Thought for The Day - Not Yet

It's a sad reality, that moment when you accept "I'm not ready." And all too often, that realization is followed by "when will my time come around?!" Patience gets tossed out the window in moments like this, but there's not much you can do. Oh, you will wait because there's not much more you can do...

Back to the wood shed! Continue working and practicing and building your skills. Each opportunity you get, you try to showcase your talents, though often you ask yourself why; the end is always the same: rejection or worse, apathy! And each time, you wonder whether you have what it takes, if you are too young, too old, too short or the right race...nagging questions that you dare not ask, because in truth it won't matter what others say. There's a reason you continue to hone your skills, show up for the performance and give it all you've got: you have a message, a song, a move to add to this vast collective! And whether you're "ready or not," you have to press on!

Perhaps, many years from now, the "right audience" or group will see you for who you are. One day, you will be recognized for your outstanding performance, but for now, in the meantime, just not yet...

Thought for The Day - It Happens

The Turn 9 x 12 pastels

There are days, weeks and months where you simply "flow." No interruptions, no thought of loss or doubt. But suddenly, out of nowhere, in a moment of hesitation, it as if the hot air balloon you've rode loses it's altitude and you come crashing back to earth. That solid flat place where doubt and fear live. That place where desires shrivel on the vine and never deliver...

It certainly happens; we all go through spells and fits where things don't go as we plan or as we perceive they should. For some of us, it seems a great deal of our lives is spent on the ground, away from the lofty skies where dreams are complete. But as much as we despair, we don't have to remain on the ground! I dare say, while "dreaming is for dreamers," much of what we accept as reality was shaped by dreamers!

Don't give up, don't allow disappointment to turn your dream into an ulcer or cancer! Wake up, get busy making your dream your reality. And watch the world change as a result!

Thought for The Day - Just Keep Swimming

The current goes "that way."

Everyone else is doing it "this way."

A real man lives like "this!"

Something's wrong with you! You don't act like everyone else!

You've heard it, I've heard it, the loop plays in my head ALL THE TIME! And yet I get up early every day, I write and cleanse my soul.

I paint in bright colors, that to me seem as 'normal' as a subtle brown.

That line from "Finding Nemo" doesn't regularly come to mind, but that's okay, I'm swimming and swimming and swimming. There are times I "just want to be normal," stop where I am and be like everyone else. The loop is, after all playing in my head. But sickness, injuries, body aches and just plain mental "rebellion" will not allow me to roll over and play dead. Many days, I don't want to write another line, or more importantly, I want thousands of people to read and respond and to create such a buzz 'bout "Eddie" that I can't work a "regular job." But I have to keep swimming and swimming and swimming.

What's my destination? It isn't a place or people; it's "me." I'm finding M-E.

Just keep swimming...

Thought for The Day - Thinking...

Phoenix - 18 x 24 Pastels

You ever have one of those days, weeks - hopefully not longer - where you wish you could turn off your brain? It isn't the accomplishments or hopes that need to be shut down, it's those annoying self-doubts and life-confirming hard-knocks that leave you in a constant state of anguish! Everywhere you turn, trouble, difficulty and disappointments plague your every move.

Sorry, it's this way sometimes. We don't have the 'luxury' of lives full of mountains and flowers; our lives our lived in the valley and on the plain. And even our "bright spots" have to admit, sometimes it's downright disappointing to the extent you wonder if it's worth it.

Well it is worth it! Every hardship, every struggle and disappointment as well. So while the thoughts are racing to what seems to a brick wall, while it seems like the life you desire is off limits and moved on to rest on another's shoulders, keep pressing on!

The Multiple "Me's"

"Put your best foot forward." A simple saying nearly ever parent or adult has said to nearly every child. While we may always want to be presented in the best light, very often, the choice we make, how we are perceived is the complete opposite. It may trace back to a series of choices, fueled by thoughts and feelings that speak to our inability, or a weakness within us. But always appearing positive, upbeat and cooperative seems to escape us.

At times, we feel the need to withdraw, place our selves within a protective cocoon. Those moments, we think the only protector we have is 'us.' We may cry out to God in a prayer: "Lord save me," or "Lord keep my enemy away," or even "take care of those who would harm me," but our focus is on the pain we feel, rather than our potential.

I remember times when I was so disgusted with the course of my life; my attention focused on what was not happening, what I wanted to happen, and what was seen as the height of reinforced walls between success and I. In times like these, one's attention isn't merely not "seeing the forest for the trees," but seeing the trees that are twisted, dying and potentially deadly.  In times like this, it is hard to remember that my children are being fed, clothed, educated and loved, or that the car I have is running so well, I don't have to give a thought to whether it will get me to work or not. Sitting at my desk at work, I forget that my contribution to the company's success is so valuable, the idea of letting me go is the furthest from leadership's mind. I only perceive disappointment at my life.

No one is immune to "stinking-thinking;" even the most successful people are capable of focusing on their failures to the point they don't stretch for additional success. And honestly, it's at this point I think we all need to learn that the eye of the storm is that moment, that brief period where we calmly view the multiple aspects of our existence.

From the "least of these" to the "greatest," we are an amalgamation of good actions and selfish motives. We can love our spouses to death and in a moment become a hateful person. We can sit in fear, dreading the success we say we want and in the same day, work at someone's company as though the lights would go out unless we're there. Contrasting and conflicting possibilities exist in each of us.

In the book of James (the New Testament of the Bible), he asks a poignant question in chapter 3 and verse 11: "Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?" Of course the implication is we should not produce "salty water," but  fresh water; but "putting our best foot forward," is not only a challenge, but a a supernatural feat!

Personally, at this point, I am in the 'eye of the storm.' I can see within me so much potential and exercise it. And seconds later, any given day, I see where I'm falling short of expectations I have for my life and it seems to snatch the very light from the sky. But in this quiet place, where all that is 'me,' swirls around me, it's refreshing to know 'when' I achieve the success I believe I desire, I will remain this mix of incredible and despicable; I will grow, but there will remain in me the potential for additional growth. My expectation is spiritually and mentally, I will become the man I believe I should be, but new areas of weakness as well as strength will be revealed. Where are you in your development? In this moment, on this day, are you looking at your life as a disaster, while sitting in front of a work of art, created by your hands? Or do you perceive your life as a success, but with room to grow?