Exploring the world, exploring different cultures, and meeting new people can help us see and live our lives from a new and different mindset. When we look at what others are going through, we will realize that the things we once thought were important no longer serve us. Instead of living a life of discontent, we learn to bring ourselves in line with contentment. We no longer chase down material things as a source of our happiness. We no longer view external things as a means of status and importance and attach our pleasure to external things. We become content with who we are as a person internally. We no longer live from the outside in. Instead, we now live our life from the inside out.
Life can throw a curveball at us, and that spirit of contentment will help you address those life issues. That means that we do not need to argue about our lives with anyone. That is why it is essential to live the best life for You, not one dictated by someone else. That means no one outside of you has the right to your life and how you live your life. If you live your life by the dictation of others, your life will crash and burn. We all have the presence of mind, heart, soul, and spirit to know the best life for us.
Not all parents know what the best life is for their children. Some parents want to force the life they may have missed out on down their children’s throats, or they may have this notion of what their child should become without speaking to and getting to know them and not even considering the individual passion of their children. They even go as far as to try to manipulate their children’s thoughts so that child(ren) can become a clone of them.
As a self-assured, mature adult, you do not need anyone to manipulate your mind, forcing you to think like them. That is a raping of the mind and a violation of our individuality. If anyone is trying to manipulate you, they are forcing you to live in pain with no sense of contentment. There is nothing that you “should” be doing, nothing that you “ought” to do if those things cause you internal mental and emotional pain and anguish. Life is to be lived fully and passionately.
There is no race to be or do anything. Stop running around like a chicken without a head. There is nothing in life that you should be rushing to do or become. Relax and allow your life to bring you what you need. Living passionately has nothing to do with running to make your life happen. Ask yourself, is what you are running around trying to get for your life, is that what you want? Is it making you feel happy and passionate about living?
We normally want parents and other family members to be proud of us. However, they have already lived their lives, which may not be yours. What they wish for you is not what you want for yourself. Live your best life, and your parents, family, friends, and colleagues will learn to respect the new you. I was one of those individuals, although it was more about other family members than parents. I had to learn to stand firmly on my feet my values, and stand up to family members and not allow them to run me over with what they thought was best for me and my life. The operative phrase here is “my life”.
A few years ago, I had lunch with a friend and had nothing to do after lunch. Goodness, mercy me. I did not know what to do with myself. I felt that I was being lazy because I wanted to sit in Central Park and watch the ducks in the pond. The thought that I was lazy was leftover dirt stuck in my mind from my Jamaican upbringing. As a child, I was always considered lazy because I did not fit in with their programmed mentality of what a young female was supposed to be doing. I wasn’t lazy, but I let them think that.
My idea of work was the complete opposite of my duties as a young lady. Cooking, cleaning, and serving the man of the house was not my idea of work that the other women so idealized. When I migrated to the United States and heard that I was working, they were all shocked. See, I wasn’t lazy, even from that young age. I did not intend to live my life by other people’s designs. Oh, yes, I have vilified my entire teenage life. I was not a “proper” young lady who should know her place. I lived my life my way. The same goes for you. Live your life by your design. Do not allow others to dictate your life, purpose, and happiness.
Over time, I was able to dig out all the stuck-on dirt leftover from my childhood. I love living my life from the seat of my pants, and it has always worked for me. I live my life passionately and not by some outdated societal rules that belong in the dark ages. I hate living a stuffy and restricted life. I’m a free spirit, born to run and travel freely to anywhere I wish to be. So living a restricted life makes me claustrophobic, and I have asthma so you can imagine my breathing dilemma.
I love my Jamaican/Caribbean culture and certain aspects of my upbringing. However, I refuse to live my life as a copy of the old way of living and being to which I was subjected. Now, I can live passionately, freely, openly, and happily. New York City is a vast melting pot filleof cultures and languages. You don’t need to stay the same way forever. We are free to adopt a new culture and way of being that connects with who we want to be or who we are becoming. And no, you don’t need to live in New York City to have that kind of living. You can have it anywhere you are.
After living in an environment filled with arguing, contention, violence, hatred, and abuse, I know I do not want that living ever again. Upon moving out on my own, my life started to understand what peaceful, happy, and passionate living felt like. Goodness, I never knew living a quiet life could feel so good. Therefore, anything that interrupts my peaceful living will not be tolerated anywhere near my life. No one should be allowed to dictate your life. If you are happy in your life and you are living and doing the things that contribute to your passionate living, then that is the life for you, and others would need to respect that, and if they don’t, it is still your vibrant life that you will be enjoying.
The beauty of life is that we can always find new things to be passionate about. If something no longer brings you vibrant living, find new ways to live your best life. What brings inspirational living to your life? Are you stopping your life because of others? Are you allowing others to run your life, or are you thinking for yourself? What steps can you take to start living the best life for you?
