chickenshit:

“Sometimes people need to stick to what they know, even if it means remaining unhappy.”

These are fighting words for those of us who has ever, who wants, or who will learn about anything as much as they could. The problem lies with real world applications. What if you wanted to do something much different than what you are very accustomed to? Only you can make the decision to forego and set a plan in motion. In all honesty, nobody can hold you back but yourself. You’re faced with responsibilities… endless repercussions unfolding before your eyes or in hindsight by your decree.

You spend every waking minute of your life confronted by decisions, of which weigh heavily on another one and countless more others, justifying every move for self-assurance. You wonder every moment from those sleepless nights about the possibilities if you’ve done things differently. It’s okay to dream. It gives you incentive to accomplish what you set out to do. Countless motivational quotes have been made, tied to possible outcomes of objectives.

• When the going gets tough, the tough get going.
• If the first you don’t succeed, try and try again.
• Fall seven times, stand up eight.
• What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters to what lies within us.
• Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail.
  
• Go on failing. Go on. Only next time, try to fail better.
• When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.

Take your pick. There’s a lesson in everything… success, failure, trying. We invent these words to justify everything we do. When there’s someone to blame, we’ve washed our hands away from it. My idea of happiness is close to perfection. Relatively, happiness is perfection, but nothing is absolute. When you think about it, nobody is really happy.

I haven’t been regularly going to church since April of 2010. I’ve gone in December for Christmas and New Year’s day the following year. I went to church on Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday. Besides that, I’ve been ignoring this aspect of my life. My first time back in church was on Christmas Eve mass. I went with my family. I don’t know what it was, but I felt like crying. The whole setting felt so foreign for not having gone regularly for more than a year. At the same time, it felt natural. Almost spiritual. Profound joy and sadness was welling up inside. I’ve been away for while. How could I be feeling so much by just this simple visit Whatever it is or was, I felt happy even if it was only a little bit.

I think that’s why people are drawn to being part of a group. Be it religion, social gatherings or some organization, it’s nice feeling that sense of belonging. We make do with what little we have. A little imperfect happiness goes a long way. After all, it is better to spend one’s life close to the birds than waste it wishing one had wings.

I’m done.

(Source: stupid-systemus.xanga.com)