Never think that what you have to offer is insignificant. There will always be someone out there that needs what you have to give. -unknown I love this quote because it speaks to me as an individual. It kind of speaks to why I even started this blog in the first place actually. I mean, I'm not crazy... I am well aware that only a handful of very special people will ever take the time out of their incredibly busy lives to read my babbling posts about life. But my thought was, that if I could help even one person. If I could make one exhausted mom feel more normal, or one woman with infertility feel less alone, or even one person laugh out loud on "one of those days," it's so worth it! Of course, it helps that I enjoy writing and find it incredibly therapeutic, but the best part is just hearing from readers that they can relate. So what do I have to offer really? I mean, what right do I have to start a blog anyway? Well no right at all frankly. I'm not a great cook, I have one kid that I didn't even carry myself, I'm infertile, I've never breastfed, and I'm not a fitness or fashion expert by any stretch of the imagination... but... I truly believe in my heart that there will always be someone out there that needs what I have to offer... Whatever that is. And I think it's true for all of us. What you have to offer in this life is never insignificant. There are people out there that need exactly what you have to offer. There are people that feel alone and are sick and tired of pretending to be okay all the time. What journey are you on? What miles have you walked? What did you learn and how did you grow? Who can you help? Sure, you may not have something to offer the world, but you don't have to, to make a difference. I've always loved that story about the starfish, you know the one right? Here it is if not: Once upon a time, there was an old man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach every morning before he began his work. Early one morning, he was walking along the shore after a big storm had passed and found the vast beach littered with starfish as far as the eye could see, stretching in both directions. Off in the distance, the old man noticed a small boy approaching. As the boy walked, he paused every so often and as he grew closer, the man could see that he was occasionally bending down to pick up an object and throw it into the sea. The boy came closer still and the man called out, “Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?” The young boy paused, looked up, and replied “Throwing starfish into the ocean. The tide has washed them up onto the beach and they can’t return to the sea by themselves,” the youth replied. “When the sun gets high, they will die, unless I throw them back into the water.” The old man replied, “But there must be tens of thousands of starfish on this beach. I’m afraid you won’t really be able to make much of a difference.” The boy bent down, picked up yet another starfish and threw it as far as he could into the ocean. Then he turned, smiled and said, “It made a difference to that one!” adapted from The Star Thrower, by Loren Eiseley (1907 – 1977) What you have to offer is a beautiful thing. We can all make a difference to that one. Something will grow from all you are going through, and it will be you. And finally, one last quote that I leave you with because it needs to be followed up with an "Amen" every time... we will all go through something in our life because you know what they say about life...no one gets out alive! Haha! But really, we will all experience things that are hard, and hurt, and that make us feel like no one can relate. But I challenge you to embrace your journey with both hands. Hold on tight and know that you will get through it when you allow yourself to grow through it. Does that make sense to you? I hope it does. And I hope you can find the strength that your own hardships have brought you. You can be better and badder because of them. You can harness them and ride them off into the sunset. Don't allow yourself to be defined by what you have been through, it's just part of your journey.
So I will leave you tonight with these two quotes to ponder... yes all three of you that are actually reading this (Hahaha)! Never underestimate what you have to offer. There is always a need for what you have to give. And give yourself credit for all the growth that has come and will come from your struggles if you are brave enough to embrace them, but not be defined by them.
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Happiness is letting go of what you think your life is supposed to look like & celebrating it for everything that it is. - Mandy Hale Can I get an Amen ladies? Let's be honest, as kids we probably all had these ideas of what our lives would be like as adults. And then there's... Reality. As a child you feel like you have so much power over your future. You can be anything! My parents taught me to dream big and they encouraged my aspirations all along the way. I felt as though there were these rules in life that if followed carefully, would ensure that my future would turn out exactly as I'd imagined. And then... there's Reality.
But don't you think we need to be more honest and open about these things? So many women are walking around feeling alone because even though this is the era of reality TV and Caitlyn Jenner (whom I love and do not apologize for that), there is still a stigma out there that life is so... effortlessly easy. I remember being worried when at 24 years old, I had not even met the man I'd marry (I know sounds ridiculous now). It just wasn't how I'd imagined it somehow. I thought by 25 I'd be married for sure! But then I wasn't. And it didn't help that my sister and mom were both married at twenty- damn-four! Like whaaaaaat?! And I remember the second time life was like, PLOT TWIST! When after years of planning the exact date that we would conceive, we found out that I couldn't even carry a baby! Please just blow. my. mind. I mean seriously! I had imagined having four kids and I loved the pregnancy idea for some weird reason. I thought it would be like this magical moment in time when my hair would be shiny, my skin would glow, and my belly would be like this basketball under my shirt. And then it was like, errrrrrrrrrrrk (sound of a record scratching) when we got the bad news. You mean my life.... will not be.... what I thought....? And of course there was more to it. I was filled with guilt because I wondered if my husband would have married me had he known this, and my poor sister volunteering to carry our baby. I was a burden on everyone! And to make matters worse, it was incredibly lonely. Nobody talks about having problems getting pregnant. It seemed like everyone I knew was either "ooopsie" pregnant or "Oh my gawsh, the first time we tried!" Ugh. Eye roll. But, my point is, that every. single. woman. that you know is fighting a battle. There is not one person on this earth that can escape the many plot twists in this life. In case you didn't know yet, you are not in charge here. Sometimes, life just happens. Exactly. The. Way. It. Should. I know it's hard to trust that and always have peace with that. But know this, you are not alone and whatever plot twist you are encountering in this life will bring you to exactly the place in which you were meant to be. You will find your strength in the storm and you will learn that sometimes the things that we cannot change in this life, end up changing us. And for the better. So next time you log into Facebook and see all these beautiful family photos with smiling faces, hair blowing in the wind, and coordinating outfits, remind yourself that nobody is perfect. There is no such thing. Embrace your perfectly imperfect life for all that it is, because there is a lot of beauty in it, just. as. it. is. "The happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything they have." -Unknown I love this quote because it is so true. How many people do you know that say they would be so happy if only they had this or that? There are people that truly believe the newest Tory Burch bag would make them happy, or a house decorated in 100% Pottery Barn. There are sick people who believe they could only be happy if they were well. There are infertile people who believe they would be happy if they could have a child. And there are single people who believe they could only be happy if they had a perfect mate.
While it may be true that some of these things can bring great joy for a moment or even a life time, does it mean you can’t be happy now? Just as, and where, you are? I know some of you might be saying to yourself, "this woman is acting like I should be running around happy all the time. That's not real life." And that's a valid point. Life is not always happy and every day will not always be a happy one. But, you have more control over your happiness than you might believe. The happiest people I know have found their happiness because they understand that it comes from within. Perspective is everything people. Some days, I find myself exhausted and I look down at my daughter tugging at my leg and doing her fake cry and I think to myself, I have a choice to make here. And I don't always choose happiness. I'm not perfect. But I try to make a conscious effort to stop, breathe, and pull her up into my lap and tickle her. When I hear her giggling, it reminds me of the choice I made to be happy in this moment. I had to make that effort, that choice. What’s holding you back from being happy today? Maybe you have further to go, but enjoy the ride on your way there. There are no guarantees in this life. It’s time to get happy! Because who doesn’t need a little inspiration every now and then? Plus, I just love quotes! Let’s get inspired together!
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