Injection of Positivity

Here's some positive thoughts for you, to inspire your day:

It’s so odd that, no matter how you perceive your circumstances, someone else can do one better…

If you believe you are getting old, someone is older who feels young…

If you believe you don’t have good health, someone is out there with a chronic illness, enjoying life…

If you wish for more abundance, there is someone with far less cherishing every gift they receive…

If you take people for granted, there are those who live in service of others, and appreciate them all…

If you feel your life to be difficult, someone undoubtedly has it worse, but feels hopeful…

How do we lose our perspective?

I’m thankful for today

I’ll have a chance to make a difference…and it’s up to me whether I will…

I’ll have a chance to overlook people’s weakness, and celebrate their strengths…

I’ll have a chance to dream for a better future, with the only limit being my imagination…

I’ll have a chance to share my song, however the notes are ultimately written…even if no one listens…

I’ll have a chance to care for others, and leave selfishness to another time, when others need me less…

I’ll have a chance to sow seeds of forgiveness, and let them grow where healing is needed…

I’ll have a chance to find my inner peace…and stop looking for others to create it for me…

Thank God I’m not so old…

- From some guy on Facebook (private profile)

Pumped for snow!

A storm is passing through, bringing with it a 30% chance of snow on Tuesday night.

I can't wait for this season. It will be my first, full snowboarding season.

I do hope that the snow on the roads remain at a minimal, if nonexistent, level. But at the same time, I hope the mountains are filled with powder.

Anyway, Spenser is a snowboarder from Alaska, and this is one of my favorite videos from him - really captures the entertainment and light-hearted fun that snowboarding brings.



Alright, back to studying!

Hope

Hope, faith and imagination; what do these words have in common? They carry positive connotations and fuel our dreams. But what they really have in common is an abundance of during our youth, and a steady decrease of as we progress in life.

Concepts like hope, faith and imagination were what we fed on and utilized to accomplish our goals in our youth. Success was relative, and opportunities were copious. But as we grew older, we began to realize one thing: success became absolute (you either succeed, or you don’t.) and opportunities to experience success became few and far in between. Ideals such as hope, faith and imagination were no longer enough to be the primary source of our success. Instead, tools and resources such as intelligence, good looks and money became the fundamental pillars in determining one’s success. This separates the haves and have-nots, closes doors to more individuals, and creates a funnel effect where only a few reach the top.

Sidenote: This does not apply to the entertainment and athletic industries, as the public loves an underdog and feel-good story. But think about the team owners and record label CEO’s, who are they? Generally privileged and expensively raised Caucasian males.

Now, I understand that genuine hard work and motivation can negate and overcome these obstacles. But the reality is that these individuals must work disproportionately harder to reach the level that most everyone strives for. Is this really fair?

Think about how many freshmen go into college trying to be Medical students, Pharmacists, Engineers and Lawyers. Then think about how many of them actually succeeded. Due to the structure of the system, most of them do not. And for good reason – there’s no room in society for everyone to be a Wall Street Lawyer or an Astronaut.

But why even bother preaching the possibilities and potential when all the elders know, deep down, that most of the youth will never ascend the peak of their dreams? Most of us won’t drive the Aston Martin’s, own beachfront houses or be Chief Executive of anything successful, so why give the hope?

By crushing hopes once reality sets in, people lose spirit and imagination. Some people rebound from failures and achieve success later on; it’s a part of life. It’s too bad this process isn’t explained when our mentors and seniors encourage us in our youth to reach for the stars.

Hope, faith and imagination can’t be taught and gained, but they can be lost or forgotten when we fail. The best we can do is not let that happen when we do stumble – it’s one of the only things in life we have complete control of.