Sjonesmusic
06-22-2004, 12:14 PM
Can you imagine a future where you find yourself spending your nights sitting in front of the T.V. skipping mindlessly from cable show to cable show; browsing endlessly on the internet.....you were once all fired up with big dreams to become a great musician, make your mark.....but somewhere in that clutter and distraction you allowed things to stagnate; the fire went out....dreams were sacrificed to trivial things. This is a future of unrealized potential.
It leads to stagnation. Unfulfilled goals and aspirations.....a sense of not living life, at least not the one you had imagined. It leads to boredom....
Negative patterns of behavior never change....
Abilities and gifts aren't cultivated and deployed...
Weeks turn into months and years, and you look back to see a life of:
Deep, intimate, gut wrenchingly honest conversations never spoken....
Bold dreams allowed to fade...
Exhilarating risks not taken.....
Gifts not given....
Lives you never touched....
In the midst of this realization, you find:
A world of desperate need.....
A calliing missed to be a part of something greater than yourself......
A person you did not become.....
Going through life with eyes closed and ears shut, not hearing those who are trying to speak to you, living half of your life waiting for your life to begin......thinking that it was always somewhere off in the future.....
Well the time is now.......
Time to wake up and do something......
Don't fall prey to routine.....condemning yourself to it.....
Your dreams will go unpursued, your talents untested....
Will you ever find time to plan?
Take risks?
Take initiative?
Are you too comfortable with routine?
Time to reassess then........
Don't lose potential, a chance to grow, simply because you don't want to look carefully at the truth, preferring to bury it.
Coming to a sense of gratitude, realization of the prize you've been given, is the first step....
Finding a way to use it, to give it back, is the next step....
Crushing those excuses is a start:
"I would do ______________, but my job stifles me"
"I would pursue _____________, but I need familiarity"
"I would learn ________________, but it takes too long"
What?
Time to jump in......
You were given a gift.......and if you are here you probably consider it music related.......
Then be thankful for it, and find a way to give it back.....
One problem I see is the comparison game. Which is ridiculous, because we are all not given the same amount, or the same kind of gift.
Ruthlessly refuse to compare your talents with anyone else.
Comparison will lead to a damaging pride and a false sense of superiority.
Or it will lead to misery and discounting that which you DO have.
You must come to identify, cultivate, invest, prize, and enjoy the gifts you've been given, and strive to fullfill the purpose behind your life.
Think:
"What will you do with what you were given?"
Not:
"What will I do with what I wasn't given"
Unrealized potential stands to be a great regret, and I'm just trying to foster some thought on it.
I want my life to end with:
"What he was, what he became"
Not:
"What might have been"
Ask these questoins of yourself:
What is my deepest dream?
How much passion do I experience in my daily life?
What do I want my epitaph to say?
How much am I growing these days?
How often do I take risks that require a dedication greater than the norm?
If I had to name the "one true thing" I was set upon this Earth to do, what is it?
How clear is that to me?
Just some stuff I've been thinking about.......and wanted to share.....
Not trying to preach, because in all honesty, I struggle with these very things everyday....
Sometimes people are more afraid of success than failure......
Peace,
Scott
It leads to stagnation. Unfulfilled goals and aspirations.....a sense of not living life, at least not the one you had imagined. It leads to boredom....
Negative patterns of behavior never change....
Abilities and gifts aren't cultivated and deployed...
Weeks turn into months and years, and you look back to see a life of:
Deep, intimate, gut wrenchingly honest conversations never spoken....
Bold dreams allowed to fade...
Exhilarating risks not taken.....
Gifts not given....
Lives you never touched....
In the midst of this realization, you find:
A world of desperate need.....
A calliing missed to be a part of something greater than yourself......
A person you did not become.....
Going through life with eyes closed and ears shut, not hearing those who are trying to speak to you, living half of your life waiting for your life to begin......thinking that it was always somewhere off in the future.....
Well the time is now.......
Time to wake up and do something......
Don't fall prey to routine.....condemning yourself to it.....
Your dreams will go unpursued, your talents untested....
Will you ever find time to plan?
Take risks?
Take initiative?
Are you too comfortable with routine?
Time to reassess then........
Don't lose potential, a chance to grow, simply because you don't want to look carefully at the truth, preferring to bury it.
Coming to a sense of gratitude, realization of the prize you've been given, is the first step....
Finding a way to use it, to give it back, is the next step....
Crushing those excuses is a start:
"I would do ______________, but my job stifles me"
"I would pursue _____________, but I need familiarity"
"I would learn ________________, but it takes too long"
What?
Time to jump in......
You were given a gift.......and if you are here you probably consider it music related.......
Then be thankful for it, and find a way to give it back.....
One problem I see is the comparison game. Which is ridiculous, because we are all not given the same amount, or the same kind of gift.
Ruthlessly refuse to compare your talents with anyone else.
Comparison will lead to a damaging pride and a false sense of superiority.
Or it will lead to misery and discounting that which you DO have.
You must come to identify, cultivate, invest, prize, and enjoy the gifts you've been given, and strive to fullfill the purpose behind your life.
Think:
"What will you do with what you were given?"
Not:
"What will I do with what I wasn't given"
Unrealized potential stands to be a great regret, and I'm just trying to foster some thought on it.
I want my life to end with:
"What he was, what he became"
Not:
"What might have been"
Ask these questoins of yourself:
What is my deepest dream?
How much passion do I experience in my daily life?
What do I want my epitaph to say?
How much am I growing these days?
How often do I take risks that require a dedication greater than the norm?
If I had to name the "one true thing" I was set upon this Earth to do, what is it?
How clear is that to me?
Just some stuff I've been thinking about.......and wanted to share.....
Not trying to preach, because in all honesty, I struggle with these very things everyday....
Sometimes people are more afraid of success than failure......
Peace,
Scott