The Way I See It #92

Unfortunately, I didn't write this, but I believe EVERY SINGLE WORD. I think it's amazing and that everyone should read it.

You are not an accident.

Your parents may not have planned you,

but God did.

He wanted you alive and

created you for a purpose.

Focusing on yourself will never reveal your purpose.

You were made by God and for God,

and until you understand that, 

life will never make sense.

Only in God do we discover

our origin,

our identity,

our meaning,

our purpose, 

our significance, 

and our destiny.

-Dr. Rick Warren

Author of: The Purpose Driven Life

Maybe actions don't speak that loudly

     I am a firm believer in the saying, "Actions speak louder than words". But I have found an exception to this rule. This rule applies when it comes to honesty between people or if people say they will do something and they don't end up doing it. For example, in a relationship, if a person keeps saying they will change and make things better, but they never do anything about it then that is when "actions speak louder than words" applies. That person is saying things that they honestly don't feel in their hearts which shows through their absent actions...Now the exception is when you look at what a person chooses to do and if you don't agree with their decision you automatically (maybe not even purposefully) put it in your head that they are a bad person. In my life I have been guilty of this many times. I've looked at people I don't truly know and decide they are a bad person just because of their actions that I don't agree with.

   Doing this ^^^^^^^ is wrong. Who am I to say someone is a good or bad person or not? Who am I to say that I'm a good person either if I'm passing judgement on things I hear from people and see from them on the weekends? I don't know the roads they have traveled in life, I don't know what they've been through. Maybe the things they have been through have led them to the decisions they make now. We don't know who a person is just by looking at the cover. There are a lot of people that I love in my life that make poor decisions that I don't agree with. But do those actions define who they are as a person? Absolutely not. I've come to the conclusion that you can't say a person is good or bad unless you have taken the time to genuinely get to know their heart. Without truly getting to know someone you can't act like you know them just by the party you saw them at last weekend. Unless you've tried to learn about their life you can't act like you know who they are and the type of person they are.
    I've come to realize there aren't as many "bad" people out their as I thought. I still get upset when I think about some of the decisions people I care about make, but I'm working on it. No one can say they are better than anyone else. I'm working hard at not judging people I don't personally know just because of what I "know" about them. I don't know what their life's about, I don't know what trials God has asked them to walk through. Everyone is fighting their own battle, some people are just really good at hiding it. So what I'm getting at is don't decide how you feel about a person just because of their actions. Actions are still really important, but we don't know where their heart truly is unless we try to find out. People put on shows in front of other people all the time, not everyone is their true selves in front of a crowd. Again, I DO believe that a person's actions are important, but they NEVER define who that person is on the inside. I've found some of the most caring, and genuine people in a crowd that I would never even have thought to have looked. There is always some good to be found in everyone. Learn their heart before you define a person by the poor decisions they make. Try to get to know someone you don't particularly like, you may be surprised. Everyone deserves a fair chance. I hope I wrote this out at clearly and understandable as I could, there were just so many things I wanted to say floating around in my head. 

In the dying we find the most wisdom.

I take no credit for this, it is taken from The Buried Life's tumblr page (:

I randomly found this a few days ago, and I was really really inspired by it. It gave me a new motivation to just do life. I know there are a lot of lists like these out there, but this one stuck out to me more than any of the others I have read. I would love to be able to live my life like this everyday.

Enjoy (:

45 Life Lessons From A Dying Old Woman With No Reason to Lie.

                           

1.       Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.

2.       When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3.       Life is too short to waste time hating anyone…

4.       Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick.  Your friends and parents will.  Stay in touch.

5.       Pay off your credit cards every month.

6.       You don’t have to win every argument.  Agree to disagree.

7.       Cry with someone. It’s more healing than crying alone.

8.       It’s OK to get angry with God.  He can take it.

9.       Save for retirement starting with your first pay check.

10.     When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11.     Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up the present.

12.     It’s OK to let your children see you cry..

13.     Don’t compare your life to others.  You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14.     If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn’t be in it.

