I was browsing through Jason Mraz's latest tour, which he calls the "Gratitude Cafe" tour, as well as watching some of his videos and he reminds us all that we should constantly be thankful for the earth that God has given us. Throughout the three months that I've been out of school, I've done a lot of thinking, as I've mentioned many times, and I have to continually remind myself of how blessed I am. First of all, I think my parents are the best; I could not have asked for better and more supportive parents. I know that many parents stress tradition and have maps for where they usually like their kids to go. Some parents don't like their kids taking time off school to try to find themselves, but mine have been the best about it and I am completely humbled by that fact. It seems that I can do almost anything and my parents would have my back.
On top of being thankful for my parents, I also have to remind myself that I am extremely gifted. Not only do I have a fully functional body, but I can consume almost any garbage this world throws out these days and still be the same; that is just an added bonus, if you ask me. I do believe that I am gifted musically, but I think I'm beginning to discover a gift larger my musical talent. At the beginning of my first year of university, I thought that music was my one and only, which makes it the biggest, gift that God has blessed me with. Sometimes, it takes people four or five years to find out what their passions in life are and realize that they've been in school all that time studying the wrong things. God has a timeline for everyone, and I was lucky enough to have my path set straight really early in my life. I learn really quickly, and all I can say is that it is worth my trip to the Gratitude Cafe just for this one aspect. In all my years, I thought that I was just a bratty and arrogant kid with a soft spot in my heart for everything; I have to thank my mom for this quality. I know that I can still be a jerk at times, but I think that just comes with my maturity level - I am still quite a child still, you know. But along with being a softy, I have a huge desire to relate to people. With these two things that I have, I am generally really sensitive to how people are and how they are feeling; I feed off of this "energy" and it affects the way I am. I don't believe I've told anyone about this possession that I have, so if you some how come across my blog and read it all, you've just learned one of my biggest secrets and qualities to who I am and why I'm the person I've become.
So, what can you get out of all of this? There are a few things, actually. If you've skipped over most of this blog, I think it's worth reading this part. First and foremost, I think it's crucial for people to long breaks, vacations, whatever you want to call it, and just enjoy life as it is. When I say long breaks, something like my three months of doing absolutely nothing is a good start; of course, this doesn't really apply to everyone because of employment and stuff. Life is meant to be enjoyed; therefore, you should enjoy it. Second, with the break that I've been taking and discovering of who I am, it has allowed me to really solidify why Bible college is the path that God has for me. The details of my self-adventure are too much to put in this one entry, so I think I'll leave little hints here and there. Third, dealing with my future, I find it funny how when I look back to when I was younger, people always asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up (who hasn't been asked this a billion times?). I always said I wanted to do something that's like what my dad does (duh, again). But now that I'm eighteen and a half years old, I've realized that what I hope to be doing will be incredibly similar to what my dad does. My dad was an Occupational Therapist before he took on the managing role. An occupational therapist and a pastor do similar work even though it's in different fields of study. Both jobs require you to relate to people to try to help them live life. Isn't that just the coolest?
And the last thing, is that there isn't very much in life that is worth worrying about. Here's an exellent little excerpt I found of Jason Mraz talking about the topic.
I often ask myself: Am I doing enough? What contributions have I made today? If my list is short I will get out of bed and start typing something - often a letter or a journal entry, as if my own journal will someday amount to something (which it usually does, allowing me sort out the garbage from the recycling in my head.) Otherwise, I waste little energy on worry. What’s there to be anxious about? Missing a flight or not making a phone payment can be an inconvenience, just as someone you know getting sick or even dying can be very unfortunate. But Worry is what happens when you take those misfortunes on and think you have control over them. You tell yourself that you are responsible in some way for these situations. Or worse, you’ve decided if the outcome isn’t pleasant, there could be even more trouble for yourself and others.
Worry is a story you tell yourself and nothing more. Sometimes we do it to over-express our care in a matter. Other times we’re looking for sympathy. We’ll even go so far as to tell all about our worries in hopes that someone else will share the responsibility with us. There are plenty of reasons we create for Worry to creep its little head in.
But the real fact is, you are responsible for nothing to begin with.
Let’s say you send some love to someone, but they don’t reciprocate the way you expected. That’s nothing to worry about. It doesn’t mean they don’t love you. Besides, if they don’t, why worry about that? If that mattered, you’d be creating that as a condition for having love in your life. Unconditional love is what we practiced when we came into this world in the first place – so it’s best we get back to being that.
