Painting by Belynda Wilson Thomas

To be able to look back upon ones life in satisfaction, it to live twice. Khalil Gibran

Where do we get our inspiration? We often get inspiration from others, and being part of a group can inspire us more than being on our own. This is my experience with Toastmasters and the Mississauga Writers Group. We can get so involved in the group we don’t accomplish our individual goals, but learning to say no is also a skill we need to develop.

As one woman eloquently said, “I wouldn’t want to deprive someone else of the opportunity.” Learning to manage our time and energy is one of the skills we need to learn in life. Sometimes we are stuck not knowing how to reach the next step until we get more information.

It was gratifying on Saturday when a new member approached me and said he created a KDP account with Amazon and published his book, “Being Lolo.” I’d mentioned to him it was how I published mine. All he needed was information, and maybe meeting someone who had done it, spurred him to do it too.

We don’t know what we can do until we do it, and holding your book in your hand is a wonderful experience. My two-and-a-half-year-old grandson comes into where I’m writing, pulls down my books, turns to the back cover, and says, “That’s you, Grandma,” and I love it every time he says it.

Finding a group of like-minded people is wonderful. If we’ve felt we didn’t fit in, finding groups we fit into can be even more special. At a potluck on Saturday we were a group of unlikely friends, we’ve met through Toastmasters, we are from all over the world, diverse in all ways but Toastmasters brings us together. We love hearing other people’s stories, and their accomplishments spur us to step out of our comfort zone.

The daughter of a Japanese Diplomat said, she has always felt like she didn’t fit in, and maybe we are a group of misfits who have found a group we fit into. Some of us might like being part of a group more than others. As the only spouse attending said, “We try to have separate interests.” I think she is correct we need separateness in our togetherness.

But let there be spaces in your togetherness and let the winds of the heavens dance between you. Love one another but make not a bond of love; let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls. Khalil Gibran

Building our life never stops until it does, and until that time comes we don’t know if we have years or days left, so we should make the most of it. It might seem terrible to die without reaching our goals, but how much worse to live without having goals?

How many people have been surprised by living much longer lives than they thought they would? If we don’t plan and this isn’t a good surprise, wouldn’t that be tragic?

Your life is an island separated from all other islands and continents. Regardless of how many boats you send to other shores or how many ships arrive upon your shores, you yourself are an island separated by its own pains, secluded in its happiness. Khalil Gibran

If there is a group we’ve thought about joining, what is stopping us? Getting so busy we don’t have time for our family is not good, but so is not making the most of the life we have by reaching out, and expanding our horizons. We all have some “What ifs” in our lives. What if we started making choices to move in the direction of our dreams? Small, hesitant choices, test the water, what if a bigger life is out there waiting for us to come looking for it?

What if being too comfortable is part of the problem, we are resilient, and adventurous creatures, what if in the coming year, we choose to enlarge our comfort zone or step out of it? What would that look like, what changes would we have to make, do we know what changes we would like to see in our lives, or is that what we need to discover?

A New Year is coming soon, what changes will happen, what opportunities will we pursue, and what will we create? Small changes can alter the trajectory of our lives, for better or worse. But if we feel like a small boat bobbing in an ocean without direction, wouldn’t we rather steer toward something we want, even if it takes a little work to figure out what that is?

Maybe we need more people in our lives, more fun and adventure, creativity, or something we can’t name yet. When we look back on 2024 what kind of a year has it been? Can we learn to control what we can and deal with what we can’t? Maybe someone important to us passed this year, and we are dealing with the hard truths of life. We are never ready to face loss, it comes and life is forever changed. Had it happened later we would still not be ready for it.

Doubt is a pain too lonely to know that faith is his twin brother. Khalil Gibran

The lust for comfort, that stealthy thing that enters the house a guest, and then becomes a host, and then a master. Khalil Gibran

Keep me away from the wisdom which does not cry, the philosophy which does not laugh, and the greatness which does not bow before children. Khalil Gibran

Thank you for reading this post. Please come back and read some more and have a blessed day filled with gratitude, joy, and love.

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One thought on “Change is coming and we can’t always choose the changes, but what changes can we choose?

  1. Your questions give me a reason to question and seek answers. Your quote this week from Khalil Gibran in The Prophet is one of my favorites. It was part of my message to my daughter and son-in-law for their marriage. Thank you for sharing these each week.

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