It is in the tide. Every day, all across the world, the shores are subjected to the coming and going of the tides. Whether we are there or not it happens. Depending on the weather over the oceans, the severity of the impact of the tides varies. That is a law of nature that’s been around since the beginning of time.

The sooner we discover the similarity with our own life, the sooner we get to understand happiness and sorrow. No life exists with only joy. There will also be the pulling forces of the outgoing tide when discomfort, unhappiness and even sorrow tug on our soul. During those times we need to remind ourselves of the incoming tide when joy, pleasure and happiness washes off all the traces of the storm off the beach of our being. Leaving a clean piece of life where the footprints of the past are barely visible.

This view on life, keeps hope alive, and gives an encouragement to live forward through the tides.

The power to choose must surely be the most puissant force available to us. Apart from the awareness of different options, which in itself bears testimony to some kind of intellectual process, the activity of choosing is the proof of freedom.

That is why it is so very wrong to allow someone or something else to decide on your behalf.  If you do not decide what you would like for your life, someone else will. That is an abandonment of your freedom in its worst form. Usually that is followed by a life of blaming. Yet the only person to blame is the one who gave up the power of choice.

Consider your current position. Not doing so well? Who’s to blame….? Careful now!

Well, claim your freedom and determine your own direction and quality of life. This freedom should be the first thing we teach our children and the last thing to surrender.  

Reality of life, even for those who made the choice to be terminally well, is that it is not possible to feel well all the time. There are times when you experience discomfort due to what happens around you or because of bad choices you have made. These forces impacting on your emotional well-being should be dealt with before they can germinate and start to grow into self-pity or even depression. The recipe for effectively transforming this (potentially) negative force into positive energy consist of mainly two actions. One, identify the exact cause of your discomfort. Name those emotional gremlins and file them. Secondly, localize them. If the discomfort came about at work, why transport them all the way back home to allow them to keep on stealing your energy and that of those who need to endure your presence in such a state. A bad encounter with your boss which left you with feelings of self-doubt or even embarrassment should not spill over into your family environment. Life should be worth living, for you and those associating with you. Change the foul, don’t move it.

For perspective you need height. There is an optimum distance above an object or landscape which gives you the right dimension and perception. Too low and you lose width of horizon. Too high and you miss out on important detail. Success is to figure out in life what the best position would be for your outlook.

It is called to excel in life. This word literally means “out from high / tower”. To observe life from the perfect height gives you the edge. Excel towards excellence would be the proses through which you distinguish between the detail and the horizon. Ever sifting through the detail, leaving behind the insignificant and gathering what is needed on the journey towards the horizon.

Reaching and keeping that perfect position is the quest towards excellence. Constantly adjusting to keep the balance between detail and horizon requires a progressive improvement of your own position. 

Keeping a safe distance from the trivia helps determining your direction in pursuing excellence. That’s a life of excellence.

This is who I am on this moment. I cannot be anything or anyone else. On my journey to full awareness of who I am, I am discovering new prospects every day. In each new situation I surprise myself with new insights and creative reactions.

I was not born this way, I became and still am becoming the soul which was predestined in my DNA.  The biggest sin would be to strive to be someone else, like that and those.

It is not a case of accepting who I am, more a case of cultivating the strengths I know I possess. Becoming the complete me. It is not about perfection, it’s about direction. It is not about the ultimate destination, but experiencing the route I take.

Surprise yourself by taking the next step and when, at the end of the day, find yourself in a different place, consider yourself “successful”. Life is too short to be on a treadmill. Something new everyday. Live the adventure of discovering new answers to the same questions and fresh reactions to familiar situations

For some or other reason, we as humans are inclined to find the tiny cracks in the most beautiful artwork. As if we were wired to find the mistakes, look for the weaknesses and discover the hidden darkness. The sad part about that is all the light we miss and the abundance of splendor we fail to discover.

As in any other art form, light-finding needs practice and dedication. We all have it. It is just hidden somewhere in your being. The art of finding the light. Discovering the positive in the midst of the broken. Even in the personality of those irritating people you work with, you can find it. It depends on your willingness to keep on looking for the light.

A simple test to determine your level of light-finding is to focus on what you observe while stuck in the morning traffic, or waiting in the queue that doesn’t seem to move. Force yourself to find the light. Light-finders live longer.

The wider the angle the more the light. That principle determines the quality of a picture in the photographic genre. It is also true about your outlook on your surroundings. If you have an attitude of curiosity towards life and the people you share your space with, this very principle will light up your spirit.

The converse is also true. The more you focus only on your perspective, the smaller your word becomes. The smaller your aperture the less light reaches your heart. The more your sight excludes, the less understanding of your world. That in itself leads to wisdom impairment which stalks you like a slow-growing illness.

An ever-increasing awareness of the broader picture is the recipe for emergent understanding and ultimately, wisdom. Especially those things which usually fall outside the boundaries of your interests or even beliefs. Yes, it demands courage from your side to consider that which is beyond your comfort area, but that is what growth and progress is all about. Widen your angle, let in the light.

This is the essence of our stay on this planet. My space. The piece of land where I can live my life and dream my dreams. Even more important than the physical space where I can place my feet and rest my head, is the emotional and spiritual space I need to be creative. The easier part of claiming my space, is determining where I stand. What are the things I consider my “bottom line” or principles. Those things I feel strong about and which define me as individual. The more difficult, but equal important part of shaping my space is to create space. For others, that is. Acknowledging the opinion of others you share the communal spaces with. To create space for others to differ from you and not to fight for that space. You can work with someone who does not share your views. You can (and should!) have friends who stand their own ground with their own outlook. Fighting another person’s beliefs shrinks your space and theirs. It drains you of energy and deprives you of growth. Make space, lots of space.

I call them strangulation prophets. They just love it to bring bad news. They also do not like it when something good comes from any other source but themselves. The language they use is called Critish and they usually start their sentences with “…yes but…,”. If you allow them to, they will rob you of all your selftrust and eventually happiness. Enough said about “them”!

It is some kind of natural law or something. Attitude equals level of happiness. The more positives you look for in the people around you the more you find it. And the more you find it, the happier you become. The only answer to counter negative inputs from the strangulation prophets is to respond only in the positive mode. Don’t feel robbed of your selfesteem due to personal criticism.

Understand that when you feel the wind from the front, you are moving in the right direction. Then is the time to accelerate on your way to your goal. Greatness does not come by holding back. Pick up speed by searching for the good, the right and the positive.