15.     Everything can change in the blink of an eye.  But don’t worry; God never blinks.

16.     Take a deep breath.  It calms the mind.

17.     Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.

18.     Whatever doesn’t kill you really does make you stronger.

19.     It’s never too late to have a happy childhood.  But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20.     When it comes to going after what you love in life, don’t take no for an answer.

21.     Burn the candles, use the nice sheets and wear the fancy lingerie.  Don’t save it for a special occasion,  today is special.

22.     Over prepare, then go with the flow.

23.     Be eccentric now.  Don’t wait for old age to wear purple.

24.     The most important sex organ is the brain.

25.     No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

26.     Frame every so-called disaster with these words ‘In five years, will this matter?’

27.     Always choose life.

28.     Forgive everyone everything.

29.     What other people think of you is none of your business.

30.     Time heals almost everything.  Give time.

31.     However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32.     Don’t take yourself so seriously.  No one else does.

33.     Believe in miracles.

34.     God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn’t do.

35.     Don’t audit or over analyze life.  Show up and make the most of it now.

36.     Growing old beats the alternative — dying young.

37.     Your children get only one childhood.

38.     All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

39.     Get outside every day.  Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40.     If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s, we’d grab ours back.

41.     Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

42.     The best is yet to come.

43.     No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

44.     Yield.

45.     Life isn’t tied with a bow, but it’s still a gift.”

I Found Mine

Dignity:

           1. Bearing conduct, or speech indicative of self-respect or appreciation of the formality or gravity 

           of an occasion, or situation.

           2. Nobility or elevation of character; worthiness.

With you I had none.

I became dependent on you for every positive emotion I could feel.

I became dependent on you to take away every negative emotion I felt.

I lost being my own person.

No, I'm not blaming you for this, it was all me.

People say, "If you were happy before them, you can be happy without them."

I don't know if I was happy before then.

Or maybe I just don't remember.

It seems like forever ago.

Honestly, I don't know who I was before I was with you.

So young, immature, lost, pathetic, just trying and trying to measure up, but failing because of me.

Because nobody can get anywhere if they are their own worst enemy, worst critic.

A person will fail in the course of life if they hate themselves.

If they don't care about themselves.

I was the hyper, humorous girl that always seemed to be happy.

I was the "easy target", so they said.

But what was going on in my head...just a tid shy from being labeled as "suicidal".

Who I am now doesn't like who I was then.

But now...

Things are different.

I'm different.

I'm growing and learning more about myself everyday.

I'm creating myself.

I'm saved<3.

I have respect for myself.

I won't let myself get down if someone else looks down upon me.

Bluntly, if people have something bad to say they can f*ck off.

There will always be things I want to change, but why waste my time hurting over something I can't change or control?

I won't let myself keep comparing my behind-the-scenes with everyone else's highlight reel.

The demons in my head will keep telling me I'm a failure, that I'm not good enough, and that I will never measure up.

But, they're wrong.

I'm deaf to them now.

I'm proud of who I am.

I'm Jamie Herman.

I'm proud because I have the strength to want to change, to be different, not everyone has the guts to.

The life I was given was made just right for me.

I will do amazing things.

I will put Love first, always.

I will find the joy in suffering.

You may think you still have your hold on me, but the times are different now.

You may think I will always be on hold, but now I've ridden you of every control you've had on me.

Don't take this the wrong way, love.

I'm glad we loved, and lost.

I'm glad I got to love and be loved.

You were the best friend I ever had..but things change, don't they?

And "that's just life".

But remember, I'm always there if need be, but I'm not quite ready yet.

The person you had, the person I was, is long gone...dead.

I'm taking the time for myself, I deserve time to be with myself, to love myself, to hold myself.

"As for me I will always have hope."

I will be happy.

I am happy.

And I will still be happy, even tomorrow and the next day.

Now, I'm not saying I won't have weak moments. 

I will break once in awhile, but I will pick myself back up...

with my dignity, wipe off the dirt, and keep moving.

Forward.

Always looking forward.

Always looking up.

Proverbs 31:25

"She is clothed in strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future."