The Cruel and (Un)Usual Life

The Cruel and Unusual Life

Woke up, fell out of bed Dragged a comb across my head Found my way downstairs and drank a cup And looking up I noticed I was late Found my coat and grabbed my hat Made the bus in seconds flat Made my way upstairs and had a smoke And somebody spoke and I went into a dream

~~ From "A Day in the Life" by The Beatles

A day in your life, What is that like? Is it filled with passion and anticipation? What are you looking forward to in the next twelve months or even the next week? What books are you reading to develop that incredible human brain that separates us from the animals in the jungle? Are your emotions right now filled with love, compassion, joy and contentment or do you surge with latent anger, envy, competition and quiet fears, like most do?

My friends, life is yours, all eighty plus years that you are expected to be on this planet. If your yesterday was no different than your last week and last week was no different than your last year, what do you think your future is going to be like if you don't consider making some significant changes, Right now!

Goals, dreams, a vision for your own sense of success and prosperity as an incredible and compassionate human being exists within you already. We were born with a sense of being more than a corporate drone, churning out quotas to finance a life of mundane existence. A world exists out there for you, if you will set aside the streaming NetFlix weekends, clever Facebook posts >>

and hours sitting on a laptop searching for other peoples' idea of a great life. You have ever opportunity that the rock star, the corporate executive, the community leader and the successful parent has. So what is the difference between their success and your lack thereof? They do whatever it takes. You do what's convenient.

Consider how you spend your days. Sure, there has got to be time for relaxation and recreation. Do you read books? They are free on line, there are audio books that you can listen to on that long boring drive to and from work everyday. Are you feeding your head everyday with something useful and positive? Most people are led, even driven, by circumstances and opinions that others dictate to them. Reactionary. Few have original thoughts and ideas. What is ordinary, usual, status quo, "the way it has always been and always will be" is your slow, miserable demise. It changes when you want to see a change.

I urge you to take a precarious and unfamiliar step and do something different. Maybe not skydiving or starting a nationwide franchise to begin with, but how about taking a walk around the neighborhood. Stand up and stretch your muscles for ten minutes. Sit down and consider ten things that you can be very grateful for. Go out tomorrow and be determined to see the best in everything around you and everybody you meet. Turn off the television. When I say that, what I mean is Turn-Off-The-Television. Learn to dream, to fantasize about how your best self would look like, talk like, act like and do. Then begin to step into that character. Do you think it will feel silly? Probably so, but everyone who ever did anything great, anything noteworthy, anything that made life better for the millions of people who followed them, stepped into a life they were not yet living and became the greatness they once could only imagine. We all have the same brain pan. We can all learn something new, something wonderful and become the person we always wished we could be. When you see greatness in others, don't envy them, emulate them. Live large my friends, livedeliberately. .

~~ JimKillon