impossible to always be happy, but by focusing on the positive we can overcome our hurdles and live a life of joy. Only then do we know just how not-so-bad off we truly are and we begin to conceptualize the world around us the way it was meant to be seen. 

I am not sure where this journey will lead me - or us, hopefully - and I do not know how I am going to get there or even a map showing where to go. This is life. This is my journey to reclaim the joy in my life and truly utilize and enjoy this one precious chance I have. 💋😘💀