March 18, 2014

The life you have is to be celebrated, always!

2012-08-12 07.14.29Today is a new day.  Every new day represents an opportunity to live and celebrate the life we have, not the life we wish it to be.

This does not mean we cannot hope, dream, pray for, or desire a different outcome.  It does mean that who we are, where we are, what we are, and what we have at this exact point in our life is to be celebrated and appreciated.  It also means that if we have a desire to get to a more peaceful, productive, or happier place, today is another day in our journey to get there.

There are two things that often interrupt or prevent progress in the quest of our dreams and our desires.  First, we desire to change, alter, control, or influence those aspects of our life that are not within our control.  Because they are not within our control, it is best if they are not part of the success formula in our outcomes.  We can only succeed over what we control, not what we desire to control. By our positive actions, activities, and behaviors we can potentially influence components of our life not in our control; but, these things do not define us and cannot prevent us from finding joy, peace, and happiness in who we are.

Second, there is no peace if we look at what we haven’t achieved instead of celebrating what we have. There are many moving parts in our journey. There are people we love, lessons we have learned, mistakes we have made, and things we regret. These are all active and critical parts of the journey in our life. Getting stuck is waiting for these mistakes to be corrected or forgiven, or for these loved ones to catch up to us on our journey.  They are not part of our success they are obstacles that prevent us from living the life we desire.

We cannot change what we cannot control.  And, we cannot move forward when we get stuck in someone else’s place. Getting to the life we have defined for ourselves requires discovering the ability to move forward, celebrating the little accomplishments in our own life, and letting go of our desires to bring aspects along the journey that actually are holding us back on our journey.

Healing and progress are defined by how we let go of what is lost.  Moving forward does not mean giving up hope.  We still can and must offer love or share the dream with others.  It does mean there is no ability to live, celebrate, enjoy, or find peace until we let go of what we cannot control and celebrate accomplishment over what we can.

When we embrace our ability to live and celebrate the life we have been given in the form it has been given to us, we will find peace, hope and opportunity.  When our happiness is dependent upon changing something more powerful than us, the quest for peace, joy, happiness, and accomplishment will be and will remain elusive to us.

Go forward in peace.  Be grateful, hopeful and joyful today. Your journey is bigger, greater, and more powerful than the painful problem at hand!!

 

Parenting and Addiction, Uncategorized , , , , ,
About Dave Cooke

Dave Cooke is a dad on a mission. His mission is to help parents get control of their lives over the powerful, destructive influences of a child's addiction. As the father of a son in a ten year heroin battle, Dave knows all to well the challenges parents and families face. He also knows there is a way to find peace in the chaos. It is his mission to help parents discover their path to a healthier, balanced life even if a child's active addiction is still part of their daily journey.

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